061: Vaitiare Hirshon, “Sha’re”/”Amonet” in Stargate SG-1 (Interview)

Stargate SG-1’s first queen, both of Abydos and the Goa’uld, joins Dial the Gate to explore her origins initially in the feature film (yes, she auditioned for it!) on through SG-1 as both Amaunet and Sha’re.

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Timecodes
0:00 – Splash Screen
0:15 – Opening Credits
0:43 – Welcome and Episode Outline
01:10 – Call to Action
02:22 – Guest Introduction
03:26 – Getting Into Acting
08:58 – Personal Heroes
12:19 – Daughter Tatiana on the SG-1 Set
13:27 – Auditioning for Sha’re
13:51 – Vaitiare auditioned for the feature film Sha’re as well (Stargate 1994)
19:12 – What was it like to play 2 different characters? (“Sha’re”/”Amonet”)
20:54 – Christina McQuarrie’s Costumes
22:38 – Vaitiare and Michael Shanks
23:56 – Nudity in the Showtime Version of Children of the Gods
30:04 – Working with Peter Williams as Apophis
31:23 – A Memorable Role, and Working During Pregnancy
39:40 – 3×10 “Forever in a Day”
44:40 – Would you return to Sha’re?
46:44 – Did you get to keep props from the show?
47:05 – A Memorable Scene from SG-1
49:18 – Costume Changes
50:48 – Workout Routine
52:25 – Sha’re’s Accent
54:22 – Stargate Gives People Strength
56:15 – David thanks Vaitiare for her appearance
57:06 – Post-Interview Housekeeping
1:04:36 – End Credits

***

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TRANSCRIPT
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David Read
Welcome everyone to episode 61 of Dial the Gate. My name is David Read, thank you so much for joining me. I have a very special guest waiting in the wings here, Vaitiare Hirshon, she played Sha’re and Amaunet in Stargate SG-1 seasons one through three. I’m really looking forward to this interview, she’s one of my favorites from those early years of Stargate. Before we bring her in, if you enjoy Stargate and you want to see more content like this on YouTube, it would mean a great deal to me if you click the Like button. It really makes a difference with YouTube’s algorithm and will definitely help the show grow its audience. Please also consider sharing this video with a Stargate friend and if you want to get notified about future episodes, click the Subscribe icon. Giving the bell icon a click will notify you the moment a new video drops and you’ll get my notifications of any last minute guest changes. This is key if you plan on watching live. Clips from this live stream will be released over the course of the next several days on the Gateworld.net YouTube channel, our partner website. With Vaitiare we’re going to return to normal from what I had in Saul Rubinek’s interview from about an hour and a half ago. I wanted to try to start submitting questions in the comment section and that’s not working out as well as I thought. There’s something in the back end that I have to figure out. So for now, if you have questions for her, submit them at youtube.com/dialthegate, my moderating team is standing by to submit those into my feed here. In the meantime, I get to talk with her. Without further ado, thanks so much for joining me, Vaitiare Hirshon, hello, welcome to Dial the Gate.

Vaitiare Hirshon
Thank you so much, thanks for having me.

David Read
How are you doing? How are things going?

Vaitiare Hirshon
I’m good. Thank you.

David Read
You’re in LA right now?

Vaitiare Hirshon
I’m in L.A.

David Read
How’s it been?

Vaitiare Hirshon
It’s been well, it’s good. I can’t travel, I can’t go anywhere. So I’m home.

David Read
Good. Everyday we just take it one at a time and see where things go next from here.

Vaitiare Hirshon
Exactly. You’re in Arizona?

David Read
Yes, I’m in Phoenix. It’s a little bit more spread out and just taking it one day at a time and staying away from the other humans as much as possible.

Vaitiare Hirshon
With the mask.

David Read
Absolutely right, wear the mask. You’re from Tahiti originally, correct?

Vaitiare Hirshon
Yes. I was born in Tahiti.

David Read
Okay. How old were you when you realized that you had the acting bug? When you realized this is something that you wanted to do? I’m curious.

Vaitiare Hirshon
My father started the movie theaters in the South Pacific.

David Read
Really?

Vaitiare Hirshon
Yeah, in the 60s there was the drive-ins, then the 70s and 80s the cinemas. I grew with up with that but I was a little girl. I moved to America when I was eight and I didn’t speak English, I only spoke French. The teacher would say “well let them watch a lot of cartoons,” my brother and I, “to learn English.” We watched The Flintstones, Casper the Ghost. The commercials, we didn’t have commercials in Tahiti. We just had, I think, one channel and maybe from like noon to 10pm, not even. I saw all these kids on TV, it looked like so much fun. When we came to America I grew up performing in the Polynesian Show with my mum. We kind of toured the United States.

David Read
What did you do in this tour? What were your specialties?

Vaitiare Hirshon
We dance, like a Polynesian, the Tamure.

David Read
Oh, dance, okay, got it.

Vaitiare Hirshon
Like those Hawaiian shows, dinner family shows.

David Read
Fire dancing.

Vaitiare Hirshon
Oh yeah, that’s my favorite. I didn’t to do it, I wanted to though. So I grew up on stage performing in front of an audience and that was so much fun. I lived all around the States; Massachusetts, Florida, Nevada, California. We came back here, I think I was 12 years old, and I just wanted to be on TV because the kids looked like so much fun. I didn’t know how or how or what, but I remember that was my first thought, was, “oh, I want to have fun like these kids on TV.”

David Read
How long did it take you to get into that business?

