Exclusive Interview: DAVID BLUE STEPS THROUGH THE 'STARGATE UNIVERSE' PORTAL
The actor talks about the SyFy Channel series that he's on now, MOONLIGHT and UGLY BETTY (which he used to be on)
By T.K. DEHN, Contributing Writer
Published 10/19/2009
David Blue is only in his twenties, but he’s already on his fourth cult TV series, STARGATE UNIVERSE, after having regular/recurring roles on the vampire drama MOONLIGHT, the comedy UGLY BETTY and the youth-skewing THE SUITE LIFE OF ZACK & CODY. He’s happy to talk about all of them, plus he chats about shows he hasn’t been on (HEROES, CHUCK), but loves anyway.
iF MAGAZINE: A lot of STARGATE actors hail from Vancouver. Are you American or Canadian?
DAVID BLUE: I’m American. I was born in New York, went to college in Florida and lived in L.A. for the past six, seven years.
iF: You seem to be someone who helps the fans navigate the new STARGATE universe.
BLUE: I think at things like [press events] and things like Comic-Con, we can show the trailer [for STARGATE UNIVERSE]. It’s easy to look at things from a certain way before you’ve seen anything of it. It’s the same way with James Bond, the same way with Robert Pattinson in TWILIGHT, the same way with Tom Cruise in INTERVIEW WITH A VAMPIRE. It’s easy to hear something and go, "No, it’s not going to work." Just by seeing the trailer, I think that does it for us. They can see that we have Robert [Carlyle], we have the creators of the universe and the mythology that they love behind it, and they just want to show the perspectives. So that alone [creates credibility].
iF: When the STARGATE UNIVERSE trailer was shown at Comic-Con, did you get more hits on Twitter?
BLUE: No. I think it’s because I didn’t talk about Twitter on the panel. But it’s grown a little bit. As of right now, it’s kind of nice, because I feel like I have my own little "they want to be there" community on Twitter. Everyone’s welcome, but it’s kind of nice now.
iF: Do you have fans from MOONLIGHT, where you played Logan, the techie vampire?
BLUE: Oh, yeah. Absolutely. And even better, I have good fans from MOONLIGHT, who are saying that they’re going to watch this show. [Erstwhile MOONLIGHT lead] Alex O’Loughlin is a friend of mine, and any time I can read a script, I’m like, "We’ve got to find a role for Alex on this show." I know he’s busy with his new show, THREE RIVERS, but [MOONLIGHT was] great. If [MOONLIGHT executive producer] Joel Silver and the rest of them get together and decide to do a movie, would I love to be Logan again? Abso-freaking-lutely.
BLUE: No, I never had to vamp out. In the original series finale, which was the season finale, I believe it was written that Logan vamps out and jumps and does some vampire-type stuff, and all the producers sat around and went, "Nah, he’s too lazy." So I just run. That’s why I wanted to do that role, was to have the fangs. It never happened. I would love to revisit that so I can do that. And the contacts are really cool, too. I’d like to do that.
iF: You also played Michael Urie’s boyfriend on UGLY BETTY.
BLUE: Yes, I did. I love walking through a crowd if anybody has watched my stuff, because it takes a few minutes to figure out how they know me. If they know Logan, they laugh. If they know Cliff [from UGLY BETTY], they want to give you a hug. If they know SUITE LIFE OF ZACK AND CODY, they’re "Oh, my God!"
iF: Are you prepared to spend the next five years of your life doing STARGATE UNIVERSE?
BLUE: If the fans will have us, I’d absolutely love to. I mean, it’s unfortunate that I have such a wonderful life [laughs]. The UGLY BETTY cast and crew were amazing, and then I walked into this situation, where they’re just as amazing. We all get along off-set too. When I’m doing a scene with Robert Carlyle, the world melts away and we are these characters and it’s wonderful. And then to have the creative team behind you, who puts up with my pestering as a fan of sci-fi and as a fan of the shows. I go, "You know, I don’t know how that would work, because if the Stargate does this, and then if I’m dialing like that …" And they’re open to it. They want to make this show as good as anything else.
iF: Would you say the relationship between your character Eli and Robert Carlyle’s Dr. Rush is in any way analogous to the relationship between Will Robinson and Dr. Smith on LOST IN SPACE?
