Date of publishing: 13th
April 2007
Morena Baccarin was born in Rio De Janero, Brazil
in 1979, but was raised in New York City. She was
exposed to the world of acting at a very young age
through her mother, Vera Setta, a well-known Brazilian
actress who worked on both stage and television. In
1989, Morena and her family moved to Greenwich Village,
New York. A few years later she attended the Fiorello
H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing
Arts. Upon graduation, she was accepted into the prestigious
Julliard School for the Performing Arts. Morena landed
her first film role in 2001 in the independent film
Perfume, which turned a critical eye on the fashion
business and the lives of those who work in it. The
same year she played the lead role of Rebecca in the
film Way Off Broadway, which garnered rave reviews
and earned Morena the "Best Actress" award
at the Wine Country Film Festival. In 2002, she got
her first television role as Inara Serra on the critically
acclaimed series Firefly. And in 2006, she was offered
the role of Adria in the 10th season of Stargate SG-1
for 5 episodes.
Beware for major spoilers for the second half of season
10
Gilles
Nuytens: Your costumes
on Stargate (and Firefly too!) are incredibly amazing,
how did you feel wearing such cool dresses, is that
a girls dream?
Morena Baccarin: The dresses on Firefly
were very special, most of them were made for me,
to fit my body. I absolutely felt like a princess.
Although, hang out in those costumes for 12 hours
a day and you feel more like a tired princess.
Gilles Nuytens: In
the first episodes you appear in SG-1, you wear yellow
contact lenses, but you don't wear them anymore in
the latest episodes, is there a specific reason for
that?
Morena Baccarin: Well, the real reason
is that they killed my eyes. I tried to wear them
for as long as possible but they really hurt. I had
to see an optometrist who then told me I was not allowed
to wear them. So we were then creative in explaining
why all of a sudden I was back to normal.
Gilles Nuytens: How
aware are you of the fanbase? Do you sometimes look
for feedback on internet?
Morena Baccarin: I'm never really
online searching for that stuff but I do know it's
out there. It's quite humbling to hear about all the
fans and how much people still love the shows. I feel
honored to know that people were and are as passionate
about it as I am.
Gilles Nuytens: What
was your favorite scene from SG-1 and why?
Morena Baccarin: I really like the
scene where Ba'al has me in a cage. I enjoyed shooting
that scene very much. It was fun to play opposite
Cliff and see how the two bad guys interact.
Gilles Nuytens: There
were rumours that Joss Whedon wanted you to play "Wonder
Woman" in the feature movie he was originally
going to produce. Would you have liked the opportunity
to portray this character and what do you feel you
would have brought to the character?
Morena Baccarin: Who wouldn't love
to play Wonder Woman?
Gilles
Nuytens: Can we
expect to see you in the upcoming direct-to-DVD Stargate
movie "The Ark Of Truth"?
Morena Baccarin: We're trying to
work that out right now. I am shooting a tv series
at the same time (called Heartland).
Gilles Nuytens: In
Dominion, Adria makes it to ascension, do you think
that the ascension has made her lose the human part
she has? I mean especially the love she has for her
mother.
Morena Baccarin: I'm not sure what
ascension really entails, I am afterall new to the
series. But my guess would be no. Adria need her human
side to use her evil ways!
Gilles Nuytens: I
was quite surprised by the fate of Adria in Dominion
and I think you didn't expect that either, so before
reading the script, how did you imagine the fate of
Adria? And what do you think of that unexpected turn
for your character?
Morena Baccarin: I honestly had no
idea where it was going, because obviously she couldn't
get what she wanted- world domination. I like where
they took it.
Gilles Nuytens: What
are your other projects, I mean current projects,
upcoming projects, where and when can we expect to
see you again on the screen? And can you speak about
these projects?
Morena Baccarin: I just shot a film
called The Sands of Oblivion. A sort of Indiana Jones
meets The Mummy. And right now I am working on a show
for TNT called Heartland. A doctor show starring Treat
Williams. It begins airing in June.
Gilles Nuytens: Do
you ever feel a little unlucky to be a part of two
very great shows (SG-1 and Firefly) for such a short
period of time through no fault or choice of your
own?
Morena Baccarin: I feel very lucky
and blessed to have worked on such great material
and worked with such great people.
Gilles
Nuytens: What was
your motivation to become an actress; your mother
was also an actress, I assume that this has influenced
your choice? What did she bring to you in a career
perspective?
Morena Baccarin: I grew up around
actors and thought that was what normal people did
for a living. So I guess I was influenced indirectly.
My mother never encouraged me to be an actress, but
never discouraged me. It's certainly nice to have
that support from a parent that knows about the struggles
first hand. I sort of fell into acting though. I started
doing it in high school and totally fell in love with
it.
Gilles Nuytens: Every
actor I know that has played evil characters are quite
happy and have a lot of fun playing their role, do
you think that actors like to be able to cross to
the forbidden behavior, do you think that it can be
considered as some kind of bleed, psychologically
speaking?
Morena Baccarin: I think it's fun
to play evil because it is purely creative. You have
to put yourself in situations that are fantastical
and that you normally wouldn't be in. So you have
to use the imagination and there is usually a lot
of room to play.
Gilles Nuytens: I
think everybody will agree that you are a very attractive
woman, did you ever consider doing some modelling
work?
Morena Baccarin: Thank you. I toyed
around with the idea when I was a teenager but I had
a problem with trying to be too skinny. I like to
eat. A lot. The lifestyle also doesn't appeal to me.
Gilles Nuytens: I
know by personal experience that the people on the
sets of Stargate are really nice, very welcoming,
so can you speak about how they welcomed you, how
was it to be a newcomer on a show that has existed
for so long? Who was the most welcoming?
Morena Baccarin: Everybody was sweet.
They all told me watch out for Chris. Just Kidding.
They were all nice. Everyone did what they could to
make me feel welcome. Claudia Black had just had her
baby, so I spent a lot of time in her trailer playing
with her son, and on weekends when I felt all alone
in Vancouver she invited me to her house for play
dates. It was sweet.
Gilles
Nuytens: Quite similar
question, what was your best memory being on the sets
of Stargate? Any story you'd like to share?
Morena Baccarin: I had a particularly
hard time shooting the scene where I die and ascend
(is that how you spell it?). Claudia who was in the
scene with me helped me a lot, but Michael Shanks
watched from the monitors and also helped by giving
me some tips on how to die better. I thought that
was really sweet. I had never done this kind of acting
before and it was nice to know that they had my back.
Gilles Nuytens: If
I am right, you didn't audition for Stargate, they
offered you the role, so can you speak about how that
happened?
Morena Baccarin: I think they probably
have more info on that than me. I got a phone call
from my agent saying they offered me the role of Adria.
I assumed it was because they were fans of Firefly,
since they had already worked with Jewel and Adam
I believe.
Gilles Nuytens: In
1 or 2 words, how would you describe your co-stars
from Stargate?
Morena Baccarin: Sweet professionals.
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