Vaitiare Hirshon
Well, that was what? 12? Well, I was modeling first then in my early 20s I lived in Europe, I was modeling, working in Spain. I love Spain. I did a first film there, comedy, with the top comedians of Spain. I had never taken acting classes but since I was young, people in L.A. would always tell my mom, an agent, “put her in acting classes, put her in acting classes, we want to represent her. But I was a teenager, I didn’t know what I wanted. There’s that part too.

David Read
Yeah, figuring yourself out.

Vaitiare Hirshon
What else? I worked in Spain until my mid 20s. After doing that film in Spain I wanted to go to acting school. I came back here and looked for the best teachers and studied with teachers that I loved here. It was everything for me; I can say it saved my life.

David Read
Really? Kept you out of trouble?

Vaitiare Hirshon
Like peeling the onion, like going to the core. I was shy even though I grew up on stage. Part of me was shy, it’s like a Polynesian thing that we have. I remember my teacher, Larry Moss, he said, “Oh, we got to get rid of that Tahitian shyness.” He gave me all these plays, David Mamet, playing these explosive characters that took me out of my shell and it was so good. It was so good. It’s just such a good community. You make friends and going to auditions and I loved it. I did it, I think, for 15 years.

David Read
I’m always surprised at the number of people who I talk with on this show, who say, “I really am an introvert. I really am more more shy.” They use this craft, this medium, to kind of exorcise a lot of those demons and just get a lot of that out of the way. Then afterwards, “okay, I’m shy.” There’s like a duality there. There’s a structure to it as well, you’re not just necessarily, unless you’re doing improv comedy or something like that. You’re going out there and you’re doing a specific thing.

Vaitiare Hirshon
Right? You learn the technical part, you learn how to break down a character, do all that stuff, the sense memory stuff. Just the whole process, I love the whole process. It was therapeutic, it was like therapy and you learn so much about yourself. You learn so much about your characters, you put yourself through these characters which is amazing.

David Read
Vaitiare who are your personal heroes? Who are the people in your life that you looked up to and made you the person that you are?

Vaitiare Hirshon
I think my mom. I’m very lucky, I’m very fortunate to have a family that’s crazy, that’s fun, that’s loving.

David Read
Good crazy, good crazy.

Vaitiare Hirshon
Yeah, good crazy, out there. There’s so many marriages in my family and my mom came to America with two kids when she was young and wanted to give us a better life, or more of a life than the island life. I didn’t have a choice, I was eight years old, I didn’t know for us. “Oh my god, we’re going to America.” All our friends in Tahiti thought that was amazing.

David Read
Oh really? Wow.

Vaitiare Hirshon
My father’s half American, my father grew up in New York so I did have that American side. I was born and raised in Tahiti until I was eight. I forgot what the question was.

David Read
Your heroes. People who have led you down the road that you have now traveled.

Vaitiare Hirshon
My mom, my mom is my rock. Whatever I wanted, she was always supportive. She would put her heart out, whatever I wanted. If I was feeling insecure she would say, “you could do anything, you could do whatever you set your mind to. Just always be a good person, be kind and pursue your dreams. Pursue your dreams and have faith and everything’s possible.”

David Read
And you have a daughter of your own now! Do you find yourself being like, “Oh Mom, I didn’t like it then and now I’m saying it myself.” Certain situations, “I’m doing what she did.”

Vaitiare Hirshon
Oh yeah, I support her. She even wants to get into this business. Since she was little, since she was a little girl, we thought she wanted to be in front of the camera but Michael said, “no, no, you got to study, you have to do plays. You have to do it for the right reasons and really love it.” So in school, she did plays after school. She did plays and I put her in all the plays and I thought she was amazing. But there was something, there something like she would be in her own world. “I don’t actually like taking directions.” I think she likes giving directions. She thought she wanted to be in front of a camera but it was challenging for her in a different way. She discovered she preferred being behind the camera. Growing up on set with her father, she was in my stomach.

David Read
Exactly. Absolutely. So for those who don’t know, Vaitiare and Michael Shanks had a daughter, Tatianna, that’s who we’re talking about. Did she spend some time on the SG-1 set while she was growing up to?

Vaitiare Hirshon
Lots of time, yes. She was on all these amazing sets.

David Read
Oh my gosh, what a wonderland for a kid. Activity and people everywhere from all walks of life. Christopher Judge and I have talked a lot about his kids growing up with him on SG-1. His kids would come and go around the sets and they were little as well. He was like, “there were times when it was difficult. I couldn’t always be there. I was there, they were often there with me and that was a privilege but I couldn’t always be there for them.” I asked him, “as adults now, do they appreciate what you went through and what you had to do.” He’s like, “yeah, they absolutely did.” It’s challenging work.

Vaitiare Hirshon
It’s long hours.

David Read
Exactly right.

Vaitiare Hirshon
Long, long hours.

David Read
Tell us the story of how you got roped into SG-1. Did you see the movie?

Vaitiare Hirshon
I did when it came out, long ago.

David Read
That makes one of us. I didn’t see it until years later.

Vaitiare Hirshon
Stargate came out, SG-1, a couple of years after?

David Read
SG-1 came out in 1997 and the movie came out in 1994.

Vaitiare Hirshon
94, that’s right. I auditioned for Sha’re, for the same character for the movie.

David Read
You auditioned for the movie as well?

Vaitiare Hirshon
I auditioned. I had a callback, I met the director. He was so cool. I remember I went in and he sat on the floor in front of me. It was just very humbling, it took off the stress probably.

David Read
Yeah. Roland Emmerich, he’s brilliant.

