Posts Tagged ‘Katee Sackhoff’

SOURCE: EW.com

SPOILER ALERT: If you have yet to watch last night’s 24, stop reading now. I repeat, if you have yet to watch last night’s 24, stop reading now. For the last time, if you have yet to watch last night’s 24, stop reading now. Everyone else, onward and downward…

24 fans who were counting the minutes until Katee Sackhoff’s CTU analyst/mole, Dana Walsh, was wiped off the face of the earth can start celebrating: The double-crossing evildoer found herself on the wrong end of Jack Bauer’s pistol in last night’s pulse-pounding episode. Her death brings to end one of the show’s most ridiculed story arcs since Kim Bauer’s took a detour to cougar town in season 2. But what did Sackhoff think of the tall tale and the backlash it triggered? In the following exclusive interview, the Battlestar Galactica superstar tackles that question and about 10 others with such hilarious candor that she practically redeemed the whole damn storyline!

Dana just got killed. Reaction?
KATEE SACKHOFF: That’s so sad. Poor Dana.

Do you genuinely feel sympathy for her?
SACKHOFF: None whatsoever. [Laughs]. She doesn’t have one redeeming quality. I tried desperately to give her a redeeming quality. I really tried. The only thing I could come up with was that she didn’t crack when she was tortured.

What was it like playing someone like that?
SACKHOFF: It was weird. I kind of figured if I couldn’t give her a redeeming quality, I was just going to be the most ridiculously unsympathetic villain ever. I was going to try and make everyone hate her. That was my goal, and I think I succeeded.

Were you looking to play a one-note baddie when you signed on?
SACKHOFF: [Before 24] I always had to give tons of thought to my characters. They had so many layers and they were exhausting to play. By the time [Battlestar] was over I was so tired. I was like, “Can I please play a character that’s just cut and dry?” [Laughs] With Dana, I just kind of went to work and played what was on the page. It was a much easier process.

The Dana plot was not well-received. Were you aware that it wasn’t going over well?
SACKHOFF: I didn’t realize that. [Pause] I don’t care. I played a character [Starbuck] who was hated from the very beginning just because she was a woman, so I learned a long time ago not to read [the feedback]. It’s counterproductive to doing your job… I respect the fans and I respect their opinions but it’s sad that they’re not happy when it’s the last season.

Was there anything Dana did that made you go, “WTF?”?
SACKHOFF: I think when I had a gun and [onscreen hubby] Freddie [Prinze Jr.] shot it for me. I was like, “Wow, I’m completely playing a new character here.” For the first five or six episodes I was like, “Guys, you’ve got to give me a gun. I don’t do the whole stand here and look pretty thing very well.” And then they finally give me a gun and the man standing next to me shot it for me.

Did you object?
SACKHOFF: Of course I did. But then I was told I was a Russian spy and I was like, “Okay, I get it.”

I thought you were going to say hiding Bill Prady’s dead body in the wall at CTU was the craziest thing Dana did.
SACKHOFF: [Mock contempt] Where else was she going to put it?! Was she going to drag it down the hallway? She had to figure out something really quick, and the grate in the wall seemed like a perfect place. The only thing we were joking about was can you imagine when they start turning the heat on in the winter? Six months later everyone’s like, “What is that smell?!” And they’re like, “Damn that Dana!” [Laughs]

How was the whole 24 experience?
SACKHOFF: It was fantastic. Because of the way they shoot 24 you feel like you’re never there. I kind of felt like I could go hang out at Coffee Bean with all the unemployed actors. Every time I’d get a paycheck I was like, “Oh, that’s right. I have a job!” It was pretty easy compared to what I was used to. I’ve been so spoiled. I moved to L.A. when I was 17 and I constantly worked on television, so I’ve always been able to have, in a sense, a normal job where you go to work every day. And after Battlestar ended and [my NBC] pilot [Lost & Found] wasn’t picked up I got completely disillusioned by the business. I had never done a pilot that hadn’t been picked up, so I was like, “What?!” So I wanted to go back to something that felt safe and exciting and well-received, and 24 was a perfect fit. It’s what I needed to get my footing and go tackle another pilot season.

Why did you have so much time off? It’s not like Dana disappeared for long stretches. Did you shoot all your scenes in one day?
SACKHOFF: Yeah, that’s what they do. And it’s not just one episode, it’s two episodes. I would shoot all my stuff for episodes 5 and 6, which would normally take 18 days, in one day. So I’d have off for three weeks. I think I had the whole month of November off.

Was that frustrating at all? Because it’s not like you can go off and commit to another gig.
SACKHOFF: It was frustrating. I felt unemployed. I had all my chores done by 9 a.m. and I’m like, “What do I do now?” I’d call up my ex-boyfriend at work and go, “It’s 9 a.m. and I’m done. Is it too early to start drinking at noon?”

