1
00:00:34,527 --> 00:00:38,406
l wake up in the morning, usually late.

2
00:00:38,487 --> 00:00:41,559
l come driving in with my hair on fire

3
00:00:41,647 --> 00:00:44,480
and put out the flames
when l reach the front gate.

4
00:00:44,567 --> 00:00:48,196
l come strolling
into my room half-conscious

5
00:00:48,287 --> 00:00:53,964
and then l waltz in, still in some sort of
semi-coma, into Hair and Make-up

6
00:00:54,047 --> 00:00:59,075
and come out looking like
a million dollars - well, a buck.

7
00:00:59,167 --> 00:01:05,037
The guys are good, but they can only do
so much without using plaster.

8
00:01:09,367 --> 00:01:11,722
That's the morning fix.

9
00:01:11,807 --> 00:01:15,641
The make-up stuff
takes about 15, 20 minutes.

10
00:01:15,727 --> 00:01:19,720
From there, we waltz off to set
and do our blocking.

11
00:01:19,807 --> 00:01:23,720
Blocking is this chaotic period
where half-awake people

12
00:01:23,807 --> 00:01:27,197
try and direct other half-awake people
to stand in certain spots

13
00:01:27,287 --> 00:01:30,359
and are only able to do so
by putting tape marks on the floor,

14
00:01:30,447 --> 00:01:32,597
especially colour-coded tape marks.

15
00:01:32,687 --> 00:01:35,997
Mine is... blue?

16
00:01:36,087 --> 00:01:38,362
Blue. l have blue tape.

17
00:01:38,447 --> 00:01:40,881
So that's where l'm supposed to stand.

18
00:01:40,967 --> 00:01:43,765
Sometimes we can,
if it's important to us, move around,

19
00:01:43,847 --> 00:01:48,762
but we try and limit our motion because
we've got a lot to do during the day.

20
00:01:48,847 --> 00:01:55,366
We finish blocking, come back out here
and then, if we haven't done so already,

21
00:01:55,447 --> 00:01:58,723
like the true professionals,
we panic and try and learn our lines.

22
00:01:58,807 --> 00:02:01,640
- lf this leads to hostilities...
- lt will.

23
00:02:02,927 --> 00:02:07,876
Dr Jackson, l don't believe
you were invited to this meeting.

24
00:02:07,967 --> 00:02:11,960
Yes, General, l know. l'm sorry.
But please hear me out.

25
00:02:12,807 --> 00:02:15,367
l think the situation
can be resolved peacefully.

26
00:02:15,447 --> 00:02:16,641
How?

27
00:02:16,727 --> 00:02:18,718
We've been on this planet a long time.

28
00:02:18,807 --> 00:02:21,958
lt was only in this one region
that the Unas attacked.

29
00:02:22,047 --> 00:02:26,359
We go in and we set up usually
what starts off being a master shot.

30
00:02:26,447 --> 00:02:30,804
Then we zoom in for close-up coverage of
everything, especially at the military base.

31
00:02:30,887 --> 00:02:34,641
And then we go in and we shoot it -
masters, close-ups, all sorts of stuff.

32
00:02:34,727 --> 00:02:38,003
And we do this for about
eight pages of dialogue a day.

33
00:02:38,087 --> 00:02:41,602
We shoot episodes
in around six or seven days now.

34
00:02:41,687 --> 00:02:45,077
Can we at least try
to negotiate with them?

35
00:02:45,167 --> 00:02:46,156
They're animals.

36
00:02:46,247 --> 00:02:48,807
They're intelligent beings
with a sense of honour.

37
00:02:48,887 --> 00:02:51,196
lf you underestimate them, more will die.

38
00:02:51,287 --> 00:02:57,078
Seven and a half pages a day.
That's a lot of pages. lt's a lot of words.

39
00:02:57,167 --> 00:02:59,522
l gotta get to work.
Could you turn that off?

40
00:02:59,607 --> 00:03:03,077
Mr Rooker, what can you tell me
about Michael Shanks?

41
00:03:06,807 --> 00:03:08,798
There you have it.

42
00:03:10,807 --> 00:03:15,676
Usually the time when you actually get
a scene is right after you finish shooting.

43
00:03:15,767 --> 00:03:18,486
''That's what that scene was about!''
That's what l do.