Vaitiare Hirshon
He sat on the floor, I felt like I was right at home in Tahiti. We all sat, it was very comforting. He was so nice. I even had dinner after, I don’t know what time, with a group of friends. I don’t know if I had just shot, yeah, maybe before the series happened. It was such a great experience, I loved the roll.

David Read
I didn’t realize you auditioned for the feature film as well.

Vaitiare Hirshon
Yes.

David Read
Then come back years later and get the series version.

Vaitiare Hirshon
That’s weird. Yeah, that was weird. My agent called “okay, you have the audition for Sha’re. They’re making a series, MGM, take off from the movie.” I went, “okay, that’s cool.” I just went in, I read the script, they said it was a recurring role. I think the other characters, I think they were already boocked. I think Sha’re is probably one of the last characters that was booked.

David Read
Yeah. I knew they got Alexis from the feature film. Alexis carried over from the movie to kind of add that crossover legitimacy. Like “yes, this is the same.”

Vaitiare Hirshon
Yeah, he’s the only one, right? And Kasuf.

David Read
Yes, who appeared later, right, absolutely. Tell us about that original breakdown for Sha’re and coming into your own with that character. Knowing what Mili Avital did before, I imagine you would probably want to take on your own interpretation of the role?

Vaitiare Hirshon
Yeah, I just did my own thing. I had seen the movie, I don’t think I watched it before I went to the audition. I did my own personal thing with it, the breakdown. I remember going in and feeling very…I just loved the words in the script, I loved the language, I loved the whole feel. I felt like I was putting on the glove of this character. I went in without any expectation. I wanted to do my job, my five minutes in the door, out the door. Be grounded and just as focused as I could be and then just do the work. I did feel it was different, I felt very focused and grounded. I remember this other girl in the audition was asking me “Oh, how do you say this word? How do you pronounce this?” from the sides. Beautiful girl. You could pronounce it however you want and for me it reminded me kind of like the words in Tahiti, like the Tahitian language. Like my name, a lot of vowels.

David Read
Right. Did I say it right? [Vye-tee-are-ee]?

Vaitiare Hirshon
Yes.

David Read
Okay. I had to reach out to Chris to make sure.

Vaitiare Hirshon
On set they said “can we call you Vai?” I said “okay.”

David Read
The goa’uld, the Ancient Egyptian, they really made a point to make sure that, “if we’re going to do this, we’re going to do this right.” There was a lot that went into that; to making that show correct.

Vaitiare Hirshon
Yeah, for sure. The sets were magnificent, everything, the whole production was spectacular. I was so proud. I was so grateful. They called me two weeks later, they were filming already in Vancouver. The producer looked at the tape, they were gonna send it to set. I never know anything, I don’t know, as an actor. You just send your tape and you forget about it. If they call they call, if they don’t it’s on to the next one. But two weeks later they said I booked it and I’m off to Vancouver for a month for the pilot so I’m so excited.

David Read
A lot of times they say, “well, it’s a recurring part.” A lot of times I’ve heard actors say they’ll tell you that so they can get you for less money now. In this particular case, legitimately, it’s written so that she has to come back in some way. We have to resolve that story arc so there was definitely going to be more coming.

Vaitiare Hirshon
Yeah. I knew, they said it was recurring so that was exciting.

David Read
What was it like going through that emotional process? She doesn’t have a lot of dialogue, there’s much more going on with her face and coming out of Michael’s performance as well as Daniel. She’s been taken over by another being and her personality, her consciousness, is fading away into this monster that’s taking over.

Vaitiare Hirshon
Right.

David Read
Tell us about that.

Vaitiare Hirshon
Oh my gosh, it was so amazing to play that; to play two different characters. I followed the director.

David Read
Mario Azzopardi..

Vaitiare Hirshon
I deliver my line to Michael and then he said, “Okay, now you’re being like…” I don’t know what word he used. Like “swooshed. You’re being absorbed like a vacuum.”

David Read
Oh, Forever in a Day.

Vaitiare Hirshon
I don’t know what they’re gonna do. I just followed Mario’s direction. He talked me through it, like what happens now and he helped me a lot. He knew what he wanted of course, I didn’t know what they were going to do. You could see the difference when she’s Sha’re and then Amaunet. It was well done. It was amazing, amazing to play that.

David Read
Christina McQuarrie did an amazing job with the costuming, the especially for the pilot. The variety of costumes that that poor woman had to come up with! We’re just making up a lot of this as we’re establishing the alien world, first of all. We have Egyptian mythology to base a lot of it on, some of it we just kind of have to go out there and design some stuff. What was it like wearing some of those pieces?

Vaitiare Hirshon
I felt like a Queen, I felt like a princess.

David Read
From the robes to that, yeah. From the Abydonian robes to that, absolutely.

Vaitiare Hirshon
Those robes were just so earthy, you know. I loved getting dressed up and the full on makeup and the crowns and the heavy dresses. There was one dress that was heavy and spectacular. and covered well my baby bump. When I gave birth in the second episode…

David Read
In Secrets.

Vaitiare Hirshon
I was still pregnant. We tried to cover up but they did pad me anyway to look bigger than I actually was. I was padded. But oh my god, I loved both. Playing Sha’re and all her costumes with the stars and rope and that big purple hat with the veil.

David Read
And the snake, the Cobra on it too.

Vaitiare Hirshon
Red beads and white beads, oh, it was a dream. It was a dream to play, to wear all the costumes.

David Read
Tell us about working with Michael. You guys met on the set, is that right?

