PHOTO BY MEGAN MUMFORD

Shaun> Nicki Clyne, are you there?

Nicki> Hello

Shaun> How are you?

Nicki> I’m fine how are you?

Shaun> So how does it feel being dead?

Nicki> How do you think it feels, what kind of question is that?

Shaun> I just had to ask, has anyone asked you that before?

Nicki> You’ve always wanted to say that haven’t you?  And now you did.

Shaun> We haven’t talked in awhile.  You were on once or twice on the local show, now this is a worldwide show you are on now.

Nicki> Oh my God, no one told me that.  I don’t know how I feel about that.  Excited, right?

Shaun> Yeah, your booking fee gets bumped up a little bit. 

Nicki> Really?

Shaun> Instead of 50 cents, you get a dollar. 

Nicki> I’ll take it.

Shaun> Kenn’s on with me from MediaBlvd, they do a pop-culture magazine.  A lot of the cast have their message boards with them, like Michael Trucco and Aaron Douglas.  So say hi to Kenn.

Nicki> Hi Kenn

Kenn> Hi Nicki, it’s great to talk to you.  Actually I talked you a couple of years ago during the mini series time.

Nicki> Actually, I do remember that. It’s great to talk to you.

Shaun> Nicki’s website is NickiClyne.com, let’s get all of the plugs out of the way.

Nicki> It’s been very active since last weeks episode.  It’s been nice getting all the feedback from the fans, and the support.  It’s very cool to have that.

Shaun> So what did you think when you opened up the script, and it said she’s going to shoot you out the launch bay?

Nicki> Actually, I didn’t find out that way.  I’d been waiting to hear what was going to happen with the next season and start getting into contract negotiations and what not, and it was getting very close to the time of starting to film.  I was getting a little concerned, and so I had this kind of feeling.  I wasn’t really sure what it was, and then I got a call from Ron and David.  Then I pretty much knew what was going on and why I didn’t have a contract.  I had a really neat conversation with them when they phoned, and they were very gracious, and of course with a show like ours, which I feel is so strong with the story line and the writing aspect of it, I really didn’t question that it served the story.   Of course, I’m sad.  I was upset to be leaving the show, but it made sense to me, and it made it that much easier to swallow in the end.

Shaun> How was it filming those scenes?  You started out sneaking after them and watching them in that chamber there talking.  Then she unraveled throughout the episode.  That had to be exhausting for you shooting those scenes.

Nicki> It was, it was really intense both emotionally and physically.  It was good because I had a lot going on after 5 years, this being the end and knowing that.  So I had a lot going on for me personally and also the physical strain of working on wires.  I don’t know if you remember at the end, there’s me floating in space and we did all kinds of different set ups to try and make that work.  One of them was me hanging upside down from wires and spinning around.  I came home bruised and battered many days from hanging around.

Kenn> Did you have contact lenses on for that final scene when your eyes were white and frozen, or did they do that digitally?

Nicki> I didn’t have contacts in, so I guess they did it digitally.  It was a long time ago. 

SCI FI Channel Photo: Carole Segal

Shaun> Somebody in the chat room met you in Germany at the conference last week at the Fed Con.  How was that?  You couldn’t give anything away, but you knew what was coming.  I’m sure people asked you what’s going to happen to you this season?

Nicki> I know, I always just say lots of shocking and traumatic situations to come.  That’s what it’s like always on Battlestar, so I guess it doesn’t say much.  It was interesting though because the show actually aired on the Friday that I was in Germany, and the convention was the Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.  But it didn’t air in Germany.  Of course with the internet, that never really means anything, so I was kind of concerned that some people would know, and some people wouldn’t and I didn’t want to ruin it for those that actually waited to see it when it was on television.  But no one said anything.  I think everyone there was just so caught up in their Star Trek costumes and light sabers and all the fun of it, that no one even knew.  So it was actually easier than I anticipated, but it has been tough.  Even with friends sometimes, I’m not sure what to give away and what not to.  A lot of people watch the show, and a lot of people don’t want it ruined for them. 

Kenn> How did you feel about them choosing this way for Cally to go out.  You’ve been such a good sweet character, the “corn muffin goodness”. 

Nicki> Right, that’s what they say. 

Kenn> And you go out being suicidal and a would be child killer there in the final minutes.

Nicki> Well, if you are going to go out, you want to do it in style.  So I wasn’t too upset.  And as an actor, those are the fun parts to play.  So I was kind of excited, obviously. 

