Date
of publishing: 24th July 2005
Morris Chapdelaine, his name is maybe not much known but
in fact, Morris is the asgard puppeteer on both Stargate
SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis. He is also an actor and played
the alien "Tenat" in "Prometheus Unbound"
and in some episodes of Stargate SG-1 season 9 such as 9x04
"The Ties That Bind".
Gilles Nuytens: Hello
Morris. First, could you tell us about yourself, who you
are, what you are doing?
Morris Chapdelaine: I am an actor and puppeteer
living and working in Vancouver, British Columbia. I have
been here for 8 years and have had the honor to work on
many feature films and televsion shows including Smallville,
Andromeda, Battlestar Gallactica, Scary Movie 3, Slither,
and others. My favorite project has always been Stargate
and I have worked as an actor and puppeteer in over 10 episodes
Gilles Nuytens: You
worked as a puppeteer on both Stargate shows, could you
describe us what it is like and how you approach it?
Morris Chapdelaine: Puppeteering on the
Stargate shows is always exciting and quite a challenge.
We are a team of four people working to bring one Asgard
to life, so it is vital that we can work as a team. We are
given rehearsal days so that we can 'choreograph' distinct
personality and physical traits for each Asgard. As a lead
puppeteer, I operate the mouth and speak for the character
on set opposite the other actors.It still always amazes
me that our fellow actors can be so drawn in by the puppet
that they forget there are so many of us bringing it to
life.
Gilles Nuytens: You
studied Drama arts at the University of Alberta, how did
you end up being a puppeteer on Stargate?
Morris Chapdelaine: After moving to Vancouver,
I began to audition for many shows and slowly started to
establish myself as a credible actor. I had done some puppeteering
work at home in Edmonton, and I made that knowledge known
to people I was working with at the time, including special
effects make-up artist and fellow puppeteer Todd Masters.
Within a few seasons I found myself apprencticing and then
moving into more challenging roles with the puppets. As
a busy voice over artist, I was always doing the lines on
set for the Asgards, so it was a natural progression to
begin puppeteering work.
Gilles Nuytens: I
assume you are in charge of the Asgard's puppet seen in
the second season of Atlantis. We are already aware that
his personnality is different from Thor's and that he will
be a technician on the Daedalus ship. His name would be
Hermiod or Hermoid... could you tell us a little more about
him?
Morris Chapdelaine: Hermiod is a blast
to do! He is a bit of a younger, edgier clone of Thor, and
he has no qualms about pushing his weight and great knowledge
around. He also has a bit of a frisky edge, and is known
to take on a few 'select' human traits. You may notice him
at times, grumbling Asgard profanities under his breath
when he gets pissed off about something. He appeared in
the first two episodes of Atlantis, season 2, and will be
returning for another episode very soon...I really think
the audience and fans will love him
Gilles Nuytens: You
worked in several departements of the TV business, such
as actor, puppeteer or even producer. Which aspects did
you prefer in each of them?
Morris Chapdelaine: I have always been
an actor and that is my first love, but I have used my new
connections to allow me to produce independant productions
and to tell stories that I needed to tell. Being a member
of the booming film and television community here, I found
it necessary and important to be versatile and work in any
capacity that I was able. Puppeteering is great for an actor,
especially if you have a theatrical background like I do.
Gilles Nuytens: What
is you best memory on the Stargate set?
Morris Chapdelaine: There are really so
many. The first time I worked with Amanda Tapping she was
so warm and giving and made it very easy to get the work
done. The show has a very talented and dedicated cast as
well as directors/writers so its always fun. I have especially
enjoyed playing Tenat over the last few seasons as he is
quite complex in his ridiculous simplicity. I have a feeling
we'll be seeing more of him as well.
Gilles Nuytens: Do
you have an anecdote related to the set to share with us?
Morris Chapdelaine: There are many funny
stories from set, but what I find especially entertaining
is how our puppet, although a lot of work for the crew,
is so much fun for them. We end up with a lot of different
nick-names and questions about how he works and jokes about
some of what he gets to do. He actually has his own stand-in,
which is a cardboard cut out, and over the years people
have added little features to it, like a cigarette in his
mouth, underwear, names tags, and things like that. We also
end up with some great out takes, especially during rehearsal.we
have hours of tape of him singing songs and telling dirty
jokes, and when I miss a line, I keep speaking as an Asgard
and ask for another take or for a coffee. We have shared
some nice kisses as well with the gorgeous girls on the
show.
Gilles Nuytens: How
would you describe the work you do with an Asgard? What
exactly is it you are doing?
Morris Chapdelaine: As I said above, I
am in charge of operating his mouth and jaw and speaking
for him on set.it allows me to be a 'real' actor opposite
the rest of the cast so that they have something tangiable
to work off of. We have someone else on his eyes and brows,
someone on his head and someone on his arms and body. At
times we all work together on the body to have an Asgard
move about the ship and control some of his working station.
Gilles Nuytens: You
portrayed the alien Tenat' in two episodes of Stargate SG-1,
whose one of them hasn't been aired yet. Your character's
role on the show in 'Prometheus unbound' did seem to be
a one shot performance, could tell us more about his return
in the 9th season?
Morris Chapdelaine: Well, I don't want
to give too much away, but lets just say that he has some
'unfinished business' with a certain character, and he want
to get revenge, and to get back what is truly his.
Gilles Nuytens: You've
been both working on SG-1 and Atlantis, was it different?
How would you describe both atmospheres?
Morris Chapdelaine: The only difference
is the cast and crew, otherwise most of the writers, producers
and directors are the same. We share studio space and there
is other cross-over from show to show, so it really feels
the same. SG1 is a family that has been together for a long
time, and Atlantis is like the kid brother. Its exciting
to be able to work on both and to see how the stories weave
together.
Gilles Nuytens: You
will soon work for two new episodes, one on SG-1 and the
other one on Atlantis, what will it be about?
Morris Chapdelaine: Well, on Atlantis,
we are back on the Daedelus with Hermiod and we have to
utilize some Asgard technology to get out of a bind.as usual,
it's a risky operation. On SG1 we will be introducing a
brand new Asgard character. His name is Kvasir, and he's
very well written. I don't think he's had a lot of human
contact and he gets frustrated with some of the crew. They
have lent a powerful weapon to SG1, and Kvasir needs to
make sure its used properly.
Gilles Nuytens: On
your resume we can notice your work mainly gravitated around
SCI-FI productions, is it your favourite genre? Are you
a fan of Stargate?
Morris Chapdelaine: Sci-fi has always been
fun for me to do. It just happens that a lot of that kind
of work is shot here in Vancouver, and an actor/puppeteer
needs to do what's in his own back yard, so to speak. I
am a fan of the shows.of course. I don't get a lot of time
to watch TV, so I see a lot of it on DVD.
Gilles Nuytens: You
started your career on stage, do you carry on with your
theatre career at the same time?
Morris Chapdelaine: Id love to do more
theatre, but at this point in my life, I am too busy to.
Perhaps if the right play came along, and I had enough time
between gigs, but at present, if I am not shooting tv or
film , I am trying to produce more of my own work, so it
keeps me quite occupied.
Gilles Nuytens: Many
thanks for this interview, I wish you the best for the future
and hope to see you in the upcoming seasons!
Morris Chapdelaine: I am working on a documentary
this weekend called 'The Science of Stargate', hosted by
Amanada Tapping. Keep an eye out for it...its a great script!
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