Date
of publishing: 25th January 2006
Rachel Luttrell was born in Tanzania and moved to Canada with
her family at the age of five. Her mother is from Lushoto,
Tanzania, and her father is a Louisiana native of British
descent. Her classical studies included ballet (she trained
at The Russian Academy of Classical Ballet) and music (she
plays the piano and sings, having been trained at the Royal
Conservatory of Music in Toronto and by her father). Rachel
got the role of Teyla in Stargate Atlantis where she learned
martial artsfor the role. We had the opportunity to hear her
voice talent in a recent episode "Critical Mass"
(SGA 2x13). The Scifi World had the opportunity to speak with
Rachel about this episode and more. Gilles
Nuytens: Well, let’s
begin by talking about yourself.
We don’t know much about you, in fact. Rachel
Luttrell: Let’s see, I don’t even know
where to begin. I was born in East Africa, in Tanzania. My
mom is Tanzanian, and I guess that means I am as well.My father
is from Louisiana, and I have 3 sisters, two of my other sisters
were also born in Tanzania. I grew up in Toronto, Canada,
where I started performing, doing television in the beginning,
and a then lot of stage as well. Fairly recently I moved to
Los Angeles, because I’m also an American Citizen and
started working in Los Angeles, and somehow managed to persuade
the rest of my family to move to California. So now they’re
all happily in the warmth. Then I moved here for the show.
I did a lot of dancing when I was younger, and that’s
pretty much how I started in the performing arts. And then
started singing, everyone in my family sings. It was just
natural. I just always wanted to be a performer. So that’s
little bit of me in a nutshell.
Gilles
Nuytens: What
do you do in your free time?
Rachel Luttrell: Oh my goodness. Well,
right now I’m training like crazy in my free time.
I’m up here and I’m working with a personal
trainer who is also a martial artist, and I’m working
with a couple of other people up here who are skilled in
various martial arts, particularly the one we use in the
show. So a lot of my free time is taken up with that, but
also I love to go see movies, I’m a movie freak.
Gilles Nuytens: What
kind of movies?
Rachel Luttrell: Pretty much any kind.
The only ones that I stay away from is horror. I can’t
see it. I have far too good an imagination, and I carry
it home with me. So, any other type of movie I really enjoy.
I just recently saw MatchPoint, the Woody Allen movie, for
the second time actually, I enjoyed that one. But I try
to see as many of the new releases as possible. I also enjoy
reading. My family, they are big readers in my family and
they kind of instilled that on us. Aside from that I’ve
got this adorable doggy of mine, we go for walks, and we
go for jogs, and we go for hikes, and I hang out with friends,
and I like to cook, and lots of things.
Gilles Nuytens: Do
you already practice martial arts before Stargate?
Rachel Luttrell: No, I didn’t. As
I said, most of my physical training in the past has been
dancing, and no, I had never done any martial arts whatsoever.
When I got up here, our stunt coordinator, whose name is
James Bamford, I was introduced to him, and he saw I had
an athletic form, so he decided he would start teaching
me the basics of a martial art, called KALI, which is a
martial art out of the Philippines. That was my very first
introduction to it. When he showed it to me originally,
I was quite concerned because it looked like something I
would never be able to do, but I practice, and practice,
and practice. I think because of my dance training, it’s
a little bit easier for me to pick up the choreography.
I break it down as if it were a dance when we are doing
fight sequences, and that is how I learn it. I’m learning
more, but I was a novice when I started.
Gilles
Nuytens:
Do you like to do Marital arts?
Rachel Luttrell: I really do. Yeah, I do,
I’m a physical person, I like to be physical, and
I like to keep my body strong, and any other physical activity
that I can do, I always embrace. It’s been very very
interesting, I’ve gotten to meet quite a few interesting
people, and learn about different martial arts disciplines,
their background , their history, and philosophy. It’s
been quite fascinating. I do enjoy it quite a bit.
Gilles Nuytens: I
saw the last Stargate, where you sing.
Rachel Luttrell: Oh, you’ve seen
that? I haven’t seen that episode, I think I might
be watching it this evening. My parents called me, they
are my biggest fans, and they liked it. I’m glad that
you enjoyed it. I do like to sing, I definitely do, it’s
something that I’d like to do more of.
Gilles Nuytens: It
was one of my favorite scenes of the season.
Rachel Luttrell: Ahhh, thank you so much,
that really makes me feel good.
Gilles Nuytens: I
didn’t know you could sing so well.
Rachel Luttrell: I love to sing.
Gilles Nuytens: The
music of Joel Goldsmith, it was really perfect.
Rachel Luttrell: Ahh, thank you very much.
Gilles Nuytens: The
scene, you must see it, it’s really emotional.