Vaitiare Hirshon
Yeah. They were already working. I arrived, they took me to set, I think we criss crossed in the in the makeup trailer. He was coming out, I was going in, I go “oh, I think that’s my husband.” We’re both shy in a way. He had to do his thing. I go and get makeup, a test makeup for the producers. Then we met at dinner, we all had dinner, the whole cast. We all had dinner to meet everyone so that was really nice. We became friends, we all became friends very, very quickly.

David Read
This was a tight knit crew. I remember Michael talking about how, for whatever reason, he and Amanda and Christopher gravitated toward each other during the audition process. Only later did they find out that they were on set together. He said that was very strange. There’s just certain things that just work.

Vaitiare Hirshon
That’s meant to be.

David Read
Do you mind if I ask you about your nude scene?

Vaitiare Hirshon
Oh, okay. Yes, no I don’t mind.

David Read
In the original Showtime request for creating the show, they required nudity for the episode.

Vaitiare Hirshon
At the time there was a lot of nudity on TV.

David Read
Exactly. At the time that was the thing; Showtime was cutting edge, “No Limits” was their slogan.

Vaitiare Hirshon
HBO was out there.

David Read
Stargate would never do that again. Had you ever done a nude scene before or was that your first?

Vaitiare Hirshon
No, never.

David Read
Okay.

Vaitiare Hirshon
I was offered roles, even just topless, and I turned them down. When I was 18 with Mel Gibson, The Bounty, it was topless and I said, “No, I won’t do it topless.”

David Read
Was there just something about the script? It was like, “you know what, I’ll go for this.”

Vaitiare Hirshon
They were going to cover me with leaves, but that’s another story. With Stargate it was just topless when I read the script, it was topless. It was my first time, I loved the script and I thought it’s appropriate, it’s a kidnap scene.

David Read
She’s being assaulted.

Vaitiare Hirshon
Yeah, she’s being assaulted. It wasn’t vulgar, it fits the script. It was okay, I said, “Okay, I can do this.” I called my father and I said, “hey, I’m in my first my first topless scene.” He’s in the movie business in France, he has a lot of movies from France too. In commercials in France you’re all nude, in the commercial.

David Read
Right, it’s completely different.

Vaitiare Hirshon
I’ve worked in Tahiti where it’s natural. So I go “okay, I’m ready.” He said, for him, “there’s nudity and then there’s poor nudity and I know you’ll never do poor nudity, of course.” That’s fine but I needed to tell him. So I was on set, but it wasn’t full nude at first, my contract wasn’t full nude. I kind of felt, I didn’t know, I felt kind of pressure. It was closed set, it was closed set.

David Read
Of course, they treat you with some respect.

Vaitiare Hirshon
I talked about it in an interview where they said, “oh, we need you to take off the lower part because we’re…” My eyes open this wide and I said, “I’m not doing it, full nude.” They go, “no, no, it’s just for the camera angle.” I don’t know, I’m on set, I said, “okay, no we’re not going to see anything.” Long story short, it’s time for the screening in L.A and they call me in and I have to resign the contract because now it’s a different scene.

David Read
They went ahead and used the complete frame.

Vaitiare Hirshon
Yeah, the full nude. I guess that’s what Showtime wanted, that’s what they wanted. I’m like, “No.”

David Read
It’s not what you contracted for.

Vaitiare Hirshon
They showed me the part in the office. Of course I was shocked because that’s not what I went in, with that. I was upset, I was very upset. They just wanted me to sign, so easy. I said “no.” The scene was like 20 seconds long, the first one I saw in the office. They cut it down. They made it seem like the whole premiere can’t go on tomorrow, like it was next week or something, unless I sign it. I felt a lot of pressure but that’s Hollywood, a lot of people get caught up in these kind of stories. I felt like, “oh my god, it’s gonna be my whole fault if I don’t sign this.” I was very hurt, I was very shocked, but it is what it is. It happened, it happened and that’s it.

David Read
It’s an effective sequence, because it establishes the horror of these monsters and what it is that they’re doing to the people that our characters love. I sure am sorry that you went through that. It’s a different era now and things are changing an awful lot. Now there’s a person on set specifically designated to take care of the actors who are being placed in these situations.

Vaitiare Hirshon
Right, because I didn’t know. I just felt “oh my gosh, I don’t want this to be my fault.” It was gonna be my fault.

David Read
Especially if it’s coming out in the next couple of days. If you don’t sign this they’re gonna have to go back and recut it.

Vaitiare Hirshon
Right. They’re telling me “it’s no big deal, it’s no big deal. Look at Europe, the actresses do full nudity.”

David Read
This is the contract. This is the contract.

Vaitiare Hirshon
She said “look at Julianne Moore.” She gave me that example, she did full nude, look at her career.

David Read
Yeah, Boogie Nights.

Vaitiare Hirshon
She gave me examples like it’s okay. I went into my European mode, like it’s okay.

David Read
Yeah, at this point it’s about a contract. What was it like working with the great Peter Williams? Talk about a bombastic personality. One of my favorite people, just period. He just relished that role, he was ‘the’ villain.

Vaitiare Hirshon
Well, I just saw the episodes that we did together. We were in Chulak, sitting there and being carried by the goa’uld. I was like “Oh my God, this is so great, this is amazing.” It was a dream job for for both of us, that’s how we felt. He was ecstatic about playing this part and me too. We were just sitting there going, “Oh, my God, this is so cool.” He did such an amazing job. We’d have lunch together on set and very nice, it was great. What an amazing character.

David Read
Personality. Those abs, right?

Vaitiare Hirshon
Those abs, those legs, saw it all.

David Read
Did you get the feeling that you were all creating something that was really going to withstand the test of time?

