Actor Steve Bacic is a true veteran of Canadian film and television, with more than 170 roles across a career that spans more than three decades (and counting!).
Science fiction fans might know him best as Gaheris Rhade on Gene Roddenberry’s Andromeda, where he recurred for three seasons before joining the cast full time in Season Four as Telemachus, his own descendent (and Nietzschean doppelganger). But he’s also had roles on everything from The Outer Limits and The X-Files to X2: X-Men United, The 100, and Smallville.
Stargate fans know Steve best as the System Lord Camulus, featured in a string of episodes early in SG-1‘s eighth season. But the smarmy and calculating Goa’uld actually wasn’t his first role on the show. In the early seasons he played Major Coburn, an S.G.C. officer and team commander usually assigned off-world Stargate guard duty.
We caught up with Steve at Gatecon: The Invasion, and are excited to finally bring this one to you! The actor talks about his multiple roles on Stargate and Andromeda, and how the Vancouver acting scene has evolved over the course of his career.
Amaterasu (Kira Clavell), Camulus (Steve Bacic), and Yu (Vince Crestejo) visit Earth. From “New Order”
GateWorld: Steve Bacic, I’m super excited to talk to you today! I’ve been watching your stuff for years. You’re one of these Vancouver actors who is in a little bit of everything. I started watching you with Andromeda. Can you take us back to those days first, and what the Vancouver acting scene was like then compared to now?
Steve Bacic: Well, before Andromeda — the industry is changing so much over these last 10 years. When I first started in the business it was 21 Jump Street, Wiseguy, Booker, Cobra. Cannell Studios, which is now North Shore Studios, was huge. All the networks — ABC, NBC, CBS movies of the week, that was basically our bread and butter.
And there were a few shows I ended up doing out in Toronto. During that time I’d met one of the executive producers for Andromeda, although Andromeda wasn’t ready to go yet. I believe the show was called Earth: Final Conflict — I did a guest star on that.
GW: That was also a Gene Roddenberry show.
SB: Exactly, yeah. So I did a guest star on that, and met the executive on that, and then when Andromeda was coming up I got the pilot … but unfortunately they killed me! And they were like, “It’s too bad we killed you! We’d love to have you back.” And I suggested, “Well, I could always be my own clone.” And they kind of laughed it off. And I came back a couple of flashbacks.
Steve Bacic as Gaheris Rhade and Kevin Sorbo as Dylan Hunt in Gene Roddenberry’s Andromeda
I got laughed at for suggesting it, but it literally happened three and a half years later — Season 4 and Season 5 I became, not a replacement for Tyr [Anasazi, played by Keith Hamilton Cobb], but my own character descended 300 years later to the Rhade character. It’s a funny business.
GW: So the original Rhade —
SB: Gaheris —
GW: He was this pivotal role in the setup for the show, with his betrayal story.
SB: Exactly, that’s what it was. And you come to find it was betrayal for the right reasons. He stood for principle, and he felt the situation needed a mutiny in essence to save the universe. His heart was in the right place, and he ended up dying for it.
There’s so many times I’ve done shows — for example I did The 100, and I was doing the ADR looping for the episode I’d done, and my character … they were like, “I wish we didn’t have to kill you, because we want to keep you around.” I was a Grounder. But this was Clarke’s “baptism in blood” — I was her first kill. And it was necessary for that character to continue. It was the catalyst, and the loss of innocence. So it’s one of those things where you go, “OK.”
Bacic returned to Andromeda as his character’s descendant, Telemachus Rhade.
But with Andromeda it was one of those that came back. We have the opportunity in sci-fi to do that.
GW: The death serves a really important purpose to the plot.
SB: Yeah, and I believe it was my second gig. I had done a Jump Street — that was my first. And then I got a guest star on something called Street Justice with Carl Weathers back in the day, and I believe it was Bryan Genesse. My character was recurring, and Selma Hayek played my young, pregnant, teenage bride. And it was a toss-up between me and this other guy that were going to stick around and become part of this loose “justice team.” There’s a cop, there’s a martial artist, and there’s an ex-gang member.