Rachel Luttrell: Yes, absolutely, that
particular episode was really wonderful...
Gilles Nuytens: It’s
one of my favorites of the season in fact. Especially this
scene.
Rachel Luttrell: Oh, thank you, that really
does mean a lot. I appreciate that. I’m glad you enjoyed
it. I look forward to be seeing it. Sometimes I don’t
watch the episodes, because I don’t necessarily like
watching myself. But yeah, I will watch that. I’m
glad that you enjoyed it.
Gilles
Nuytens: Did you work
with Joel Goldsmith for that scene? Or how did that happen?
Rachel Luttrell: I did, yes I did. They
flew me to Los Angeles twice. I had a few conversations
with him over the phone about the feel of the piece, what
I had envisioned, what he had envisioned, and we came to
a common ground. I had a lot of fun working with him. It
was really exciting, because we built the song from the
ground up, put various instrumentation to it, and discussed
how we wanted the song to feel. It was really, really good.
The funny thing is, I flew to Los Angeles and recorded the
song with him, then immediately flew back to continue shooting
in Vancouver. Then one of my producers, John Smith, came
up to me on the set, and said, Rachel, we’re going
to have to fly you back to Los Angeles to re-record the
song because it sounds too good. So they then sent me back
to Los Angeles to rerecord it and to not to make it sound
quite as polished. That’s what we ended up with. It
was a very interesting experience working in a sound booth,
and working beside the composer, the musicians and what
have you. There is a lot that goes into recording a song,
but I really did enjoy working with him.
Gilles Nuytens: Who
came up with the idea for you to sing?
Rachel Luttrell: I did, because I love
to sing, and it was always something that I thought we would
be able to use in terms of a link her people, to Teyla’s
people. It would be very interesting, kind of a historic
look into who her people are, and their beliefs. I went
and I talked to Brad Wright about it, and how I thought
song and dance have been historically used for funerals
and grief, and spiritual purposes, in various different
cultures. I thought it would be an interesting way to incorporate
it, and also to get to know a little bit more about the
assertions. Which I’m always anxious to learn more
about, Teyla's history and their people. (Brad) was game,
and incorporated it. Something that I brought forth.
Gilles Nuytens: Are
we going to hear another song soon?
Rachel Luttrell: I don’t know, I
don’t know how keen they're going to be write it.
We shall see, I hope so, but I don’t imagine it’s
something that we are going to see a lot of. I certainly
hope that we do some more of it.
Gilles
Nuytens: We have seen
a lot of backstory for Sheppard and McKay, but not for Teyla.
We know a bit of her past, but not a lot about her personality.
Rachel Luttrell: I’m so anxious and
excited about really looking into her past, why she became
the leader, how she really feels about it, who are her relatives,
where are they, what happened to her father and mother,
and does she have siblings. I mean there is so much that
we could dive into, and hopefully will. I take my hat off
to the writers, its tricky for them because they have a
lot of pressures that they have to cater to, and I think
that although she presents many wonderful possibilities,
she also is maybe a little more difficult to write for because
there are endless possibilities for her. Where do we begin,
whereas some of the other characters, it’s a little
more easy to write for them because the writers can obviously
think, Ok, they are from Earth, their history is similar
to something that I would understand. Their sense of humor
is something that perhaps mirrors me, so yeah, I’m
hoping that this year there will be a bit more. I’m
going to be up in the office more this year, talking to
(the writers), helping them with ideas!
Gilles Nuytens: Do
you have an idea on how your character will evolve in Season
3?
Rachel Luttrell: Yes, absolutely, part
of that I will keep as my own little secret, but I have
certain ideas about why she is the way she is, how she was
influenced in her past, and what she hopes for. Yeah absolutely,
that informs how I portray her. I’m hoping that we
get to see a lot more of that on screen. I do have a good
sense of who she is, and why she is the way she is.
Gilles Nuytens: Do
you already know something about your role in Season 3?
Rachel Luttrell: No, you know what, I don’t.
We haven’t received the first scripts yet, and we
start shooting in a little less than a month now. I was
just out the other day with one of our writers, Martin Gero,
who is a wonderful writer on the show, and who is a really
good friend of mine. No, he didn’t tell me anything,
I’m not really sure where we are going to go, or how
we are going to proceed, but I’m excited. I hope they
are open to ideas, as well, and most of the time they are.
Our writers and producers are quite open to any ideas we
might have, or hopes where we see the character going. But
I don’t know, I don’t know what the season is
going to bring. Hopefully good things.
Gilles Nuytens: What
influenced you to become an actress instead of a singer
or a dancer?