Shaun> Have you ever looked back at what this characters been through?  The whole mini-series and the whole thing that went down, down on the planet with the shooting of Sam Witwer, Crashdown.  Down to the beating you took at the hands of Tyrol, then you married him.   This character has taken a hell of a journey. 

Kenn> Don’t forget the Jack Ruby scene, shooting Sharon.

Nicki> Yeah, I think that was kind of a turning point because after that it definitely became a slippery slope.  You know, it is interesting, and looking back I find the character almost unrecognizable.  Especially if you compare this last episode with the mini-series.  It’s like not even the same person.  But I think that happens in life, and they change us for better or worse.

Kenn> So did you and the cast do anything on the set?  Did they take you out and get you drunk or anything like that?

SCI FI Channel Photo: Carole Segal

Nicki> Like we were talking about, the days were very exhausting.  When we were on set, Mary and Eddie got me beautiful champagne, and flowers and cards.  Everyone was just so supportive of the whole thing.  On the very last day, the director brought in this big cake, and I was covered in my dead blue makeup and stuff.  I don’t even know how much of the cake got eaten because everyone was just so beaten and wanted to go home.  But the gesture and the sentiment wasn’t lost, and I did get a chance to hang out with people before the end.  But what’s so cool about these conventions, is it never really ends.  And in Germany and London, hanging out with Leah and Candyce and Michele Forbes, and Jamie Bamber, it was better than being at work because we got to catch up, and hang out, and bond.  I think I got to know them even better at these types of events then at works.

Kenn> So how do you feel about the show ending this year?  As a fan, I think it’s way too soon.  I’d like to have seen another four or five years of Galactica and to see it fade out, rather than fade away.

Nicki> I can see both sides.  Of course I love the show, and whether I’m on it or not, I think it’s such a quality program and we need shows like that on television.  But at the same time, I think it’s so much better to maintain the integrity that we’ve established with the show, and to go out on top then to keep going with something and not being able to uphold that.  That’s not to say that we wouldn’t be able to, but it had a good run.  David and Ron have really great and interesting projects coming up as do other members of the cast, so I’m not really too worried. 

Shaun> At these conventions, you’ll be seeing all of these people for the rest of your life probably.  Especially Aaron Douglas, I see him here in Vegas every other week.

Nicki> I can’t get rid of that guy. 

Shaun> I tell him he should buy a place with all the money he spends on hotels.  Well, I guess he gets comped. 

Nicki> Yeah, I don’t think he spends so much money.  I wouldn’t worry about Aaron Douglas in Las Vegas.  I think he’s well taken care of. 

Shaun> He should have brought you out here for a big night on the town. 

Nicki> I’ve never even been to Vegas, what’s that about?

Shaun> You’re kidding, you’ve got Mr. Vegas on the cast there.  Someone is asking, how was it shooting those scenes with Aaron Douglas, hitting him in the head with that wrench.  How was it playing those final scenes with him?

Nicki> Justice.  Finally Justice.  Everyone asks me about the scene where he beats the hell out of me, so I guess it’s nice to take the revenge. I have to say, it was difficult to be thinking about what Cally would have been going through after experiencing that type of news.  Then seeing her child and hearing him say those sorts of things, it’s sickening.  I was very much in the moment, and to be honest, don’t even remember it a lot so I guess that’s good. 

Shaun> So when we had you on before, you were working on a couple of movies as well awhile back. What are you working on now, what looks good?

Nicki> I’m just starting to get into a couple of things now after the strike.  I’m developing a business with some friends so I’ve been working on that.  TV and movie-wise I’m working on some things.  I’d love to do a comedy, whether it’s a movie or what.  I think that may be what I talked about before.  One of my favorite shows right now is Thrity-Rock, and I think there may be some really cool shows in that vein to work on.  I hear there are some good new pilots, even though they are very limited after the writer’s strike. So we’ll see, but I’m excited to tackle some good new projects. 

Shaun> Peda from Germany is asking me to tell you “Nicki is a wonderful convention guest, with all that self depreciating humor, the drops of deep thought and the joyful moods”.  You’re getting props from Germany.

Nicki> Oh, that’s so nice, thank you.  I really think that I’m the one that wins in the end.  I get all of these wonderful questions.  I have to say the fans that I’ve experienced so far have been so thoughtful about the show and my character, and just very nice to be around.  They ask excellent questions and I get to explore even more about why I do this and what goes on in the show.  It’s so much fun for me.  It’s a pleasure.

Shaun> MaxBell is asking, did Katee Sachoff thank Nicki for saving her job?