Vaitiare Hirshon
There was something magical in that…No, you don’t know. I know they were booked for, gosh, in those days it was like…

David Read
Two seasons right out of the gate, then four and then a fifth.

Vaitiare Hirshon
44 episodes, right? 44 episodes guaranteed off the bat, from the top. That was amazing so they knew they had something there but you never know till it comes out, right? To the fans, the audience likes it and they sure did. My god, the production. Like you say; the costumes, the production, the quality. I think it was the highest budget pilot at the time.

David Read
I would not be surprised of that at all.

Vaitiare Hirshon
In those days it was huge, it was like the biggest. You could tell from the set, the way it was filmed. It was like film quality.

David Read
They put some money into it for sure.

Vaitiare Hirshon
That they did. Yeah.

David Read
With season two, one Abydonian year to the day according to the show, Secrets. They bring you back and they bring in Erick Avari from the feature film, as Kasuf, who played your father.

Vaitiare Hirshon
Oh, he’s so cute. Oh, he’s amazing.

David Read
The guy’s an absolute hoot. It really was wonderful seeing that character return; adding even more legitimacy to the show, carrying it over from the future film, the same universe. Your character has returned to Abydos to give birth and like you said, at the time you were pregnant. Was the pregnancy worked into the script because you had been pregnant or were they planning on that anyway?

Vaitiare Hirshon
I don’t know if they were planning on it anyways. I think they wrote my character pregnant because I was pregnant. I was in L.A with Michael, “the writers are asking are you okay to shoot the next one?” They were very considerate and concerned about my health. I was six months so I was still okay to travel. They wanted to write in the next episode for Sha’re and Amaunet so I said, “yeah, let’s do it.” I really don’t know if it was planned or not, I don’t know, or if they wrote it around my pregnancy.

David Read
One of the earlier questions for the show was “does the host survive after the goa’uld has taken them over?” The goa’uld we’re always telling us, “no, they’re gone.” Of course they would say that to us because they want us to lose all hope and just kind of surrender to their process of farming us for hosts. But we find out that the goa’uld goes to sleep while the baby is gestating. Is that the right word?

Vaitiare Hirshon
The baby is supposed to be born stillborn.

David Read
Right, exactly. On top of that they’re not supposed to do what Apophis and Amaunet have done which is they’re creating a Harcesis which is going to have their knowledge. You’re not supposed to give a human baby the knowledge of the gods and that’s what happens when two goa’uld give birth. What was it like getting to jump back on this train after it’s been a year in motion and really sink your teeth into the dynamic between Sha’re and Daniel once she has been lost to him? He’s not sure if it’s really her talking to him, if it’s Amaunet screwing with him. He doesn’t believe a word she’s saying because he’s been conditioned to think that Sha’re’s gone.

Vaitiare Hirshon
Right. It’s very painful, it’s very painful for Shar’re when she sees Daniel. She’s pregnant, she loved him so much, he was her everything. They were so in love and then they were separated by this awful, awful demon situation. When she finds him again she’s embarrassed, she’s scared, because she is pregnant and it’s not his child. It’s not her husband’s child.

David Read
It’s not her fault.

Vaitiare Hirshon
She thinks she’s gonna lose her husband or he hates her, he doesn’t want her now. They had such a beautiful love story, they were so in love and they were perfect together until they’re ripped apart from each other. That was very, very painful.

David Read
Sha’re has always been a fighter.

Vaitiare Hirshon
Yes, she’s a fighter.

David Read
When the guards try and carry her off, oh man, she lets them have it.

Vaitiare Hirshon
She practically does a one-two [punch] when she’s taken to Apophis. Oh yeah, she’s a fighter. She’s a strong fighter, courageous.

David Read
The subtext that you have to play, because now she’s been impregnated by someone who has had her prisoner and has suppressed her personality and her whole existence. Now she’s faced with her husband, like you said, “how’s he going to respond to this?” Secrets has so many levels for you and Michael to play in that episode, if you’re paying attention. There’s so much there going on between the lines.

Vaitiare Hirshon
Yeah, there was so much for us. Even now, thinking about it, I’m a sap. I cry for anything. I just got into that character and I just let all my emotions come out. Every take when Sha’re had to cry, I’d just pour out and it’s, “oh my god, it’s like a river” because of the pain, to be taken away.

David Read
Yeah, from your loved one.

Vaitiare Hirshon
The surprise that it’s not his baby and she feels shame. It was very powerful and emotional. Very, very emotional.

David Read
There’s a glimmer of hope at the end of that episode because Amaunet, now taken over again, sees them and doesn’t reveal to her husband that SG-1 is still on the planet. It’s almost like Sha’re is in the back of her mind saying, “nope,” like something is getting through.

Vaitiare Hirshon
Yeah. She tries to fight it, she tries to come through to fight this demon. She tries it with all her might; she’s a warrior, she’s a fighter.

David Read
It was one of the things that really surprised me about the show because I assumed that the story arcs from the pilot were going to carry through the entire series as long as it lasted. Then when season three comes, the Skaara and Sha’re stories are both resolved in season three. That was one of the things that really shocked me as a fan was because I was expecting this to go on for years and we lose her in the very next episode. Forever in a Day is one of my favorite stories, but man, is that a hard show to watch. Tell us about coming back for Forever in a Day and getting stuck in that loop. Like you were saying, they were kind of pulling you back. One of the coolest visual effects of the show is when she’s trying to communicate with Daniel and she keeps on getting, whatever kind of reality or realm that they’re in inside of the hand device, she’s trying to communicate with him and she keeps on getting pulled away.

