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The SciFi World
Interview with Grace Park!
1-24-2006
Born on March 14th, Grace Park's family moved to Vancouver while she was just a
child. Once a model, Grace cut her acting teeth on the CBC Network series
Edgemont in the role of Shannon Ng. She has appeared in movies such as "Romeo
Must Die" and "L.A. Law: The Movie", and has guest-starred on numerous
television episodes for series like The Outer Limits, Dark Angel, The Immortal,
and Stargate-SG1. Among her non-acting accomplishments, Grace Park has earned a
degree in Psychology from the University of British Columbia. In 2003, Grace
Park won the role of Sharon Valerii after trying out for the role of Galactica
bridge crewmember Dualla and being passed over for Starbuck. The original Boomer
had been played by Herbert Jefferson Jr., but Grace never watched the show prior
to winning a part in the new mini-series, so she bypassed any intimidation some
actors might feel at following in another's footsteps. This interview was done
in collaboration with www.bsgtns.com
Gilles Nuytens: Can you speak about yourself? What do you do outside of acting?
Grace Park: I like to travel, I just went to France this summer, we went to
India on our honeymoon, and shortly, I’ll be going to South America. But other
than traveling, maybe some snowboarding, surfing if we go somewhere warm… other
than that, I just have a love for film, fashion and arts. I’m paying much more
attention now to the craft of acting. Instead of just trying to get another job,
actually trying to cultivate that a bit more. So when I’m not on set, a lot of
the times, I’m doing work in class, and just still training.
Gilles Nuytens: What are your thoughts on science fiction genre in general? Has
that opinion changed since you became involved in Battlestar Galactica?
Grace Park: Yeah, I think Galactica to me has created more room within the
genre. We have pushed the boundaries of science fiction a bit because, before,
it was so much in the realm of intergalactic travel, and finding new species of
aliens or other human-like forms, and there was a lot of fantasy-type thinking
with that. Being able to use your imagination, to suspend your disbelief and
just believe in a different dimension of reality. Whereas, what I find with
Battlestar, what we’ve done is we have taken very human elements of what we know
everyday (life) to be: love, struggles, politics, sex, torture… and then put
them into the dimension of space. So I think it’s opened my eyes more towards
science fiction, and knowing that science fiction is a bit broader- I think it
is more inviting to more people now.
Gilles Nuytens: Sometimes people don’t have a very good opinion of science
fiction.
Grace Park: Yeah, I agree. I know there’s a lot of science fiction fans out
there, but I guess before, I just knew the very stereotypical science fiction
things, and some of them weren’t of very good quality, so I didn’t like them. Of
course there were always shows that I liked a lot (when I was growing up) that
were probably sort of science fiction.
Gilles Nuytens: What is your opinion of the original series? It’s a bit
different from the new one.
Grace Park: Yeah, I don’t remember watching it at the time, but I think it was
ideal for the late 70’s, early 80’s. It was much more of a family show. It
involved, I think, somewhat less dramatic tension - there’s just more enjoyment.
Of course you still had conflict and struggle and then a resolution, but I feel
like with the new show it’s much more long-term unrelenting suspense and
turmoil. It’s an arduous journey, and it doesn’t let up. So I feel it looks like
the (present) time in that we know much more, our eyes are open more to what is
happening around the world, and the plights of people, whether they be of the
same race, or of a different world, and that we can’t really afford to keep our
eyes closed, and we may try to escape in a TV show, or go to a movie, or what
have you. But I think more and more people are growing up, and seeing that we
have a responsibility, and living in a place in this world where we have so many
blessings and a lot of opportunity. If we just sit idly by and waste them away
it makes people feel guilty, if you actually know what’s happening around the
world. So I think, in a way, it reflects how society is more open to the rest of
the world. We’re digging deep and looking at our own flaws, because so many of
the characters are flawed on the show. And realizing there isn’t just good and
bad- it’s not so black and white- and I felt like that it was a little easier
back then. (Our thinking was) a little bit simpler, or maybe we were just more
idealistic. That could be it.
Gilles Nuytens: What do you think of Boomer in the original series? Did you
watch some scenes with him in it?
Grace Park: Yeah, I watched a little bit with him in it, but not enough to
really flesh out his character. I found that he was the loyal friend, who people
could depend on, someone who you could lean on, someone you could trust. The new
Boomer certainly isn’t anywhere close to that. Actually she’s the direct
opposite. You never know when you can trust her, no matter what she’s done for
you.
Gilles Nuytens: Your character is more complex and interesting, I think.