Nicki> How is that?  I’m not sure I understand that.  Does that mean that I might be able to bribe her in some way or blackmail her?

Shaun> Someone else is asking how dead is Cally?  Is she dead, dead, or “dead”?

SCI FI Channel Photo: Carole Segal

Shaun> For awhile there, some of the odds said that Cally is a Cylon.  What did you think of all that speculation that you were going to be a Cylon and not Tyrol?

Nicki> Oh, before we even found out about him?  I didn’t know that.  It got people talking, regardless I think.  I’d love to play a Cylon.  I really think as an actor, to be able to have a scene with yourself is really cool.  I would love to be able to do that.  Beyond that, I don’t think it makes a lot of sense to have Cally as a Cylon.  You never know.

Kenn> Last year, there was a time when they released one of the high res photos of Lucy Lawless and the final five before they had their faces blurred, and there was a group of fans that worked for homeland security.  They had used their face recognition software to try to figure out who was in the photo.

Nicki> Oh my God.

Kenn> I can’t remember what the percent was, but they thought one of the final five was you. So I think that’s how some of that started.

Nicki> They have this CSI zoom and they really went in there? That’s amazing. 

Kenn> Yeah, those people probably got fired after that got out. 

Nicki> Exactly. Interesting.  You know what’s funny about that, I don’t I was there filming that scene, but for scenes like that where you can’t see the person’s face and whatever, they use extras for pictures anyway.  I don’t even know if the final five actors are even in that scene.  I don’t how much you’d find no matter how good your CSI zoom is.

Shaun> They’re asking in the chat room if you ever read the SCI FI message boards?

Nicki> No.  I did way back during the mini series, and there was a very nice Cally appreciation thread.  The only thing I’ve heard about it lately is people saying “I don’t know why so many people hate Cally and write about it on the SCI FI board.  So I decided to stay away from it. 

Shaun> Yeah, we talk to Katee once in awhile and she says the same thing about it.  I guess Aaron comes to people and says, “Hey, they are saying this, that, and the other.”  I guess he’s like the Clark Kent of Galactica?

Nicki> Yeah, he feels us in. 

Shaun> Well, you’ve got you own fan site and your own website too.   You’ve got like a cottage industry going on.

SCI FI Channel Photo: Carole Segal

Shaun> We do have a call. 

Caller> My question is, after you got killed off, did you ever go back to the set and watch them film any more of them?

Nicki> Watch them film the rest of the episodes?  They haven’t actually finished filming and when I’m in town, definitely.  They’re like my family, so it would be rude not to stop in and say hello.  But I’ve been pretty busy with other things and not always in Vancouver so I haven’t spent much time on set.

Caller>Is there a joker on the set that always plays the most jokes on people?

Nicki> I’ll give you one guess.

Shaun> Aaron Douglas.

Caller>Aaron Douglas

Nicki> Yes, yes and you would be correct.  And I had the privilege of working with him the most. He has an energy that he brings to set, and just makes things fun, but he takes care of people if they have concerns.  He’s really a lot like his character.  But I think James Callus is really funny too, but I don’t have the good fortune of working with him that much, so I guess my perspective on it is a little biased. 

Caller>Cool.  I just have to say, I love you on the show and all these years, I want to say thank you to all that you brought to Battlestar Galactica. 

Nicki> Thank you.

Shaun> When you first started going to these conventions, what did you think?  Everybody just loves this character now but how about at the start?

Nicki> Yeah, I did feel that way in the beginning, or just didn’t really know what to make of it.  I started seeing that people would say things on the internet about me as a person, not even me as a character.  And people wanted autographs.  I went to a couple of conventions a few years ago, and my experience was very, very different than it is now.  A lot of things have changed for me.  And I just think that I’m so fortunate that I get to do what I love to do, and meet the people who really allow for that to happen, and get feedback and even learn more about the character, and what people think about it, and hear new ideas.  And I meet really cool people to be honest.  I have some friends on different types of shows, and I’ve learned that there seem to be different types of fans.  I feel like we have the best ones because our show is smart and it asks a lot of really deep and important questions, and the people who watch it get that.  So I feel really lucky to be a part of our show as well.  But I’ve only had positive experiences with fans so far, and I hope it stays that way.

Shaun> I hope so too.  From your lips to God’s ears.

SCI FI Channel Photo: Carole Segal

Kenn> It’s really crazy, you just see some of the fans that are so passionate, and that confusion merging the actor the character.  That has to be a little scary I’d think, so I’m glad to hear that you haven’t had any bad experiences so far. 