It ended up that one of the gang members had to die … and that was me! And that’s not one you recover from. So then the other gang member went on, and I believe they did two seasons. I believe it was Marcus Chong, [Tommy Chong’s] kid, from Cheech & Chong. That was a long time ago!
Alex Zahara was talking [at the convention] about how many different ways he’s died. It’s just what you do, and sometimes it works out. A lot of people from Battlestar Galactica got great gigs from that — that show grew, and they were day players initially and the characters grew. You just never know. They became a pretty intricate part of the show.
Telemachus Rhade and Trance Gemini (Laura Bertram) in Gene Roddenberry’s Andromeda
GW: You certainly played the Rhades differently. Gaheris and Telemachus are really different guys.
SB: Yeah, Gaheris was definitely by the book, stiffer than stiff. Efficiency. Telemachus did start in the same vein, and then he has an awakening of the reality of the harshness of the universe, and is just pretty much ready to … if he dies, he dies. It wasn’t about survival any more, whereas his initial Nietzschean thing is “survive at all cost.” And when he became reckless he probably became more efficient at what he did, the crazier he got!
So it was a lot of fun making that shift. They actually told me at one point, “You need to stop drinking so much!” — as the character — “Don’t be reaching for the flask as much as you do.” Because I wanted him to be drunk the whole time. It was a lot of fun to play with.
GW: I love that show. But … we’re here at a Stargate convention! I want to say Season Three was when we got the first Major Coburn appearances. Were you on earlier than Season Three?
Major Coburn sees Oma Desala approaching the Stargate. From “Maternal Instinct”
SB: I don’t think so. There’s one I did where I’m guarding the gate …
GW: “Maternal Instinct,” you’re guarding the Stargate.
SB: Yeah. Richard Dean Anderson’s car keys … I had those. He said, “Hold these for me.” I said, “Alright, I’ll park it near the gate!” That’s what we did. He tipped me well, though! Before I did the Camulus stint I had Coburn.
GW: The show was pretty young at that point. It wasn’t necessary the mainstay in the Vancouver film scene that it would become yet, was it?
SB: No, but it was one of those things that you had to get on. As an actor you’re like, OK, everyone’s working on this show Stargate. And it was one of those that was quite elusive to me. I think I had gone out for it quite a few times, for some of the really well-known characters. I could see now that that just wasn’t the right fit.
GW: Can you share who you auditioned for?
SB: Teal’c.
GW: Yeah, they were auditioning all ethnicities for Teal’c …
Jack O’Neill leads Camulus to the Stargate. From “Zero Hour”
SB: They were. And then there were probably a half-dozen auditions before I landed anything. And I could tell you honestly I messed up quite a few of them, not really understanding what they were looking for in this show. I’m surprised they ever brought me back in the room. I’ve learned a lot!
GW: So the show goes on, it has five years on Showtime and makes the jump to SCI FI Channel. And then it just keeps going — it gets renewed, and renewed, and renewed. And now we get to Season Eight of the show. We get to the introduction of Camulus and a bunch of new System Lords. And you get the call! Was it surprising, because they’d already used you?
SB: Yeah, again with the pool [of talent in Vancouver] and the size of the part prior to [Camulus] they were OK with it. Every show is different. There are certain shows that will not — like Supernatural, for example. I did a role, I think it was called “Dr. Sexy.” It wasn’t a huge guest star, but it was funny, it was memorable. So now, even though they’ve reused a lot of different actors, they’re having a very difficult time bringing me back in for that. I mean I’ve read for them, they like me, I like them …
GW: It’s just that the character was so memorable.
SB: It was just memorable, yeah. My hair was really long and I had the beard. But even if I go in clean-cut they still remember it. So that’s one of those cursed ones, where you’re kind of happy to take the work … but I probably should have held out a little bit.
But with Camulus, I don’t even know if I had a callback for that. I believe I just kind of got it. I had auditioned for it …
GW: There are some people in the Vancouver community where casting just knew, and they kept them in their back pocket because they knew they wanted to use them for the right role down the line.