Grace Park: Absolutely, so much more complex, and plus it’s not just one
character, we have a few characters, so depending on which one you are talking
about- you have different degrees of how much you should trust them.
Gilles Nuytens: So, in the show you play a type of clone, a different character,
but at the same time the same. How did you manage the situation?
Grace Park: Well, in the first season it was a bit simpler, because we were
mostly dealing with two clones, and one was always trying to deceive her
companion, Helo, and always trying to act exactly like the other one. So that
wasn’t really a problem, especially since we were always shooting on location.
For Sharon down on Caprica. surprisingly, just the physical difference between
(being on) the ship and being out in the woods made such a difference. Then when
the character got written back onto Galactica, everybody got confused…me, the
writers, the directors…everyone was like, “But don’t you know, haven’t you met
{Bob Farren}, like, don’t you know him?”- “No, this is the other Sharon”, and
everyone was like “Oh, right, OK…” Even the writers would write them similar,
but at the core, I knew they were very different, and the one down on the
planet, especially, knew the situation with Boomer- she knew that she had a
sleeper program, or some type of programming in her, and she was aware of that.
Whereas the other one was veiled from the real truth, so I felt like even
though, on the surface, when she was pretending to act the same, inside her
core, she had very different motivations. She had her own loyalty and knowledge
about the Cylons. She had a different line of faith- she believed in the one
true god. Whereas Boomer believed in, like the humans believed, in many gods. So
that also changed how they thought- one thought she was human and therefore the
Cylon was the enemy, whereas the Cylon knew they had a very different plan for
humanity, and I think the one on the planet was much more linked to, or much
more connected to her source of power and vision. That’s quite different. When
she came back to Galactica and met all the humans, they changed all that.
Gilles Nuytens: Which is your favorite Boomer, the first or the second?
Grace Park: It used to be the second one, I think, because that Boomer that was
more victimized, and she was in denial and was believing lies- it was very very
draining to play that, and I felt like after a while, it felt repetitive… that
she was constantly lost, conflicted, and tortured. So it was a relief to let her
die, and pass on. But there are some interesting story plots coming up in the
future, because after all, she is a Cylon and you know that Cylons can
resurrect, so there are some… we’ll see what happens with that character
eventually, and that ends up being very very interesting. So I’ve almost taken
to her again, so it keeps switching, it’s like one then the other. Next season
it will be like the third Boomer.
Gilles Nuytens: Would you presume that she has all the memories of the first
one?
Grace Park: Of the two characters? Yes, almost all the memories. She’ll have two
years of memories when Boomer was living on the ship, right until the attack-
and after the attack, I think they haven’t downloaded her memory. That’s what
Ron sort of suggested, but on Battlestar, anything can change.
Gilles Nuytens: The first Boomer, the one that died in the beginning of season
two, is she completely dead, or has she been resurrected?
Grace Park: Yeah, I think at that point the resurrection ship is still intact-
that character has been downloaded, but we don’t know when we are going to see
her again. We might not ever see her again, but then again we might. So it’s
something that will leave everybody crossing their fingers, or who knows? Maybe
they don’t want her to come back. It should be a very interesting story.
Gilles Nuytens: It could be a change to see the two Boomers together in a scene.
Grace Park: Yeah, we’ll call it Adaptation.
Gilles Nuytens: Of all the Cylon characters in the show, yours is the most
sympathetic, and one gets the sense, that maybe they are not as evil as we might
think. What are your thoughts on the Cylon Agenda, is there some logic to their
goal?
Grace Park: I think the Cylons, like humans, are led by faith, but their faith
is not perfect- just like humans, we can take something that’s given to us, then
twist it to our own advantage. I think that’s what the Cylons have done. They
try to use their own logic and their own agenda so that they are almost twisting
what God is telling them to do. Because I think there is a plan for the Cylons.
I mean they always say that they have a plan, and the Cylons do have a plan, and
it does involve the humans, but many of the Cylons are being led astray…I mean,
to kill all those humans was not necessarily- it was not a good thing. They’ve
done that and it’s interesting because I think every religion out there, well
maybe not everyone, has done some unfavorable acts in the past, and it’s all in
the name of God. The Cylons definitely do have a plan, and it’s not only
logical, it’s like faith and logic put together. And ideally what will happen is
that the Cylons will carry out the plan which would be good for everybody,
because (although) it looks like they’re going to destroy the humans, that’s not
the ultimate plan. The ultimate plan is so that they can live together. But
let’s see if that can do that, or they might destroy everybody. Destroy the
galaxy.
Gilles Nuytens: I think that Boomer is the deepest, and most complex character
on the show. What is the most challenging part of playing her?