44
00:03:18,567 --> 00:03:22,242
And l come back in here
and beat my head against the wall.

45
00:03:22,327 --> 00:03:24,602
Then we go on to the next scene.

46
00:03:24,687 --> 00:03:29,761
We do this to about 7.30 at night,
sometimes eight o'clock,

47
00:03:29,847 --> 00:03:34,557
Then we drive back home and try
and memorise our lines for the next day,

48
00:03:34,647 --> 00:03:37,525
and do anything
like live a life, a personal life,

49
00:03:37,607 --> 00:03:41,236
say hi to friends and family
we've alienated over the past seven years.

50
00:03:41,327 --> 00:03:45,479
And... that's about it.
That's a day in the life.

51
00:03:56,167 --> 00:03:59,796
A long time ago in a not-so-far galaxy -

52
00:03:59,887 --> 00:04:03,516
actually it was seven years ago,
so l guess it was a long time ago -

53
00:04:03,607 --> 00:04:06,041
we all went down for a screen test

54
00:04:06,127 --> 00:04:10,837
for a series based on a feature film
called Stargate.

55
00:04:10,927 --> 00:04:13,919
Three people just gravitated
towards one another.

56
00:04:14,007 --> 00:04:17,886
That was a man named Christopher
Judge, a woman named Amanda Tapping

57
00:04:17,967 --> 00:04:22,119
and some dweeb who didn't really
know his A from a hole in the ground,

58
00:04:22,207 --> 00:04:24,243
named Michael Shanks.

59
00:04:24,327 --> 00:04:29,082
We all just seemed to find solace
in laughing with each other.

60
00:04:29,167 --> 00:04:35,606
Lo and behold, a few weeks later,
after finding out l had gotten the part,

61
00:04:35,687 --> 00:04:38,326
we arrived in Vancouver to begin shooting

62
00:04:38,407 --> 00:04:42,798
and l found that Christopher Judge and
Amanda Tapping had also got their parts.

63
00:04:42,887 --> 00:04:46,562
- We shot ''The Nox'' here.
- We shot the pilot here too.

64
00:04:46,647 --> 00:04:48,683
This was our location for it.

65
00:04:48,767 --> 00:04:53,124
We had to run up and down that hill.
l was wearing 187 pounds of armour.

66
00:04:53,207 --> 00:04:55,846
This was our first day of filming right here.

67
00:04:55,927 --> 00:04:56,962
French hours.

68
00:04:57,047 --> 00:05:00,596
Amanda's like a mother-hen,
big-sister type.

69
00:05:00,687 --> 00:05:03,679
She likes to have fun,

70
00:05:03,767 --> 00:05:09,319
but she keeps herself within the confines
of the rules of the game, so to speak.

71
00:05:09,407 --> 00:05:12,479
She's almost Britishly proper.

72
00:05:12,567 --> 00:05:17,038
She's almost like a big sister to
Christopher and l, cos we're bad kids.

73
00:05:17,127 --> 00:05:19,595
Christopher's the worst of the bunch

74
00:05:19,687 --> 00:05:22,759
and l'm somewhere in between.

75
00:05:22,847 --> 00:05:24,838
So Amanda acts as this big sister.

76
00:05:24,927 --> 00:05:29,364
Christopher is just a jokester, a prankster.

77
00:05:29,447 --> 00:05:33,963
He's the main instigator
of the trouble that we seem to share,

78
00:05:34,047 --> 00:05:36,163
and Amanda's there to shake her head,

79
00:05:36,247 --> 00:05:39,842
pat us on the back and say
''Nice one, guys.''

80
00:05:40,847 --> 00:05:43,236
Got a blister from my gun.

81
00:05:45,047 --> 00:05:47,197
Chris and l, for the most part...

82
00:05:47,287 --> 00:05:53,317
lt's very rare that you get people
who work so often, so many hours a day,

83
00:05:53,407 --> 00:05:56,160
that after so many years
still like one another.

84
00:05:56,247 --> 00:06:00,206
You learn way too much information
about each other.

85
00:06:00,287 --> 00:06:03,757
But Chris and l watch hockey games
together and we still hang out a lot.

86
00:06:03,847 --> 00:06:06,725
He's become a very, very close friend.