SB: Yeah. There’s definitely that sometimes. But I guess after a year or two or three working with the executives, and knowing what they want, then the casting definitely has a better idea. Especially if they’ve auditioned these actors before. But a lot of the time it really depends on the mood of the person in the room — you never know when it’s going to work out for you. The ones you think you stink, you get — and the ones you think you blew them away, then they shake your hand and they’ll never call you back. It’s that kind of business.
So that kind of feedback isn’t something you can count on. It doesn’t affect your pocketbook, that’s for sure. But me personally, I try to enjoy the process and not worry about the job. If I’m worried about the job I won’t do a good audition, I won’t perform. This is my opportunity to give them my version of what they’ve given me.
Sci-fi was a big part of my career for a while, and then it just became drama and everything else. So it’s interesting, how you just go through these different phases.
Steve Bacic led his own series as Miro Da Silva in The Guard (2008), alongside Claudette Mink, Jeremy Guilbaut, and future Dark Matter actress Zoie Palmer.
GW: I remember writing a news story on GateWorld, just reporting on this new show called The Guard. That was a show you spent more time on than just a couple of episodes here and there.
SB: I was one of the leads in that show. We did like 22 episodes, and it was a lot of fun. I had a good roll going with some of the Canadian networks, and then they hired me for something called Cra$h & Burn. Previously it was Lawyers, Guns and Money. And then they wanted me for something else, and then I got something on HBO. And I literally had three shows that were willing to use me at the same time — one in L.A., one in Vancouver, and one in Toronto.
I was trying to be a good guy, and I said no to the one in Vancouver because it was going to be too difficult for them to book around me. Dumbest move I made! [Laughter] Because that was a Canadian network, and I should have stuck with them … because they were consistent. And they were really good projects! I had a lot of fun with those characters. Working for HBO was a good thing, too.
GW: How do you prepare to be a System Lord?
SB: Well, fortunately for something like that you’ve got something to look at in comparison. It’s been done in the movie, and you’ve got other characters …
GW: Are there any of the Goa’uld in particular that informed that take?
The System Lords arrive at Stargate Command. From “New Order, Part 1”
SB: Just the essence of a “god.” That’s what you go with — the feeling of a god, but really it’s just another form of sentient being that happens to be a bit more evolved than the humans that they’re dealing with. So it’s almost like, as I would equate it to, not necessarily a “good” master to a puppy — we’re just a little more smart than you! We’re just a little bit all-knowing and whatever. That arrogance you would equate to that.
That’s a pretty bad metaphor, because I like puppies! But maybe like you’ve got an ant farm or something like that. Literally, “you’re insignificant.” So that relationship is insignificant — “I don’t know why we don’t just [wipe you out].” But the irony is that they don’t really have that. There is a greater power than them that controls our destinies.
GW: Does anything stand out in your memory from shooting those early Season Eight episodes with Camulus?
SB: Great boots! He had great boots. The costume was awesome.
GW: You did a lot with Rick [Richard Dean Anderson].
SB: I really enjoyed it. I would have loved to be able to develop the character a little bit more. Because he was really a coward, and a pompous motherf–ker coward that when challenged was just a sniveling “make a deal, any deal” to save his own hide. And it would have been fun to torture him a little bit more, you know what I mean?
Jack and Camulus at the Stargate. From “Zero Hour”
It was fun. Rick had a really good sense of humor with it. He’s a character I would have loved to see humbled a little bit more.
GW: Camulus seemed like one of those characters who doesn’t necessarily believe that he’s a god — like he knows that this is all a ruse they’re pulling on the humans that they rule. And he’s just a player — he’s trying to get his.
SB: Right. Because obviously there’s other System Lords … and again, I would think that there’s some form of an order that they have, that these are the boundaries where you can go to (and don’t go past these). I think he’s definitely one that would go past that boundary and try not to get caught. Definitely exploitive, and “If I do have to deal with the human race I’m going to do with them what I want, and not listen to whoever is in charge of me!”
GW: He had to play second fiddle to Baal for a little while. Especially when you come back in Stargate: Continuum and there’s this System Lord reunion.