Rachel Luttrell: I’ve always considered
myself to be kind of all of the above. I guess I was most
drawn to the art of acting because of storytelling, and
because I’m such a fan of movies and the theatre,
and naturally there is some good television out there as
well, but I love telling stories. But I also love telling
stories thru my singing as well. I put one foot in front
of the other and see where life takes me, and at this point
this is where I am. But who knows, maybe in a few years,
I might be singing more, I don’t know. I certainly
love to perform, I love to incorporate different characters
and tell different stories.
Gilles
Nuytens: Incorporating
the 3 things you like at once, to dance, to sing, and to
act.
Rachel Luttrell: They are called triple
threats here, if you can do it all. I wouldn’t say
I’m the most amazing dancer in the world certainly,
because there are dancers so amazing and skilled. When I
was dancing professionally, I was always able to get by,
but I never really considered myself to be the most polished.
It’s something that I really love to do, and that
I think I can get away with, but I’m certainly not...
I can’t think of the female equivalent. Baryshnikov,
he is absolutely amazing. But I do love it, it’s just
a completely different art. Telling stories through music
and through your physicality, it’s beautiful.
I love it.
Gilles Nuytens: What
do you like the most in Teyla?
Rachel Luttrell: Her mystery. What I love
is her mystery, her untold story and depth. I think she
has so much depth, whether it be compassion, or, I love
that there is so much yet to be discovered about her, and
that she is just brimming with possibility and intrigue
and that makes me very excited. When I auditioned for her,
that is what drew me to her. That there is so much sadness
in her life, and so much that is different (in her) from
our own sensibility. And that makes me excited about playing
her.
Gilles Nuytens: Some
people see the beginning of a relationship between Ronan
and Teyla. What’s your opinion on that?
Rachel Luttrell: I don’t know, we
shall see. I don’t think that that’s invalid.
The two characters are definitely drawn to each other, because
out of all the characters, they share the most in common.
That they are of the same place, and do have a similar history.
And they do have a similar way of surviving, or have been
surviving in the past. I think they share a respect for
each other. Who knows, in the beginning it was a bit more
of a brother-sister thing, I think. That she is just trying
to keep Ronan in line, but we shall see. Maybe that’s
what’s in store for this next season.
Gilles Nuytens: There
was also something between Sheppard and Teyla, but we haven’t
seen much in season two except that kiss.
Rachel Luttrell: I know, our writers haven’t
taken…
Gilles Nuytens: How
could this evolve?
Rachel Luttrell: I think that Teyla sees
something in Sheppard, and is very comfortable with him,
and puts a lot of trust in him, and I would love to see
there be some sort of romance for Teyla, I think she needs
it. I think it’s interesting for the show.
Gilles Nuytens: In
TV shows, when there's a woman in the main cast, there's
often a romance between her and someone else.
Rachel Luttrell: Yes, I think they have
been hinting at it, I don’t know whether it’s
going to be one of our main characters, it could be somebody
from her past. But I like that. I think it’s good
it helps to deepen the character.
Gilles Nuytens: What’s
the funniest thing that has happened to you on the set of
Stargate?
Rachel Luttrell: The funniest thing, oh,
yes, many, many funny things. I always tell my friends,
and my family members that I love going to work because
I end up laughing virtually every day. I know, its just
so wonderful because we all get along so well, and we have
a wonderful group of people. Our cast, as well as our crew
and directors, and there’s always some mischief or
some foolishness going on that makes the day really funny.
I can’t think of one particular moment.
Gilles
Nuytens: Who is the guy
who is the most funny?
Rachel Luttrell: It would be David, David
Hewlett, he’s got a very sharp quick wit about him.
He’s constantly making jokes of things, and turning
moments that could be really, really difficult into pure
hilarity. He is constantly teasing me. If I’m in his
view then I am being teased by him. And most of the time
it's very funny. I’d point my finger at David, and
say that he is definitely the one.
Gilles Nuytens: What
was the most challenging scene you did in Stargate?
Rachel Luttrell: There have been so many
challenges. I will say this about bringing Teyla to life,
she presents so many challenges, but one of the biggest
ones to me is that she is meant to be human, but is meant
to be other worldy from a different galaxy. So there has
to be something about her that sets her apart, though she
is human. That was a particularly interesting challenge
for me when I started to portray her to make sure there
was always that balance, the fact that she was human, but
she’s different. And then the second largest challenge,
to me was learning the martial arts and starting to incorporate
that into who Teyla is. The physicality of that was also
challenging. But both of those have added to my enjoyment
of portraying her. They were two things that I had to surmount,
but I’m still finessing them but when it comes to
the physical element.
I’ll share this funny (story), or I think it’s
funny, the day we shot the kiss, it was a day when my parents
happened to be up visiting me from Los Angeles. They had
come up for a few days and they wanted to be on set. (So)
they were there front and center, and even though I love
them and they are so supportive, it was very very nerve-wracking,
and it was a particularly challenging scene to shoot because
it was a fight sequence that ended up in a kiss, and my
parents were right there watching every moment, so that
that was a unique situation...