Grace Park: I’d have to say a lot of the challenges were actually script-based,
what the writers would give Sharon, and many of the story lines are actually
quite human, involving a pregnancy, a baby, losing love, or the threat of death…
all those types of things. I think it’s actually just the clarity of keeping
each character unique and separate, yet the reality is that they are the same,
they are clones, but each experience that each one has does shape them and
change them- keeping each one true is along the storylines- that’s the biggest
challenge.
Gilles Nuytens: Speaking of the baby, what do you know about him, and what are
we going to know this season about him.
Grace Park: The baby first of all is a girl. We know that about her. We know
that this is the first Cylon human hybrid, there will probably be some
complications along the way, other than that… Oh I think the baby is going to
have a very difficult upbringing if it makes it to being born, because Sharon is
living in a cell, and the humans know that she’s pregnant, and they obviously
can’t have a Cylon human hybrid baby being born there and running around. So I
think she is being born into a very difficult circumstance. Actually, we don’t
know what is going to happen with the baby, so I can’t even tell you.
Gilles Nuytens: Do you have any idea how the character of Boomer will evolve in
season 3?
Grace Park: No, I have no idea, I’m so curious myself.
Gilles Nuytens: So how would you want the character to evolve?
Grace Park: That’s such an interesting question. I’ve been thinking about that
off and on the last few months. I think what will be really interesting to watch
and to explore is her acceptance of the situation and her growth, rather than
her fighting and feeling a victim. But I almost think it’s like Nelson Mandela,
how she would accept the situation, and from that what she could do- that’s
she’s not a victim and powerless, but actually she is growing and changing and
maturing. I think watching her mature, and get over the tragedy of the
situation, I think that will be really powerful to watch, because so many people
on the show are victims of their circumstance, and so many things have happened
to Sharon on the show, and also with Boomer dying we see them in so many tragic
situations, it would be really nice to not see them be crushed and demolished by
that, but to use every fiber of their being to come up from that, and rise up.
That’s the true human spirit. We all understand.
Gilles Nuytens: Speaking of difficult scenes, the rape scenes on Resurrection
Ship were a bit controversial. What is your opinion, and was there any concern
that the scene would be cut for airing?
Grace Park: Yeah, actually when it was first scripted it was written that an
attempt was going to start, but before any penetration, Helo and the Chief run
in and stop the atrocious rape from happening. That is how it was written, but
knowing on the day coming in that it was Michael Rymer directing, and he was
going for a raw and intense (performance), I asked him, are we going to shoot it
that way, or are we going to shoot it so that she gets raped? He said, what do
you think? And I said, I’m open to it. I didn’t really mind either way, and he
said let’s shoot it as a rape, and we will have to deal with everything else
later. So shooting it that way was intense leading up to it, but we all kind of
knew that our hands were going to be somewhat tied when it came to how they were
going to edit it. I had an exact feeling how they were going to edit it, and it
was true, they edited it in a way so that there was no graphic specific
evidence, but from the cuts you could put together the pieces (in regards to)
what was happening and that she was indeed getting raped. But the network
freaked out, and a lot of the people up top freaked out, and said we couldn’t do
that, so they just kept trying to edit it down. What I found was that the more
the network and executives were getting upset that we were trying to include the
rape scene, (the more) I was getting upset. Because I felt, before, it was just
a simple choice, and I know there’s a lot that rests on it, but the more they
tried to shut it down, extinguish it, or hide it, I noticed that as a woman, I
started getting more concerned or upset, because this is a situation that
happens. Assault or rape happens to 1 in 3 women around the world. (So) how come
on our show, we can have people beating each other up to a bloody pulp, and
assault, even a man to a woman, killing hundreds of thousands of people, putting
people out an airlock, or people just sleeping with each other, getting drunk,
like you name it, you can have all of those things, mutiny, threatening to shoot
a commander… Yet something that happens every single day around the world, many
times a day, is too taboo, and we have to be shameful of it. It’s a shameful
act, but it happens everywhere, and I thought that covering it up was a way to
blind everybody’s eyes, and pretend that this is not happening. I thought that
was very unfair. It robs everybody of an experience, and of a story, and of a
release, and also of a compassion that we missed. So I started to get pretty
upset.
Gilles Nuytens: In a short period of time, you have become very popular, how has
that affected your professional and personal life, does it affect the kinds of
roles you are offered?