SB: Yes. It’s really fun to watch someone who has been a bully have to sit back and take a little bit. Obviously you don’t think like that in terms of the character — you justify your actions. But for me looking at the script, and looking at the character and relationships, it’s always about the relationships. That’s what we care about. All this nice, sci-fi stuff is great — the special effects are great. But really what people are interested in is a relationship.
Camulus and the System Lords come before Baal. From “Stargate Continuum”
Even when I was doing Gaheris Rhade, it was still about the relationship. Who has the power? Does the power shift? Do I love this person, or hate this person? Is it like nothing … like dirt on my shoe? It’s fun!
GW: It’s still interesting!
SB: Yeah, no matter if it’s sci-fi, drama, comedy, it still has to be palpable. It has to be real. And hopefully you don’t forget to do that work and make it something relatable. We all like the fantasy, we all like the potential that there’s something out there — that knows better than we know, or can guide us. But ultimately it’s all very human.
GW: Well we’ve been having fun this weekend at Gatecon. What do you like about interacting with fans, or going up on stage and doing these panels and goofing around with friends?
SB: Honestly it’s one of those things where, because it’s television and film, it’s not like live theater where you get to have an interaction with the people. And unfortunately a lot of times the interaction over the Internet, or social media, you don’t get a true sense of who you’re dealing with. At least in these situations at the conventions you’re face-to-face. There’s no trolling, there’s no insincerity — it’s just there.
Steve Bacic as Agent Collins in The X-Files (1996)
When you come to these you see people, and it means a lot to them. And it’s not my place to say what’s going to mean something [to someone]. I love football; not everyone has to love football. And I’m a big fan of the UFC. I was in Toronto shooting Taken last February, and a buddy of mine was visiting me. We were in the bar and I feel this energy come in, and it’s Michael Bisping. He was the UFC 185 champ at the time, and is a commentator on Fox News. And I’m like, “Motherf–ker, Michael Bisping!” And he’s like, “Hey, I know you!” And he knew me I guess because he’s trying to do TV and film. So that blew my mind — I got to hang out with him and go watch a UFC fight. That blew my mind!
So this for me is this [Stargate] to you guys. It’s nice.
GW: I’m going to tell all my friends I got to spend 20 minutes having drinks with Camulus! It’s awesome.
SB: There you go! Cool. And so whatever it is, it is. I’m not trying to fix something, or progress a career in it. While I’m here — yeah, there’s currency exchanged. I have a hard time with that part of it, but it is what it is. Everyone has got to do it. When I can be here I just try to exist in it, and if a person has a story for me, great, and if they just want to say hi, great. It’s nice.
And I did set up that arm wrestling match …
GW: That was amazing! [David] DeLuise …
SB: –and Peter Flemming. They didn’t give me a cut! I think they made a lot of money — there were some bets being placed. (Legal bets.)
GW: You clearly need a percentage of that.
Steve Bacic as Stefan George in Adventure, Inc. (2002)
SB: I’m telling you, the turnout was good. It’s going to be out there on the Instagrams — I’m sure people are posting it. I know the Gatecon people got their video. I like it a lot. That’s the stuff I like doing! Spontaneous, you just get going …
GW: And that’s the kind of thing that can only happen at Gatecon. Some of these other conventions are so strictly scheduled.
SB: Yeah. Our schedules are so much changing and unpredictable, even in the weekend. I know one person who was scheduled to get a photo and it didn’t happen, so I just took a picture with her anyway.
But some of the other ones are literally like a food line — go, go, go. You can’t spend time talking. You can’t come around the table and give a hug. It’s very sterile. I got basically “not reinvited” to certain conventions. But I’ve been over them. I purposely don’t go. I’ll do these guys if Gatecon calls again — no problem.
GW: So you’re working on Taken, the TV series. Where else can we look for you coming up?