87
00:06:06,807 --> 00:06:08,798
lt's amazing that the chemistry

88
00:06:08,887 --> 00:06:12,960
and that original dynamic that was
sparked in an audition room years ago

89
00:06:13,047 --> 00:06:15,481
has managed to remain consistent

90
00:06:15,567 --> 00:06:18,798
and has bonded us
closer together as family.

91
00:06:20,127 --> 00:06:25,565
lt's been a wonderful experience
to share with those people.

92
00:06:26,207 --> 00:06:31,406
Richard... He reminded me
of me a lot when l first met him,

93
00:06:31,487 --> 00:06:34,797
cos he was just a very private person.

94
00:06:34,887 --> 00:06:37,481
But once you spend
so much time around him,

95
00:06:37,567 --> 00:06:41,640
you realise
he's like the biggest kid of 'em all.

96
00:06:42,887 --> 00:06:45,879
ln the embodiment of a 50-year-old man

97
00:06:45,967 --> 00:06:49,039
who's been through the wars
and has all the wisdom of that,

98
00:06:49,127 --> 00:06:51,561
he's like a kid busting to get out.

99
00:06:51,647 --> 00:06:56,323
lf it wasn't for the social proprieties
that make him be certain things,

100
00:06:56,407 --> 00:06:59,797
l think you'd just see him running around.

101
00:07:00,607 --> 00:07:02,802
(whistles through teeth)

102
00:07:05,927 --> 00:07:09,044
Anything for a joke.
The sense of humour that we share

103
00:07:09,127 --> 00:07:12,005
is the most both on and off the set.

104
00:07:12,087 --> 00:07:16,444
We seem to be on a level playing field
when it comes to a lot of different things,

105
00:07:16,527 --> 00:07:20,679
especially sense of humour, and
that's where we find our strongest bond.

106
00:07:20,767 --> 00:07:24,726
Not only enjoying that off-camera
and joking with one another,

107
00:07:24,807 --> 00:07:28,197
but working with one another
to always be laughing.

108
00:07:28,287 --> 00:07:33,122
Whenever we're working together,
there's rarely a serious moment.

109
00:07:35,887 --> 00:07:38,162
You playing a lot with the zoom?

110
00:07:38,247 --> 00:07:43,037
lt's always the sign of an amateur,
if you're zooming a lot.

111
00:07:43,527 --> 00:07:48,442
That's what's made it so much fun,
is to find one of these people,

112
00:07:48,527 --> 00:07:54,443
like the close group of friends you have
a subconscious communication with.

113
00:07:54,527 --> 00:07:58,202
That's an incredible strength
and it makes for a good friendship.

114
00:07:58,887 --> 00:08:02,118
All right. Here's what l'd like you to do.

115
00:08:02,207 --> 00:08:05,085
Pick up that phone,
call Mr Whoever Runs This Place...

116
00:08:05,167 --> 00:08:07,635
- Hagan.
- l'm sorry, but l just can't do that.

117
00:08:07,727 --> 00:08:12,562
We're old friends. Tell him Mr Man
Who Has The Stargate is here to see him.

118
00:08:12,647 --> 00:08:14,638
He'll understand.

119
00:08:14,727 --> 00:08:16,126
Stargate.

120
00:08:18,007 --> 00:08:20,043
Go ahead.

121
00:08:20,127 --> 00:08:22,118
Buttons, phone.

122
00:08:23,967 --> 00:08:25,958
Mr Hagan, please.

123
00:08:27,007 --> 00:08:28,281
Nice.

124
00:08:29,767 --> 00:08:31,837
- Cut.
- Cut it.

125
00:08:31,927 --> 00:08:34,395
- Too condescending?
- A little bit.

126
00:08:40,327 --> 00:08:43,160
l used to play hockey.
l played hockey for about 22 years,

127
00:08:43,247 --> 00:08:46,762
and played up to university.

128
00:08:46,847 --> 00:08:51,716
Being someone who's Canadian,
it's what Canadians do.

129
00:08:52,407 --> 00:08:55,399
We've started our own hockey team.

130
00:08:55,487 --> 00:08:57,637
l've organised the troops

131
00:08:57,727 --> 00:09:01,515
and it's amazing to see all the people
that have played before

132
00:09:01,607 --> 00:09:04,405
and are enthusiastic about playing.

133
00:09:07,327 --> 00:09:11,605
lt's great because it gives you time
to socialise with everybody

134
00:09:11,687 --> 00:09:15,202
outside of the environment
of the Stargate set,

135
00:09:15,287 --> 00:09:18,438
to see everybody
in their natural surroundings.

