From Time Out New York, Issue 541: February 9–15, 2006
Heavenly body
When Katee Sackhoff joined the crew of Battlestar Galactica, she had no idea she'd become a geek love goddess
By Howard Halle
In only its second season, Battlestar Galactica has reached a cultural tipping point, crossing over from cable-TV cult status to mainstream recognition. The Sci Fi Channel's remake of the short-lived '70s series about a ragtag fleet of spaceships escaping alien annihilation has been noted by such august publications as The New Yorker, and was on numerous 2005 top-ten lists—including the American Film Institute's. Much of the praise has gone to Katee Sackhoff, 25, for her star turn as Kara Thrace, a.k.a. Starbuck, the hotheaded fighter pilot who, when it comes to kicking ass, most certainly does not hit like a girl. After weathering criticism from fans of the original series who didn't like the idea of a female Starbuck, Sackhoff has settled into the character, making it her own. "At this point I've played the role longer than anyone," she says from her home in Los Angeles—where she is occasionally interrupted by barks from her Chihuahua-pug mix, Meatball.
Time Out New York: How does it feel to be a geek sex symbol?
Katee Sackhoff: [Laughs] I don't know. I guess I have my moments. It's so hard for me to think of myself that way. I'm very reluctant to start believing any of the hype, because I've never really thought of myself as sexy.
TONY: Many people would disagree. You've even been mentioned on The Office, in which one of the characters, Dwight, is obsessed with you.
KS: It's very weird. But I love that show. I think we're trying to work out having me as a guest star—you know, something like Dwight goes to a sci-fi convention to see Starbuck. It's not a definite thing, but I want to do it so bad that I'm like, "Come on!"
TONY: You're sounding a bit impulsive there, like Starbuck.
KS: I'm extremely impulsive. I have no edit button. My mom's always telling me to look before I leap, but I never do. I always just go with my gut. Sometimes it burns you, sometimes it doesn't. My gut told me to take Battlestar, and I took it.
TONY: What's an example of going with your gut and getting burned?
KS: Every single ex-boyfriend! [Laughs]
TONY: When you first took the role of Starbuck, a lot of male fans of the first series complained that the character, originally played by a man, shouldn't be played by a woman. Has that died down?
KS: Yeah. I think I won nearly everyone over within the first year. But you're always going to have a couple of people that just don't like you or don't like the change at all. These people would've been perfectly content with the entire original cast and the exact same show.
TONY: One of those people is apparently the original Starbuck, Dirk Benedict…
KS: Oh, totally. He wrote this article called "The Castration of Starbuck" or something like that.
TONY: "Lost in Castration"…
KS: That's it. You know, we met at Starbucks as part of a publicity shoot.
TONY: Wait, you mean like Starbucks at Starbucks?
KS: Yeah. And I thought it went great. Then, two or three months later, the article came out. I was like, "Wow, a little two-faced there!"
TONY: You know what would freak him out? If you got the job playing Faceman in a remake of The A-Team.
KS: [Laughs] I'm going to make a career out of doing all of his old roles.
TONY: Are you surprised the new Battlestar has become so huge?
KS: I think it's crazy that it has become such a big deal. This is the third or fourth series that I've done, and every single one has been quickly canceled. So I'm extremely pessimistic when it comes to the life span of a television show. Every season we get picked up, I'm like, "Holy crap, are you serious?"
TONY: Have you ever thought of becoming a space tourist and taking one of those rocket flights being offered on Virgin Galactic?
KS: You know, I think it would be very cool. But I'm so terrified of flying that I'm clutching my rosary and saying Hail Marys the entire time.
TONY: Is it true that you actually dream in character?
KS: I do. I'm insane. I have dreams as Starbuck. Dreams that I would imagine she would have, about my job on the ship, or about the other characters.
TONY: Sexual dreams?
KS: [Laughs] No, not yet. But pretty much every cast member has been in there at some point.
TONY: Is there anything you can share with us about how the season ends and what happens to Starbuck?
KS: It is going to be the ultimate cliffhanger. It shocked the hell out of everyone in the cast! But you're also going to see a different, much softer side of Starbuck. There is more of Katee in the last episode.
TONY: That should please Dwight. There is going to be a third season, right?
KS: Oh yeah. We're starting to shoot on April 3. And honestly, because of the way things leave off at the end of the second season, if there wasn't going to be a third season, me and I'd assume every fan of Battlestar Galactica would be so livid that we'd all just riot. I'd definitely be out there with my sign in front of the Sci Fi Channel.