Rather than, as an actor, I want the audience to like me, I'm going to smile beautifully and I've got everybody's sympathy - what about showing the moments when somebody is unbelievably petty? Or really selfish? The faults, the little things, those are the things that interested me about playing the character.

James Callis

Categorized in : Character Selfish Little Things

I think the level of devotion some sci-fi fans display turns other people off.

James Callis

fans people thinking

I think that there should be a Gaius Baltar Award for Moral Cowardice given out to people every year.

James Callis

awards years thinking

On a personal note, myself, I find religion - I can understand it, I can understand why we have it, as a kind of force on the planet. And I also at the same time think it's ludicrous.

James Callis

notes kind thinking

I've been acting for years and years, at prep school - school plays, that kind of thing. That was always very high on my agenda. I went to study English for two reasons. Principally because when I was in university, studying drama wasn't considered an option. You couldn't get a degree course for it. And so many plays and things that I was interested in landed themselves in a broader spectrum of literature.

James Callis

acting drama school

I was convinced that I was going to be onstage for the rest of my life.

James Callis

convinced

My first show, in England, was called Soldier, Soldier.

James Callis

england soldier firsts

Jokes are very curious things psychologically.

James Callis

curious jokes

What would I like? Some very silly comedy where I don't have to think about anything, but it could be a lot of fun. And if it's not that, then I'll want to be involved in something where it's like, you're really dredged up to the neck in emotion, where it's as exciting as the premise of Battlestar.

James Callis

silly fun thinking

When somebody says, Action, I act. When they say, Cut, thats my job. Ive done it.

James Callis

cutting done jobs

Anybody who has political ambition has an Achilles heel.

James Callis

achilles political ambition

I never talk about filming until I'm actually on the set and I've got the job, because otherwise - "Oh yeah, I'm going to be so busy," and then you're going to see me in McDonald's in two months.

James Callis

busy

Belief is everything when you're performing something. If you don't have the belief behind it, then that actually puts a shunt on the character. It's like, "Does the character believe this for a minute?"

James Callis

belief character believe

Whenever I hear somebody go, "I feel so religious right now!" I'm like, "Well, you're tying yourself up in knots, are you?" There's no spiritual connotation to that word whatsoever. And while it binds you to a rope, because it's about belonging, it alienates you to others. That can't be part of God's plan, if there is a God.

James Callis

belonging religious spiritual

On a personal note, myself, I find religion - I can understand it, I can understand why we have it, as a kind of force on the planet. And I also at the same time think it's ludicrous. My Latin education teaches me that religion comes from religio, which means, "to bind." To bind with rope. And that's all it means.

James Callis

latin mean thinking

You can't find that moment when you became somebody else, because everything is in flux. So as it were, the torturous period where you are changing, you are transforming - I think that can be very hard on somebody's system. You don't necessarily realize that is what's happening.

James Callis

realizing moments thinking

I did worry about being in a science-fiction show. The bits that I was reading, I felt were funny, and I felt the man was childish, so I really did ask initially, "Is this for kids?" And the thing that came back immediately was like, "Hey, take a look at this whole thing again. This is definitely not for children. How can you think that?"

James Callis

reading kids children

I think it was in my second week that I auditioned for Battlestar. I was very "Oh gosh, I want to be in television, I want to be in something, but I don't know if I want to be in this."

James Callis

week thinking

I went to Los Angeles, because I have a manager, and - I can't remember when, but we met in London maybe six months or a year beforehand, and he said, "Listen, if you really want to get a job out of L.A., you really need to come." And I was like, "Well, can't I send a tape or something?" And he was like, "No, no, you need to come."

James Callis

remember-when los-angeles remember

I was desperate to do more TV and film. Because I considered myself to be a theater creature. A theater animal. I was convinced that I was going to be onstage for the rest of my life. Because it's something I can really do. I thought I was pretty good at it, and it's kind of stupid, but I was concerned that people would go, "Oh yeah, he's very good onstage, I'm not sure he can do television."

James Callis

stupid animal people

Film and television as a medium has only very recently begun to be taught at the great drama schools in the UK. When I was at drama school in the UK, I was there for two and a half years, and we did one week of television and film. It's right before you leave. It's like, "We've taught you Anton Chekhov and William Shakespeare, you are likely to be in a washing-up soap-liquid commercial."

James Callis

film drama school