For more from Sackhoff, including scoop on one of Dana’s most buzzed about quirks, pick up the new issue of Entertainment Weekly (on sale Thursday).

’24′ boss to fans: ‘Be patient with Dana’ | Ausiello | EW.com.

“God almighty there has been a Dana backlash,” bemoans Gordon, who argues that, “Thrillers have a finite number of tropes. It’s like saying, ‘Another murder on CSI? Are you kidding?!’ Moles and betrayals are the stock and trade of the show.

“I understand how it appears [to be] tiresome and lazy storytelling, but I really would betray anyone to try to sit in our chair and figure out how to do 24 continuous, real time episodes, without using certain devices,” the exec continues. “I would implore people to be more patient with Dana.”

SOURCE: IGN TV

December 16, 2009 – 24 returns in January with another big overhaul for the series. Season 8 is set in New York, and introduces a brand new version of CTU, with a staff of characters we’ve never met before, with the exception of Chloe O’Brian. One of the most notable of these new characters is Dana Walsh, played by none other than Battlestar Galactica vet Katee Sackhoff.

During my visit to the set of 24 and the very impressive new CTU set – filled with lots of glass and high tech looking computer screens and security devices – Sackhoff spoke about Dana, who is introduced as a data analyst who has plenty of advice for Chloe, whether she likes it or not.

(Interview is after the jump! Read the rest of this entry »

SOURCE

Former Battlestar Galactica star Katee Sackhoff will play a CTU analyst and the love interest of Freddie Prinze Jr.’s new CTU agent in the upcoming eighth (and possibly final) season of Fox’s 24, and executive producer Brannon Braga says she brings a lot of her Starbuck credibility to the role.

“Credibility is a very, very good word to use,” Braga (FlashForward) said in an exclusive interview at the Television Critics Association’s summer press tour in Pasadena, Calif., last week.

Braga added: “Obviously, we’re all fans of Katee from Battlestar, and we were looking for this role of Dana Walsh—that’s the character’s name—a character who is really smart and part of a new CTU that is what we’re calling CTU 2.0. It’s the next generation of CTU. And we wanted to find someone who just had an inherent strength and intelligence, but was also very beautiful. That’s a very hard role to cast, and Katee fit the bill. It’s that Jeri Ryan type of actress, you know?” Braga added, referring to his former Star Trek: Voyager star. “They’re hard to find. I mean, no insult to the talent pool out there, but they’re not easy to find.”

For her part, Sackhoff said that she’ll be playing “the head programmer at CTU.” Will she butt heads with Mary Lynn Rajskub’s irascible Chloe? “Of course,” Sackhoff said. “Of course. That’s part of the fun, yeah.”

The new season, which kicks off at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Jan. 19, 2010, moves the action to New York, Braga said. “CTU has been reconstituted and is in the form of CTU New York,” he said. “And it involves the U.N. And a very, very important peace process that is being threatened. … Jack Bauer [Kiefer Sutherland] will get involved. … There’s some familiar faces coming back, but there are some new faces in the form of Katee Sackhoff and Freddie Prinze Jr. and Anil Kapoor [Slumdog Millionaire], and it’s a very cool season. But there are some big surprises as well that I think I’d be fired if I gave away.”

For Sackhoff, shooting 24 was eerily reminiscent of her time on Battlestar. “It’s a little weird,” she said. “Because Brad Turner directed one of the episodes of Battlestar Galactica, … and he was [one of] the first directors that I had for 24. So I literally, like, came in, and it was a seamless transition. … [Former Battlestar co-star] Callum Keith Rennie was there, and I was there, and Brad was there, and it was like, ‘Wow, this is great!’”

In addition to Sackhoff and Prinze, the eighth season will introduce new cast members Mykelti Williamson, John Boyd, Jennifer Westfeldt and Chris Diamantopoulos.

Here’s the official description of the season:

Season Eight will unfold in New York City amidst the shadows of the Statue of Liberty and the United Nations. In this new day, CTU has been upgraded and is run by MBA-schooled and razor-sharp head honcho BRIAN HASTINGS (Williamson, “Forrest Gump”). COLE ORTIZ (Prinze Jr.), an ex-Marine who wants to follow in JACK BAUER’s (Sutherland) footsteps, runs the division’s Field Operations. Expert data analyst DANA WALSH (Sackhoff, “Battlestar Galactica”) collaborates with systems analyst ARLO GLASS (Boyd, “The Notorious Bettie Page”) inside CTU. ROB WEISS (Diamantopoulos, “The Starter Wife”) serves as PRESIDENT ALLISON TAYLOR’s (Cherry Jones) new chief of staff, and MEREDITH REED (Westfeldt, “Grey’s Anatomy”) is an ambitious journalist with ties to the unfolding situation.

The show returns in January with a two-night, four-hour premiere.