136
00:09:18,527 --> 00:09:24,124
You're on an even playing field
and it's always been a great workout.

137
00:09:24,207 --> 00:09:29,440
You don't know you're getting a workout
but at the same time it's so much fun.

138
00:09:29,527 --> 00:09:31,358
l miss it so much.

139
00:09:43,167 --> 00:09:48,241
We play the other teams in town - the
Smallville guys, The Twilight Zone guys,

140
00:09:48,327 --> 00:09:50,477
the Chris lsaak guys.

141
00:09:50,567 --> 00:09:55,561
You get to meet some people
you haven't seen in a while.

142
00:09:55,647 --> 00:10:00,163
lt's nice to go out and make some
new friends and some new enemies,

143
00:10:00,247 --> 00:10:03,045
and afterwards
share a beer with everybody.

144
00:10:03,127 --> 00:10:06,676
Our guys,
as much enthusiasm as we have,

145
00:10:06,767 --> 00:10:09,804
our skill level doesn't necessarily
meet our enthusiasm,

146
00:10:09,887 --> 00:10:13,675
but we always get
a good group of people out...

147
00:10:14,847 --> 00:10:20,080
and rub a few faces with our gloves
and swear a little bit too much.

148
00:10:20,167 --> 00:10:26,845
l usually end up in the penalty box,
so that gives me my designated rest time.

149
00:10:27,567 --> 00:10:34,837
(French accent) So when you use
your stick like this or your glove like this,

150
00:10:34,927 --> 00:10:39,443
you go to the penalty box
and you feel shame.

151
00:10:40,007 --> 00:10:44,637
Two minutes for bad attitude,

152
00:10:44,727 --> 00:10:47,241
too much spitting on the bench,

153
00:10:47,327 --> 00:10:50,239
no gum chewing
and not enough use of clichés.

154
00:10:50,327 --> 00:10:56,880
l'm gonna go out
and play again, hopefully.

155
00:11:01,047 --> 00:11:05,325
Once l get back to playing,
l really see why l miss it.

156
00:11:07,007 --> 00:11:09,521
We're good.

157
00:11:09,607 --> 00:11:11,404
Our team's a little...

158
00:11:11,487 --> 00:11:15,526
We're learning each other's
ins and outs and whatever.

159
00:11:15,607 --> 00:11:18,644
lt's one of these great social sports.

160
00:11:18,727 --> 00:11:23,801
You say you do it for fun but l don't think
anybody really does do it for fun,

161
00:11:23,887 --> 00:11:26,765
because everybody wants to win.

162
00:11:26,847 --> 00:11:30,999
The good thing about hockey players is
when it's all over, they leave it on the ice.

163
00:11:31,087 --> 00:11:35,683
Whatever friendly rivalries that
you've built up over the hour of playing

164
00:11:35,767 --> 00:11:38,759
usually gets left behind
and you can share a beer or 12

165
00:11:38,847 --> 00:11:44,080
with the guy that you've just finished
rubbing his face into the boards.

166
00:11:48,927 --> 00:11:52,761
lf l wasn't doing Stargate,
l'd hopefully still be acting somewhere.

167
00:11:52,847 --> 00:11:54,883
l was trained as a theatre actor

168
00:11:54,967 --> 00:11:58,846
in things like Chekhov
and Shakespeare and Moliére.

169
00:11:58,927 --> 00:12:04,445
So after l graduated from university,
l started doing TV and film and stuff,

170
00:12:04,527 --> 00:12:09,317
but my love has always been to carry on
with Shakespeare and to keep a hand in.

171
00:12:09,407 --> 00:12:12,717
lt is one of those things
that you have to keep doing

172
00:12:12,807 --> 00:12:15,002
to remember what you learned.

173
00:12:15,087 --> 00:12:17,885
TV can be very...

174
00:12:17,967 --> 00:12:22,916
lt takes up all your time and there's not
a lot of room for side projects.

175
00:12:23,007 --> 00:12:27,876
One of the things l wanted to do
is to keep involved in doing theatre.

176
00:12:27,967 --> 00:12:32,597
So l think in 1999
a local director, Morris Panych,

177
00:12:32,687 --> 00:12:35,485
asked me if l wanted
to participate in Hamlet.