Nicki> I haven’t had any bad experiences, and really part of why I do put myself out there is that there is such a confusion around celebrity and who these people are that act in television shows and movies.  So it’s important to me really express that we are human, and we all have our own struggles, and to be open about that.  I realize that there is always a risk and a danger in putting yourself out there too much, and that is something that I continually have to evaluate and re-evaluate, depending on what happens.  I think that there is a certain degree of accessibility that is ok and good, and there’s  a degree that’s not, so it’s finding that balance.  What I find from fans is them saying how often to me when I meet them, how cool it is that I’m there, and I’m having fun.  I haven’t experienced this with other actors, but I’ve heard that other actors come to these things and it’s kind of like a chore.  And they seem like they really don’t want to be there.  To me that’s pointless.  It’s their own experience that they are hindering, and what a great opportunity to see what it is that you put out there, and how it affects the world.  So it’s always a concern, but I guess I’ll just keep feeling it out.

Kenn> I think that’s one of the things that’s been really cool about the Battlestar cast is how accessible they are at these cons.  Aaron will be walking down the hallway just talking to people at Comic-Con, the big one.

Nicki> We’re all fans of something.  And I think it’s so great to be able to come together and pay tribute to people who make something that you are a fan of happen.  But I don’t know why it gets so crazy when it comes to TV or Sci Fi, or just celebrity in general.  It’s just another skill.  How come we don’t have scientist conventions and have them getting raided by young fans wanting their autographs.  How come that doesn’t happen? 

Shaun> Kenn there is a rocket scientist; he has a PhD in whatever it is. Kenn, I don’t know what you do.

Nicki> Nice, see?

Shaun> Are you out there in New York for pilot season?  Are you looking to get on another TV series, or what?

SCI FI Channel Photo: Carole Segal

Shaun> Good for you.  I’m here in Vegas, trying to get the young kids to register to vote and get involved with their country.  It’s good to see that other people are making similar efforts getting young people involved.

Nicki> It is, and it’s about finding our common values and being able to come together as a group to express them, because it’s so much more powerful.  And the internet is a perfect tool for that.  I think we just haven’t been able to facilitate that process quite yet, so we’re hoping to be able to achieve that. 

Kenn> So have you launched the site yet, or how far are you from that?

Nicki> Not yet.  We had a small launch party recently to kind of just get a feel for where the students were at, because we also want to work with college students in the evolution of the company.  So we are looking for people who have critical minds and who see the need, and the lack of people coming together to build something that could move things in the world.  So now we’re just working on connecting with those people and starting to build the structure.  We have the structure of the company, but we’re starting to build the structure of the site, and how the different levels of involvement and membership that people will have, and things like that. 

Shaun> We have another caller now.

Caller>How Nicki, how are  you.  Since you were just talking about your site, I just want to say, I’m a college student, and I think that sounds awesome. 

Nicki> Well, get in touch.  I should say, our company is called TenC, and once we get it up there, I’ll have information on my website to get involved. 

Caller>It definitely sounds like something we need.

Nicki> I’m so glad you think that. 

Caller>In terms of Battlestar, it’s been so much fun to watch Cally kind of go through a crazy emotional journey through the years.  I’m sad to see you go, but I was just wondering, from everything you’ve done on the show; from biting someone’s ear off, to getting air locked, what was the hardest thing about playing Cally, and what was your favorite. 

Nicki> Such good questions, and you’d think that I’d have like well planned out answers for these types of things.  But it’s funny because I feel like it changes too.  Every time I think about a question like this, something new will come to me or reminisce on a certain moment.  The hardest, I think it makes me sound like such a wimp, but some of the physical things that we did when we were fighting the Cylons on Kobol, and being covered in all this crap, and it being really cold.  I think it’s mostly the cold that gets me.  But it’s interesting because those types of physical things I don’t like, and I find them really hard.  But when we do wire work, and different things in the studio that are very physical, I enjoy them.  So I’m not sure exactly why I find those so difficult.  But also finding in a general sense, finding the humanity in Cally and making her purposeful and not naggy.  Because I know that has been some of the criticism is that she seems kind of whiny.  I knew that was a risk. I’d read some of the lines and be like “Oh God, this again?”.  But I did my best to find a way to express that that she still had some strength and reason for expressing what she was standing up for.  So that was definitely challenging.  My favorite scene, I know this sounds weird, but in the last episode where she is kind of reaching her demise, exploring all of that was so much fun for me.  I just got to experiment and go places, and so much of that was due to the director, Michael Mankin.  We really worked on letting things flow, and it was a neat process.  Doing things where I’m about to pop the pills in front of the baby, and a lot of that was improvised, so that was really cool for me.  So I think that was my favorite.  But it’s really hard, because if you mention any other scene, I’ll be like “Oh yeah, I like that one too.”