Vaitiare Hirshon
Right, That was fun to play. That was Peter directing me and saying, “Okay, now pull back, she’s being pulled back.” Again, because it’s special effects, the directors know in those moments what to tell us. It was very emotional scene, I love when she reappears to him and trying to get that message to him, to go and find the child, “don’t give up, just don’t give up. You gotta find the child.” There’s her courage and her force coming through and the Abydonians believe in that.

David Read
The funeral scene is one of the most beautiful even though it’s a dream, it’s still what we would have seen. That goes back to real Egyptian history there with the scales and the feather. It;s a beautiful scene.

Vaitiare Hirshon
Beautiful scene.

David Read
Did you see the follow up episode where they found the boy?

Vaitiare Hirshon
I didn’t.

David Read
I’ll send it to you.

Vaitiare Hirshon
Is it the next episode?

David Read
It’s in season four. I’ll send you the file because I think you’ll appreciate the conclusion. Well, they do find the boy, yes. They do find the boy later on in the season. I’ll send you the episodes, they’re very good. It’s a very fitting conclusion to her story. Were you surprised to find out in season three that that was going to be it? Were you expecting it to go on a little bit further or was it like, “you know what, I’m happy to get back once more and if this is it, this is it?” Or “really? We’re getting off the train a little earlier than I thought.”

Vaitiare Hirshon
I was pregnant. we had the baby, I was first time mom. Michael was on set 16 hours so, through Michael, we were talking and they would say “Hey, how does Vaiti feel about doing another episode?” Honestly, I was tired, I didn’t feel very pretty. I’d given birth. I thought I would be able to continue. I was finishing another series where I had a recurring role as well and they added more episodes. I was flying back and forth to finish that one and I was exhausted. I was so happy, this baby, my baby, my Tatiana, was the most important thing in my life. My age, I had my child later in life so to me nothing mattered except raising this little baby who needs you 150%. The producers are amazing. They asked how I felt and they’d go according to how we were doing..

David Read
So were you living in L.A at the time of this or were you in Vancouver?

Vaitiare Hirshon
I was in Vancouver. I want to be a mom and that’s what I want to do. “Okay, you’re gonna kill her off I guess?”

David Read
If you want to focus on that part of your life at that time, all the more power to you. It’s interesting to know that that was kind of the impetus for the direction that the story went, for that reason.

Vaitiare Hirshon
I remember that conversation going on.

David Read
Certainly fueled it. Like, “you know what guys? I’m gonna take this next train stop up here.”

David Read
Yeah, it was so much fun. My daughter’s “Mom, why did you do that?”

Vaitiare Hirshon
Is she a fan of the show?

Vaitiare Hirshon
Yeah, she’s watched it. I don’t think she’s watched everything.

David Read
Okay. She’s watched her your stuff?

Vaitiare Hirshon
Yeah. “Why did you? Why?” She loved it. She think it is just such a great…

David Read
“I did it for you. You were my focus at the time.”

Vaitiare Hirshon
Yeah, that was how I was feeling at the time.

David Read
If there was a chance to come back in some way in this new series that Brad is working on, would you be interested?

Vaitiare Hirshon
Of course. I can be bald.

David Read
Well, you know, Peter Williams. They put all kinds of headdresses, pieces on him when his hair started growing out.

Vaitiare Hirshon
They did?

David Read
He started growing out some dreadlocks in season eight so they gave him this tin man-esque hat. They they make it work.

Vaitiare Hirshon
That make it work. I had a wig on.

David Read
That was not your hair?

Vaitiare Hirshon
No. The pilot was a wig.

David Read
The pilot was a wig?

Vaitiare Hirshon
Yeah, the pilot was a wig and then they go, “Oh my god, you have all this hair! We had might as well use your hair.” My hair was shorter. I needed the perm and the bigger hair. By the next season my hair was longer and they saw the Tahitian thickness and they go “Oh my god, we do not need a wig for you.”

David Read
It’s beautiful. Let the hair shine. It was so cool to have that arc and to watch that. I go back and re-watch the show every now and then, as you do, as a fan does. That relationship between those two, Sha’re and Daniel, in many respects, arguably are the heart and soul of that show. Daniel is so much the heart and soul of the show and that was his drive; that was his reason for going through that gate.

Vaitiare Hirshon
Yeah, a lot of good storylines. Amazing to follow his character searching for his wife on all these different planets. What a brilliant, brilliant storyline.

David Read
Absolutely. I have some fan questions for you if you don’t mind.

Vaitiare Hirshon
I don’t mind.

David Read
Teresa wanted to know – did you get to keep anything from production? Did you get to keep a prop or did they give you a costume?

Vaitiare Hirshon
Polaroids of my costume. No, I don’t know. I don’t think, no.

David Read
Rachel Baker and Raj wanted to know – is there any single scene from SG-1 that stands out to you as a favorite after all these years? That’s a good question.

Vaitiare Hirshon
Well, the birthing, when Michael and I…

Vaitiare Hirshon
That was beautiful because we were talking to our baby when we were sitting setting up. It was very emotional and I have to become this devil evil person coming out. “I don’t want our baby to feel anything”. That was so sweet when he’s so caring and he’s there and taking care of Sha’re. He’s talking to the baby, Michael’s talking to our little baby, “just stay calm, it’s okay, Mommy’s gonna be acting.”

David Read
Oh my gosh.

David Read
You never know what’s getting through in there.

Vaitiare Hirshon
They feel everything.

David Read
Absolutely they do and that’s an intense scene.

Vaitiare Hirshon
So I was very concerned when I go into the evil Amaunet so we talked to her, we prepared her.