178
00:12:35,567 --> 00:12:37,956
l said ''Sure. What part?''
He said ''Hamlet.''

179
00:12:38,047 --> 00:12:44,680
After l'd cleaned out my drawers, l said
''l guess l could jump at that challenge.''

180
00:12:44,767 --> 00:12:49,716
l think l got everything l asked for
in terms of it being a challenge.

181
00:12:49,807 --> 00:12:52,002
lt's a role that every actor wants to do

182
00:12:52,087 --> 00:12:55,204
and once faced with it
they wanna run in the other direction.

183
00:12:55,287 --> 00:13:00,759
The stage fright became all too common
an occurrence on every opening curtain.

184
00:13:00,847 --> 00:13:05,204
So, hopefully, that's something later on
down the line l'll be able to do again,

185
00:13:05,287 --> 00:13:10,600
but in the meantime l just wanna keep
revisiting the roots of where l came from

186
00:13:10,687 --> 00:13:13,360
and just be able
to re-experience the joy

187
00:13:13,447 --> 00:13:17,645
of why l first got into it
and what your first love was

188
00:13:17,727 --> 00:13:22,164
and to re-experience
the appreciation of the art of acting.

189
00:13:26,527 --> 00:13:30,918
Sci-fi fans, l think, are probably fans
of all different genres of shows

190
00:13:31,007 --> 00:13:34,761
and probably the most passionate
and intelligent fans you could ask for.

191
00:13:34,847 --> 00:13:37,441
The best thing about them
is they keep you honest,

192
00:13:37,527 --> 00:13:40,678
because they follow the show
closer than people that make it do.

193
00:13:40,767 --> 00:13:45,045
lt's important that we have fans
who are that reverent and that intelligent.

194
00:13:45,127 --> 00:13:48,005
lt brings the writers' game up,
the actors' game up.

195
00:13:48,087 --> 00:13:51,636
Everybody pays a lot more
close attention to all the details,

196
00:13:51,727 --> 00:13:55,037
which is essentially what will end up
making a better show.

197
00:13:55,127 --> 00:13:59,166
When l left the show
at the end of season five...

198
00:13:59,247 --> 00:14:04,560
lt's one of those decisions that you make
and it's a job that you move on from,

199
00:14:04,647 --> 00:14:06,877
and l've moved on from many.

200
00:14:07,807 --> 00:14:11,117
When you make that choice,
a lot of other people are on board

201
00:14:11,207 --> 00:14:13,198
for that decision-making process.

202
00:14:13,287 --> 00:14:17,166
There was a strong reaction
from people that weren't happy

203
00:14:17,247 --> 00:14:21,798
that the character had stepped out from
being a regular character on the show.

204
00:14:21,887 --> 00:14:24,162
They let their feelings be known.

205
00:14:24,247 --> 00:14:28,126
lt's great to know,
to get that kind of expression.

206
00:14:28,207 --> 00:14:31,722
You realise that, regardless of what
you think you have accomplished,

207
00:14:31,807 --> 00:14:38,155
you've touched a chord and a lot of people
are very reverent to the character.

208
00:14:38,247 --> 00:14:43,924
That's flattering, in a way, and you realise
that there is a bit of responsibility

209
00:14:44,007 --> 00:14:47,158
that goes with playing
a character on television.

210
00:14:47,247 --> 00:14:50,444
Your fans, at the end of the day,
will make you or break you,

211
00:14:50,527 --> 00:14:53,644
and apparently
there's a lot of fans out there

212
00:14:53,727 --> 00:14:57,925
who are very supportive of the work l've
done on the show, and that's fantastic.

213
00:14:58,007 --> 00:15:02,000
So far behind the scenes,
you can't even see him.

214
00:15:02,767 --> 00:15:07,636
Thank you all for watching
''Michael Shanks: Beyond the Gate''.

215
00:15:07,727 --> 00:15:12,084
We'll see you all sometime.
lf not, you'll see me.

216
00:15:12,167 --> 00:15:16,957
l'll look, occasionally, at the screen,
but l probably won't see you.

217
00:15:17,047 --> 00:15:21,040
l'm gonna go now
cos l've run out of things to say.

218
00:15:26,687 --> 00:15:28,678
You're following me.

219
00:15:48,967 --> 00:15:50,958
ENHOH