Gilles Nuytens: What
did they think about the scene?
Rachel Luttrell: They thought it was great,
they were champions of it, they thought it went wonderully
well. They thought Joe looked great. They’re big fans.
They were happy, they were pleased.
Gilles Nuytens: Would
you be interested in writing a script focused on Teyla?
Rachel Luttrell: Yes, I would be interested,
I have many ideas, in terms of story, so yes I would be
interested. At the moment what I’m more interested
in doing (is) my own writing, I love to write and always
have. I’m struggling between whether or not I’m
going to write a novel, or write a feature film, but it
will be separate from Stargate, something else that feeds
me creatively. I will certainly come up with story ideas
and bring them to our writers, and who knows, maybe one
day write something. I also think It's important to make
sure that you are constantly creative in terms of other
stories, and other possibilities, so that’s what I
do when I write on my own.
Gilles
Nuytens:
Do you have some ideas for Stargate?
Rachel Luttrell: Yes, absolutely I do.
Gilles Nuytens:
Can you speak about one of them?
Rachel Luttrell: Yes, I suppose I could.
I have an idea about a relative, a family member that Teyla
thought was dead, and isn’t, and encounters a difficult
situation, and this relative, who ever they may end up being,
somehow has turned against her, and has become a bit of
a nemesis in a way. But I think it will be able to delve
a little bit more into her past and history. I’m a
little bit vague about it, but that’s one of the ideas
I have.
Gilles Nuytens: Why
don’t you suggest this to the writers?
Rachel Luttrell: Yes, I will. I will absolutely,
I promise you. I’m actually heading to the studios
shortly, so I may actually throw them that idea.
Gilles Nuytens: I'll
look forward to that.
Rachel Luttrell: You may end up seeing
this year, who knows.
Gilles Nuytens: Do
you know something about the fans opinion of Teyla?
Rachel Luttrell: No, I don’t go online,
and I don’t look into that. I tend to stay away from
that. I do entirely, I completely stay away from that. The
only way I know, (is through) our writers (who) tend to
follow that, and are interested in it. I get fan mail, and
do get input through that but other than that, I really
don’t go through it. I just hope that when I shoot
what I do, and if I feel good about it, then I leave it
at that, and I hope that it translates in the editing room,
and that people enjoy it. But I don’t read about what
people think.
Gilles Nuytens: Do
you sometimes see your colleagues on SG-1?
Rachel Luttrell: Yes, I do. I see a lot
of Amanda, and I see a lot of Chris and Michael in particular.
Actually, Amanda’s husband is going to be helping
me with a home project. He’s going to help me build
a deck off the back of my house. So that’s lovely.
And Chris has been wonderfully supportive in the past. I’ve
been involved with him, he’s put together a calendar,
called the women of sci-fi calendar, and I’m in that.
But, I do see them, not as often as you would think, even
though we are shooting on the same lot, but we are starting
to spend time together when we are not working as well.
They are a good group of people.
Gilles
Nuytens: What are you
the most proud of in your life, or your career?
Rachel Luttrell: I think what I’m
most proud of is my relationship to my friends and my family.
I'm most proud of that. I think I’m a good friend,
and I think I’m a good person. I have a lot of people
in my life who I care about and who care about me. Hopefully
I’m a good person, and that’s what I’m
most proud of. In terms of my career, I’m most proud
that I have continued to pursue my dream, and that I’m
able to do what I love to do. Not lot of people can do that.
I am quite fortunate in that I have a vision of what I want
in my life, and my career. I’m able to live it and
continue to pursue it, and that makes me very happy, and
very proud, and I figure I must be doing something right.
Gilles Nuytens: Outside
of Stargate, do you have other projects?
Rachel Luttrell: Yes, it’s a little
difficult since I started working on Stargate. Our hiatus
is itself at a time when it’s a little bit difficult
to get other work, and what I usually ended up doing over
the past few seasons is spending time with my family who
I don’t get a chance to see that often, and with friends.
But I’m hoping that this year, I will be doing other
things, and that’s certainly something that I want
to do. To be able to dive into different characters, tell
different stories, and I’ve acquired a new agent,
and hopefully we are both of the same mind and on board
to do other things.
Gilles Nuytens: Thank
you very much!
Rachel Luttrell: You have been a lovely,
oh my goodness what time is it there?
Gilles Nuytens: It’s
near midnight.
Rachel Luttrell: Oh my gosh go to bed,
you’ve been lovely, and I’ll look forward to
talking to you again.
Talk
about this interview on the forum
|