BLUE: It’s a good reference, but no, because I don’t think Eli is – no offense, because I love STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION – Wesley Crusher, he’s not brand-new to the scene, trying to figure stuff out. Eli has intelligence, he has mathematical skills behind him, he has the way that he thinks already down when he’s brought into this. It’s just a world that he’s not used to. If I may unfortunately quote [STARGATE UNIVERSE executive producers/creators] Brad [Wright] and Robert [Cooper], it’s more like a Salieri/Mozart-type relationship. It’s more the man [Rush] was very much capable and brilliant, but at the same times sees in this younger person the younger version of himself, except there are qualities, like [Eli’s] ability to interact with people and his ability to laugh, that [Rush] doesn’t have. So it’s almost like I look up to him, he looks up to me. And it allows for this multi-layered viewing experience that I love playing every day.
iF: Is there any trust whatsoever between Eli and Rush?
BLUE: Absolutely, but the truth is, everyday relationships – your friends, your family, the people you date – you kind of have to re-evaluate the trust thing day by day. For the most part, you trust somebody, but if they do something a little off, you’re going to go back and think, ‘What was that about?’ That’s what makes it more realistic, I think, than some past shows, in that you don’t just decide with everybody, "You’re on my team, so I trust you and you have my back." If something strange goes down, you have to process and figure out what that means to you, so I think it’s not a given, I think it’s something that’s explored every day.
iF: You share an agent with Mark Christopher Lawrence, who plays Big Mike on CHUCK, and you’re friends with James Kyson Lee of HEROES. Any chance you might appear on either of those series in your downtime?
BLUE: I would kidnap somebody to do that. I love CHUCK – Zach [Levi] is great, everyone in the cast is great, I think Yvonne [Strahovski] is gorgeous – and HEROES I’ve watched from Day One. I was speaking with [HEROES writer/producer] Bryan Fuller at Comic-Con and I expressed my love for all of his work. I’d love to be on those shows. If they offered it to me, but I would run to go do it. "If you could have any power, what power would you have on HEROES?" We’ve had this discussion in the makeup trailer, because [STARGATE UNIVERSE’s Ming-Na is friends with [HEROES’] Greg Grunberg. If there were other superheroes, I would have Peter Petrelli’s original power, where you could just have everyone’s [powers]. It’s kind of a cop-out, but I don’t want to have to choose. Now, the new version of the power I don’t like so much. I don’t want to have to choose one over the other and switch back and forth, I just want to be all-powerful. [laughs]
iF: Anything else we should know right now?
BLUE: Please keep tabs on me, at www.David_Blue.com or twitter/davidblue. As far as STARGATE UNIVERSE, and I really, truly mean this, watch and decide for yourself, because I guarantee you, that will answer all your questions.
Maddison from QLD, Australia sez.... i like reading interviews with moonlight stars on it! David, i LOVE ur character in moonlight. i think, if they made a movie or more seasons it would be more popular now than wat it ever was. because of the twilight think, if and vampire movie or series comes out it will be very popular.
12/7/2009 5:44:53 AM
Laura from Long Island, New York sez.... Dear David,
It's nice to see another famous New Yorker. I loved your article. We are all wishing for that Moonight movie. Good luck to you in all you do. I am also a member of World Wide Moonlighters. We are all pushing for that movie.
10/20/2009 12:27:12 PM
Shamrock317 from Southwestern USA sez.... Thanks so much for the article on David. Glad he's been working since the premature cancellation of Moonlight. David, if you read this, I was one of the fans standing outside the WB studios last year - picketing & shouting in the rain for more Moonlight, to no avail :( Take care!
10/19/2009 8:29:16 PM
MoonlightWishing from Atlanta, Georgia sez.... David,I am so glad that you have achieved success in SG Universe! Also I am glad you are looking out for a role for Alex! I have joined World Wide Moonlighters and Moonlight Army in the hopes of getting a movie for all of us to enjoy. Sounds like you miss "Logan" as much as we do - and we will keep fighting !!!!!!
10/19/2009 7:40:49 PM
Linda L. Bartell from Southeast Michigan sez.... Enjoyed the article - and loved David Blue in Moonlight. He's doing a great job in Stargate Universe now and I wish him well!
10/19/2009 6:54:21 PM
Silverchex from Las Vegas, NV sez.... Love your article, especially that you asked David about Moonlight and his comments. I've got a site called World Wide Moonlighters and we've been pushing for said Movie for awhile now. Warner Bros. answered us about the possibility so hopefully we will hear about them making a movie soon!
10/19/2009 4:09:24 PM
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David Blue in STARGATE UNIVERSE - Season 1