SOURCE

Former Battlestar Galactica star Katee Sackhoff will play a CTU analyst and the love interest of Freddie Prinze Jr.’s new CTU agent in the upcoming eighth (and possibly final) season of Fox’s 24, and executive producer Brannon Braga says she brings a lot of her Starbuck credibility to the role.

“Credibility is a very, very good word to use,” Braga (FlashForward) said in an exclusive interview at the Television Critics Association’s summer press tour in Pasadena, Calif., last week.

Braga added: “Obviously, we’re all fans of Katee from Battlestar, and we were looking for this role of Dana Walsh—that’s the character’s name—a character who is really smart and part of a new CTU that is what we’re calling CTU 2.0. It’s the next generation of CTU. And we wanted to find someone who just had an inherent strength and intelligence, but was also very beautiful. That’s a very hard role to cast, and Katee fit the bill. It’s that Jeri Ryan type of actress, you know?” Braga added, referring to his former Star Trek: Voyager star. “They’re hard to find. I mean, no insult to the talent pool out there, but they’re not easy to find.”

For her part, Sackhoff said that she’ll be playing “the head programmer at CTU.” Will she butt heads with Mary Lynn Rajskub’s irascible Chloe? “Of course,” Sackhoff said. “Of course. That’s part of the fun, yeah.”

The new season, which kicks off at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Jan. 19, 2010, moves the action to New York, Braga said. “CTU has been reconstituted and is in the form of CTU New York,” he said. “And it involves the U.N. And a very, very important peace process that is being threatened. … Jack Bauer [Kiefer Sutherland] will get involved. … There’s some familiar faces coming back, but there are some new faces in the form of Katee Sackhoff and Freddie Prinze Jr. and Anil Kapoor [Slumdog Millionaire], and it’s a very cool season. But there are some big surprises as well that I think I’d be fired if I gave away.”

For Sackhoff, shooting 24 was eerily reminiscent of her time on Battlestar. “It’s a little weird,” she said. “Because Brad Turner directed one of the episodes of Battlestar Galactica, … and he was [one of] the first directors that I had for 24. So I literally, like, came in, and it was a seamless transition. … [Former Battlestar co-star] Callum Keith Rennie was there, and I was there, and Brad was there, and it was like, ‘Wow, this is great!’”

In addition to Sackhoff and Prinze, the eighth season will introduce new cast members Mykelti Williamson, John Boyd, Jennifer Westfeldt and Chris Diamantopoulos.

Here’s the official description of the season:

Season Eight will unfold in New York City amidst the shadows of the Statue of Liberty and the United Nations. In this new day, CTU has been upgraded and is run by MBA-schooled and razor-sharp head honcho BRIAN HASTINGS (Williamson, “Forrest Gump”). COLE ORTIZ (Prinze Jr.), an ex-Marine who wants to follow in JACK BAUER’s (Sutherland) footsteps, runs the division’s Field Operations. Expert data analyst DANA WALSH (Sackhoff, “Battlestar Galactica”) collaborates with systems analyst ARLO GLASS (Boyd, “The Notorious Bettie Page”) inside CTU. ROB WEISS (Diamantopoulos, “The Starter Wife”) serves as PRESIDENT ALLISON TAYLOR’s (Cherry Jones) new chief of staff, and MEREDITH REED (Westfeldt, “Grey’s Anatomy”) is an ambitious journalist with ties to the unfolding situation.

The show returns in January with a two-night, four-hour premiere.

Now this is one i can get super excited about! I am a HUGE fan of Katee!!!

ARTICLE SOURCE AT EW

Suddenly, I find myself counting the minutes until 24‘s new season. Perhaps this is why: Katee Sackhoff is joining the cast!

Sources confirm to me exclusively that the Battlestar Galactica heroine has been tapped to play the series regular role of Dana Walsh, a highly respected and down-to-earth data analyst at the new and improved New York branch of CTU.

Translation: Chloe-Starbuck catfight alert!

This fraktastic casting coup hit a road block last week when Sackhoff abruptly took herself out of the running, prompting me to post this blind item. But late Friday, word surfaced that the BSG badass was once again in the mix.

Here’s more scoop on Sackhoff’s character…

She’s in a relationship with fellow agent Davis Cole (played by the just-cast Freddie Prinze. Jr.), and she apparently has a skeleton in her closet she’s trying desperately to keep hidden.

As I previously reported, 24‘s eighth season — which premieres Jan. 17, 2010 — will be set in the Big Apple and center on an assassination plot against a visiting foreign leader (Slumdog Millionaire‘s Anil Kapoor). In addition to Sackhoff and Prinze, new Day 8 blood includes Forrest Gump’s Mykelti Williamson, Kissing Jessica Stein‘s Jennifer Westfeldt (as a journalist with ties to Kapoor’s diplomat), and The Starter Wife‘s Chris Diamantopoulos (as President Taylor’s Chief of Staff).