David Read
Absolutely, as best you can. Part of me would be like, “Okay, I’m simulating this on screen. Three months from now I’m going to be doing this, hopefully with an epidural.”

Vaitiare Hirshon
Please, por favor.

David Read
Gosh. Scotty0709 – had you seen the original movie? Did you see the film before getting on to the Children of the Gods set at that point? Did you go ahead and watch it then?

Vaitiare Hirshon
Yeah. I don’t remember if I watched it before my audition, I don’t think I did. I remember going to the theater and watching it.

David Read
Got it. Oh, so you did see it in theater back in the..?

Vaitiare Hirshon
In the theater, yes. Oh my gosh, that was spectacular.

David Read
It was one of the first blockbusters to be sure.

Vaitiare Hirshon
Oh, so beautiful.

David Read
Eva wanted to know – were there any changes or alterations made to your costume? Any modifications you suggested? Or did you just, as Christina designed them, you went with them?

Vaitiare Hirshon
I bowed to Christina, she’s amazing. I was just in awe. Each time they brought out something I was in awe. I think the purple hat, the big ears, the veil. I felt like they just threw the veil on top like it was a piece of sheet. I don’t know if I really liked that.

David Read
The ones later were better?

Vaitiare Hirshon
Yeah. I love the ones with the beads, the red.

David Read
I love the outfit from Forever in a Day.

Vaitiare Hirshon
Where I die?

David Read
It’s so seductive. She’s really turning that on, “come on Daniel, come into my tent. Come on up up the hill.”

Vaitiare Hirshon
That gold dress outside the tent, that was like eight months by then. She was on set, Ms. Shanks, she was already directing. She was sitting in her director’s chair, she was eight months old.

David Read
Aaah, that’s so sweet.

Vaitiare Hirshon
I’m glad the way they did it, that dress was was so beautiful. They got the right size because I did gain forty five pounds.

David Read
Well, it’s a matter of figuring it out. Everyone has different experiences after birth.

Vaitiare Hirshon
They’re good, they’re so amazing. It’s such a blessing to have worked with them.

David Read
Absolutely. Leepshin wants to know – how has Vai managed to remain ageless? What is your workout routine? What do you do?

Vaitiare Hirshon
Oh my gosh, thank you so much. What do I do? I work out.

David Read
Working out is the key.

Vaitiare Hirshon
That’s my drug, all my life. While being in front of the the camera, you had to, since I was young, I think it’s part of my habits. I walk my dog every morning.

David Read
What kind of dog do you have?

Vaitiare Hirshon
Shiba.

David Read
A little Shiba Inu, little triangular ears. So adorable.

Vaitiare Hirshon
I eat a lot of fruit, a lot of vegetables. I was vegetarian when I was younger. Pescatarian. Actually, I think with Michael, that’s when I stopped being a vegetarian, pescatarian.

David Read
Started trying a couple things?

Vaitiare Hirshon
Yeah. I was invited to meet his parents and his dad made hamburgers. I don’t want to be rude, “I’m a vegetarian.”

David Read
Oh no.

Vaitiare Hirshon
I had the burger and it was so good.

David Read
That’s fantastic.

Vaitiare Hirshon
But it was so good, so pescatarian out the window. But thank you, thank you for that compliment.

David Read
Melissa D wanted to know – was there anything specific you did to develop the accent for Sha’re? Was there any kind of tweaks that you made or did they just say, “you know, your accent works perfect.”

Vaitiare Hirshon
My accent, whatever accent that is, yes, please keep it. I worked so hard. I speak French and then third language is Spanish, no one can tell what my accent is. I’ve worked so hard because in those days, when I auditioned, they want an American to sound American. Now they like the accent but for Stargate they let me play with my accent, mine. Whatever I wanted.

David Read
It’s interesting. Alexis, he’s Latino.

Vaitiare Hirshon
Hola!

David Read
Alexis Cruz said that he modeled his accent off, I think he said his dad. He leveraged his dad’s accent a little bit in making Skaara’s accent.

Vaitiare Hirshon
I loved it, I loved what he did.

David Read
It was always one of my irritations with the show because I’m a big continuity whore. Oh, maybe I shouldn’t have said that word on here.

David Read
I wish that someone would have made the comment, “you guys, your English is great. Daniel’s done such a great job over the last year” because they didn’t speak it in the movie and he’s obviously taught them. I wish that someone would have just acknowledged that “you guys, you all sound so good.” Comment for Vaitiare from JohnFourtyTwo – I don’t have a question but I’d like to tell her how much her portrayal of Sha’re’s relationship to Daniel reminds me of my wife whom I lost 10 years ago.

Vaitiare Hirshon
We’re all adults.

David Read
Oh thank you. I’m so sorry.

David Read
There is something about this genre, and Stargate in particular, that gives people strength. If we’re open and we’re receptive, we see a little piece. We see the better parts of ourselves in the stories and we see the parts of ourselves where we have room to grow and change. When you have a chance to be a part of a piece of art that transcends the medium that it’s in, across time, and affects people for generations, that’s really special.

Vaitiare Hirshon
That is so special. It’s amazing. Such a blessing, a huge blessing to be part of that. I’m so honoured and I feel so grateful to be at the beginning of this amazing series that continued for so many years. It’s just fabulous.

David Read
And the fact that not only were you blessed with a great show and a great character, but you were blessed with a beautiful girl. How special!

Vaitiare Hirshon
It’s a gift from heaven, that’s a gift. A beautiful, beautiful little gift.

David Read
And she doesn’t look a thing like Michael man. She looks every bit like her mother.

Vaitiare Hirshon
Really? I think she looks like her dad.