Shaun> So it had to be hard for you to read that your character was going to take the baby, and both of you were going to be shot out the airlock.   Weren’t you like, “Oh my God, we’re doing this to a baby?”  That must have been kind of hard to put yourself in Cally’s shoes. 

SCI FI Channel Photo: Carole Segal

Shaun> I could imagine.  Penguin John in the chat room is asking, what was it like to work with the baby? 

Nicki> It was so great.  It was always such a pleasure but it kept Aaron and I both on our toes.  I mean actors are just not very professional when they are that age.  And they really just don’t know when they are supposed to cry, and when they are supposed to eat, and not poop.  We’re going to have to talk to the union about that or something.  But it was both a joy and a challenge, because they are so unpredictable.  And this little guy that we worked with was so cute.  The schedule was always changing, and we’d always choose to film the scene at the worst time, like right before he was supposed to have a nap.  So as soon as they would yell action, he would look for his mom and start crying.  So we definitely put him to the test.  If he ever does want to be an actor, he’ll be very well skilled in the future.  It must be hard, you don’t know what’s going on and all of a sudden all of these people are fussing about you.  And not only that, we were filming some really intense scenes.  In the scene where I’m yelling at Tory back and forth and holding the baby on my arm, that was the hardest scene to film hands down.  Compared to all the physical stuff, it was physical; I was holding a heavy baby for a long time.  But that had to be probably the most challenging for me.  Inside of me, as Nicki, as a person who wants to be nice to people and do good things, and I’m yelling these awful things, and bringing up this intense negative emotion with a child in my arms didn’t feel right.  So I felt very conflicted filming that scene.

Kenn> Was there just one kid playing Nicholas, not twins?

Nicki> Yeah, just one.  One big kid.

Shaun> Did you talk to actors like Sam Witwer, Paul Campbell, etc about suffering through a death scenes?

Nicki> No we haven’t, but that’s a very good idea.  Maybe we should get together, all of us, and have some sort of reunion or funeral of sorts.  I haven’t really spoken to them from the place of being another person who has been killed.  I know each of them kind of dealt with it differently from what was going on in their lives.  But I haven’t spoken to them since I’ve been killed. 

Shaun> One more call.

Caller>I love Cally.  Some times she’s hard to deal with because she is the most realistic of all the characters on the show.

Nicki> Wow, thank you. 

Caller>She had to deal with some really harsh personal things, being attacked and hit by Tyrol, and falling in love with him.  It was realistically difficult.  I have 3 questions for you.  Would you consider yourself a fan of Battlestar Galactica, and if you do, what was your favorite episode?  And if you could be any other character on the show, who would it be. 

Nicki> I would definitely call myself a fan. It’s funny sometimes when people come up to me and tell  me how much they love the show.  I’m like, “I know, it is so good.”  Then I think that probably sounds so bad coming from me.  But as a person who…, I don’t actually watch television, but as someone who has an appreciation for the medium, there’s nothing else like it out there.  It’s a tribute to the writers and the producers and everyone involved for making it such a good show.  So yes, I’m a fan.  What was my favorite episode?  Good question, I think they’ve changed so much.  I’ve watched episodes from different seasons, and comparing them is so difficult.  But for me as an actor, my favorite episode was this last one where I die, because I had so much to do, and so much to dive into.  As a fan, I thought the one in the third season, the boxing episode.  Unfinished Business, was so well done and pulling that off would have been so difficult.  When I read the script, I was like, how is this going to work.  But it did I think, and I think that’s an incredible episode.  But they all, coming from different writers and directors, they are all special in their own way.  As cast members, we have memories attached to each of them, and if I could separate myself from them, I think that one would be up there.  And if I could be any other character,  you know what, I was about to say Starbuck, and that’s true, I’d love to play Starbuck.  But if we were in some other reality and I could morph, I think that playing Gaius Baltar would be a roller coaster ride, and would be so fun.  It’s hard to say that too, because James Callus really makes that character what it is.  So I don’t how Baltar would be in any other way, but I think that would be really fun too.  But Starbuck kicks so much ass, how can you not want to be Starbuck. 

Shaun> Well Nicki, thank you so much.  We wish you the best with your new endeavor. 

Nicki> Thank you everybody, take care.