Paul McGillion

Paul McGillion: (about his character being killed off in "Stargate Atlantis") I spent three years on the show. From what started out being a recurring character we didn't even know, maybe three or four episodes, all of a sudden I was in 17 of the first 20 and they made me a regular. I got nothing but good things to say about those guys. They gave me a great opportunity. I was the only one from Vancouver that was a regular cast member. Being able to play a Scottish character, I had just a blast.

Paul McGillion: (describing the "Stargate Atlantis" cast) Joe Flanigan-"cool", Rachel Luttrell "hot", Torri Higginson "sexy", Rainbow Sun Francks "super cool", David Hewlett "not as cool as me."

Paul McGillion: (his funniest experience on "Stargate Atlantis") In the episode Duet - when we rehearsed the infamous kissing scene between myself and David Hewlett, he surprised me by planting me right on the kisser for real in the rehearsal - everyone on set lost it! I'm still in therapy for it.

Paul McGillion: (on what he would do if he wasn't acting) I have a teaching degree, so I'd be teaching in some capacity. I really love teaching. If I ever stopped acting I'd love to fall back into teaching.

Paul McGillion: (about his amount of technical dialogue in "Stargate Atlantis") I'm the doctor so I'm going to be hit with alien, medical, Scottish jargon at times. It can be a little tricky. Sometimes I'll read it and go: "Are you guys doing this on purpose?" Thankfully I have a brother whose just finishing his PhD in medicine and I call him up. He has a good Scottish accent too. So firstly he'll tell me what it means, and secondly say it with a Scottish accent. So I do my homework and I work very hard at trying to make it come across as naturally as possible.

Paul McGillion: (about why he loves working for "Stargate") I think the people I work with. I love my cast mates, they have become really great friends. Again not to sound cliché but it is like a family in a lot of ways and I really learn to respect all their individual talents as well as their friendship. David Hewlett is one of my closest friends now and I wouldn't have met him if it wasn't for Stargate. Also I love the character and being able to get great scripts. Like Martin Gero's "duet" is a fun script Damian Kindler's "poisoning the well" for me and working with Brad and Robert, those guys really took a chance on giving me Beckett and I just hope that I can step up to the plate every time I get a chance, every opportunity. And the food's good too!

Paul McGillion (if he speaks in a Scottish accent while not acting) Oh yeah lots of times, you know with ah, we improv a lot after the scene's over and sometimes they'll keep some of the material and sometimes they wont. Yeah I'll often throw in little things like "Ya cheeky little bugger" or something at the end of a scene just like a tag line or something for fun to do.

Paul McGillion: (about his movie "See Grace Fly") It's worth seeing, I think it's got an important message, how many times do you walk past people that are homeless on the street and really don't think much about it. And now, I think I always do, I wonder where that person comes from, how did they get there? They must have had a mum and dad at some point in time, brothers and sisters possibly, and now they're in this destitute situation; so it's sort of a sad thing.

Paul McGillion: Working with David Hewlett has been a tremendous experience. I just love working with David; we have a really great chemistry acting-wise on the show and he's become such a good friend of mind as well, so that's something else that I'll treasure.

Paul McGillion: (Speaking of his character, Carson Becket, from the SciFi show Stargate Atlantis) He's a great character. It's been a pleasure to play a Scottish character in a sci-fi series. It's nice to be able to portray a little bit of the heritage and hopefully do it justice. This is my first major role as a Scottish character. He's such a multi-dimensional character and they really fleshed him out thoroughly throughout the three years. I'm very happy about that.

Paul McGillion: Obviously I'm a big fan of SG-1 and the talented cast. I just hope Atlantis will enjoy the same level of success and continue to keep the audiences entertained.

Paul McGillion: I am one of seven children - I had to act to stand out and get noticed, not to mention fed and clothed!!

Paul McGillion: (Speaking of Stargate Atlantis ) The pilot was such a great experience for me and it was such a pleasure to have those terrific lines to say. Richard Dean Anderson and Michael Shanks were just wonderful to work with and extremely supportive. I don't feel any pressure to be "good", but I do hope the fans embrace "Carson".

Paul McGillon: You know, I'm a very personal, private person. Very personal. So personal questions about my private life -- so I prefer to keep that separate if I can. But where I grew up and everything, that doesn't bother me at all.

Paul McGillion: There are a lot of bad scripts out there, and unfortunately, you can't make chicken salad out of chicken shit.

Paul McGillon: I was born in Scotland and grew up in Canada - but I've spent my whole life listening to my mother and father speak with the accent - so it comes naturally! Every once in a while I'll break into the brogue for fun, it's just in my blood and such a fun accent to play with!