Grace Park: Well I wasn’t offered anything before. As a starting actor you just
have to go after everything, but yes, some stuff has been offered, I find that
they hasn’t been stereotypes, and not all similar. Plus, I have two characters,
and the range is so broad and varied. Maybe I’m not getting musicals and
comedies, but just about everything else it feels like. So things that are
offered are so varied, and the feedback has been really good. My friends are
still my friends, and I still do the same things. The only difference is that I
had to sign some fan mail, but in Canada, we don’t have as much advertising as
compared to the United States, so here, I’m still pretty much exactly the same.
I don’t really get recognized that much, maybe a few times a year, whereas if I
go down to the States, it will happen a bit more often. So really, it’s been
great.
Gilles Nuytens: So what made you decide to go into acting. I think you may have
been a psychology student?
Grace Park: Yeah, I was in psychology. I just really liked being on set. I had
done a whole bunch of commercials, they were a lot of fun and I was very fun
oriented. I thought I could get used to this. I was just going to do it on a
trial basis for one year, and just see where it went from there.
Gilles Nuytens: Then you got the role on Edgemont.
Grace Park: Yeah, I got Edgemont right away, and I was also in Hong Kong at the
time, and I got a lead in a martial arts feature, even though I can’t really do
martial arts… they didn’t care. I was offered that, and at the same time,
Edgemont came along, and I had to choose, so I decided to come back to Canada.
Gilles Nuytens: What motivates you or drives you, in general, to a role?
Grace Park: Absolutely the most important thing is the script. If the script is
great, the role can be small, I don’t mind. What attracts me to a role is change
within the person, how do they change throughout the story line. Or, if they
don’t change, why, does that hurt them? I guess that’s what interests me right
now. But at the same time, I’d like to go for something humorous, maybe a little
bit lighter, and not necessarily so intense again. It would be nice to kind of
broaden my work right now.
Gilles Nuytens: You have a main role in two shows that are still running.
Edgemont and Galactica. How do you manage to juggle the demands of two shows?
Grace Park: Well Edgemont finished in 2003, and we did the miniseries for
Galactica in 2003, so for the last two years, I’ve only had to do one show.
Gilles Nuytens: I thought it was two at the same time. So Edgemont, is over?
Grace Park: Yeah, we finished 5 seasons.
Gilles Nuytens: If you hadn’t decided to go into acting, what would you have
done?
Grace Park: I was thinking about architecture, but I don’t think that was really
my genre. It would definitely be something creative. I probably would have
traveled a little bit more. I always wanted to be a chef and have a restaurant.
It’s funny because I married a restaurateur, but once I realized how much work
was involved, from morning to late night, every single day, it’s so draining, I
don’t know if I would have done that either. I don’t know what I would have done
really. I think I’m meant to do this.
Gilles Nuytens: What’s the funniest thing that has happened on the set?
Grace Park: A lot of really weird things happened, I think one of the funniest
things that I can remember that after the rape scene, even though it sounds
pretty morbid, but we’d done it so many times… Lt. Thorn always had to pull down
my pants. I was wearing something underneath, but still, when we were done, I
said now that we’re done here, turn around and drop your pants. And I was
joking, but he said sure, and he turned around, and dropped his pants. So I saw
his butt too, I thought that was pretty funny. Then we shook hands, and we said
thanks.
Gilles Nuytens: Do you have any amusing anecdotes about your contact with your
fans?
Grace Park: This one person wrote in, and asked for autograph and was really
sweet. Then asked me for a date or something like that, and said, you can’t
blame a guy for trying. Then I looked up his return address on Map Quest, and I
found the closest block right to his house, and said Saturday at 3 o’clock, meet
me at the corner of Broadway and Fir, or whatever, for a date. I just pretended
to do that. Then I just told him I was joking, and I said, yeah, my husband
thinks I’m great too. Just kind of doing things like that, it’s amusing because
it’s nice to have an attraction with people, and I certainly don’t put myself on
this big pedestal so I can go and bug everybody, so it creates a lot of open
opportunities.
Gilles Nuytens: So now some quick questions for your fans:
What is your favorite movie?
Grace Park: That’s tough, I like…. it’s a tie between Fight Club, and…. Maybe
Fight Club, but I always liked Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
Gilles Nuytens: Your favorite TV Show?
Grace Park: I don’t know if I have one right now.
Gilles Nuytens: Galactica?
Grace Park: Yeah, I’d have to say Galactica. (laughs) I really, really like our
show.
Gilles Nuytens: Favorite quote in Galactica?
Grace Park: I don’t know, I haven’t thought about that. Not sure… “We have a
plan”.
Gilles Nuytens: Favorite sport?
Grace Park: Snowboarding
Gilles Nuytens: Favorite joke?
Grace Park: I don’t have one off the top of my head.
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