SB: Well, I just had a series of Hallmark movies. I did four — they just came out in August. There’s a feature, I believe it’s called 2 Hearts. They’ve changed the name a couple of times. It’s a great story. I literally wept at about page 80. Everyone told me, “You read this script — everyone’s cried!” I said, “Yeah, whatever.” So I’m sitting there at my favorite coffee shop, and it’s a good story. I’m not crying, but it’s a good read. I’m not crying .. and … uh-oh. Uh-oh, uh-oh, sugar! Here comes the moisture! Take a breath, there’s people here. Try it again … no, mamma, here comes the tears! I didn’t want to just weep in this coffee shop. I tried it three times, and I’m like, “No.”
Steve Bacic as Jason in Garage Sale Mystery (2013)
I go home, my kid’s watching Adventure Time. I put my ears in and listen to some music and read, and I’m going to videotape [my reaction]. And there’s no way now — I’m videotaping myself, [there’s no way] I’m going to cry. And sure enough. Sure enough, I do. But all you hear [in the video] is Adventure Time and me crying! [Laughter]
GW: Is the project just that beautiful?
SB: It was heartbreaking and beautiful, and it’s a true story. It was amazing. I had a good role in it — there are two parallel stories, and I play the father of one of the main stories. It’s two love stories. It was effortless. It was a story that, even though it went from the 1950s to 2010, and there was a lot of jumping around, it still didn’t matter. It flowed.
I think they just finished and called for ADR, so it’s still in post. I’m not sure when that’s coming out. It’s a feature.
GW: Are they looking at theatrical distribution?
SB: Yeah, there’s theatrical. And the other stuff — I was busy for the first half of the year doing the Hallmark stuff. So whenever I could squeeze any other projects in between. There’s a couple big ones that kind of slipped through my fingers.
I’ve got a couple of things coming up that I’m waiting to hear about, so we’ll see what happens. I wouldn’t mind getting back into the sci-fi world, through. Not with prosthetics! I’m not a big fan.
GW: You’ve heard bad stories from Alex [Zahara], or you’ve experienced it yourself?
SB: I’ve experienced it. I was on Once Upon a Time in Wonderland, and I played a Grendel. I was in makeup for maybe three or four hours, and then two hours to get out of it. But a total of 21 hours each day. And it messed my face up — messed my skin. I had a reaction to it.
Steve Bacic as the Grendel in Once Upon a Time in Wonderland (2013)
GW: It takes a certain kind of hearty actor to do it on a regular basis.
SB: Yeah. It’s funny, once you’re in it, it was fine. It was a very grotesque character that was hardened, but then there was a great shift in him and you realize that he’s a victim. He had a curse on him and he had lost his love. So it was another really good arc. And it was great to see him fragile — he went from vicious to fragile.
But it really messed me up. It messed my hands up — everything was covered. It was almost like I was arthritic, because I was glued in these positions for 20+ hours. So I’m not a big fan! There’s certain shows I’ve read for recently and I’m like, “That’s cool. Didn’t get it? That’s good.” Because I knew there would be some form of prosthetic or makeup, and I don’t think I could take it.
And when you’re getting your head cast done you’ve got to go to a very Zen place. Because you have two holes that you’re breathing through straws, and you hope the person who is making the head cast is not psychotic that day! Or gets the phone call “I’m divorcing you!” and they forget you’re in the mask and you’re going to die. Those thoughts, being an actor, you’re like “Oh, God, what if?!”
GW: … when you’re under the plaster for two hours!
SB: Yeah, it’s awful. I can’t remember the last thing I did where they actually had to go down to my chest with the cast, and I couldn’t even take a deep breath. I was ready to snap … and then they started cutting it off. Time had passed, but it felt like it was forever. It was only like 25 minutes.
Steve Bacic as Mac McKinnon in Mystery 101: An Education in Murder (2020)
Other than that I’m always trying to create things. I had directed a film, and I did a Lifetime feature. And now I have the potential to do a little indie right now that we wrote. But it’s one of those things where if I go and commit to that it’s a big gamble in terms of finance — saying no to things.
GW: It takes you off the board for a while.
SB: It takes you off the board for a while, yeah. But I think it’s a great script, and it could be worth rolling the dice.
GW: Well, we’re going to watch what’s coming up next! This is a treat for me — thanks for doing this.
SB: Right on! My pleasure.