David Read
You think so? Oh, I don’t. I was like “where’s Michael in that? At all? No.

Vaitiare Hirshon
She doesn’t. I see Michael, I see the mouth, I see a little bits of nose. She does look like me but I see Michael. With his long legs…

David Read
Oh gosh, I’ve not really paid much attention to Michael’s legs, let me tell you. That’s funny. Vaitiare this has been so special for me and for the fan community. Thank you so much for coming on.

Vaitiare Hirshon
Thank you everyone. Thank you, my pleasure.

David Read
I appreciate your time. I want to start doing at some point, maybe near the end of this year and next year, I want to start doing commentaries for the show. I would love to have you back on to discuss some of those episodes in more detail.

Vaitiare Hirshon
Okay, awesome. I would love to.

David Read
I really appreciate your time.

Vaitiare Hirshon
Good luck with your show. It was wonderful to see you.

David Read
Thank you so much, it meant everything to have you on.

Vaitiare Hirshon
Thank you. Thank you everyone.

David Read
I’m gonna go ahead and wrap it up and I will email you later.

Vaitiare Hirshon
Okay, send me that episode.

David Read
I will indeed.

Vaitiare Hirshon
Au revoir, bye.

David Read
Au revoir. Vaitiare Hirshon everyone, Sha’re and Amaunet from Stargate SG-1. I have fan art of Sha’re, let me pull this up here. Here it is, this was created by Splatter Phoenix. The subject is called Abydonian Skies. “I was always fond of the desert world of Abydos in Stargate and really wanted to do a rendition of Princess Sha’re, or Sha’uri, for all you diehard Stargate the film supporters. Happy balance. I felt her to be more of a warrior princess and not an unimportant and rather helpless. minor character.” Anyone who is going to be a child of Kasuf is going to have a strong head about their shoulders and be strong; just have that moral and constitutional strength. I think that if you’re watching Vaitiare’s performance in Stargate, that really is apparent. I apologize for the lines on my face. Someone just parked a truck outside my window and the rims are reflecting the sunlight through, so I look awfully weird. Dial the Gate has partnered with 3dtechpro for the month of December to give you a chance to get your very own Atlantis puddle jumper and BC-303. To enter to win these items you’ll need to use a desktop or laptop computer and visit dialthegate.com then scroll down to “submit trivia questions.” Your trivia may be used in a future episode of Dial the Gate, either for our monthly trivia night or for a special guest to ask me in a round of trivia. There’s three slots for trivia; one easy, one medium and one hard. Only one needs to be filled in but you’re more than welcome to submit up to three. Please note the submission form does not currently work for mobile devices. Your trivia must be received before April 1st. If you’re the lucky winner I’ll be notifying you via your email to get your address. Be sure to check out our partner’s website for more Stargate related merchandise and goodies at 3dtech.pro. I do have, I think at least one or two questions, that were submitted to me over the weekend. Scotty0709 – how annoying do you find these fake news stories like there’s an animated Stargate series rumored for Netflix? People are so excited about what it is that Brad’s working on and they’re so anxious for new material. Has it been confirmed to be fake? I know that Joe and Brad have definitely commented in saying that “this was news to me.” They had nothing to do with Stargate Infinity either and Stargate Infinity was real. Unless someone has confirmed from MGM that it’s fake, I don’t know. I suspect that it’s not real but everyone just needs to kind of hold their horses and wait until Gateworld confirms. I guess when Gateworld does then we’ll know that it’s real. THE EPIC CHANNEL wants to know when we’re inviting Lou Diamond Phillips. “Please invite Telford onto the show.” I have invited Lou, I reached out to his agent. I didn’t hear back so I reached out to Lou directly on Twitter and I guess he did not get the message. If there’s anyone out there with connections to Lou Diamond Phillips, I would love to have him on but I’ve not heard heard back yet. He has an open invitation. Robert Chaney – seems like you know these folks personally based on how comfortable you are with them. How long have you known most of these people? Vaitiare I reached out to for the first time last month, I’ve never actually spoken with her before. In general, I know all the cast and crew from all three shows. Just working on Gateworld since I was 18 years old and I’m 38 now so there’s some relationships that go back a pretty long way. It’s one of the advantages of this show for those who are still willing to talk about it. Some people have moved on, they don’t want to talk about it anymore, but for those who do, it’s a treat for all of us for sure. I do appreciate you guys watching. Merchandise, we got our merchandise here. Dial the Gate is brought to you every week for free and we do appreciate you watching but if you want to support the show further, buy yourself some of our themed swag. We’re now offering t-shirts, tank tops, sweatshirts and hoodies for all ages and in a variety of sizes and colors at Red Bubble. We currently offer four themed designs and hope to add more in the future. The word cloud designs have both a solid background or transparent background option so you have some flexibility between choosing a light or dark color, do keep that in mind when you’re making your selection. Checkout is fast and easy and you can even use your Amazon or PayPal account, just visit dialthegate.redbubble.com and thanks for your support. If you really enjoy Dial the Gate it would mean a great deal to me if you click the like button. It makes a difference with YouTube’s algorithm and will definitely help the show grow its audience. Please also consider sharing this video with a Stargate friend and if you want to get notified about future episodes, click that subscribe icon. If you plan to watch live, I recommend giving the bell icon a click so you’ll be the first to know of any schedule changes, which do happen from time to time with the show. Clips from this live stream will be released over the course of the next several days on Gateworld’s YouTube channel. Eventually we’ll be posting clips on Dial the Gate. It’s something that I wanted to do on a regular basis, much sooner than we have been, but it’s a time consuming thing. I’ve got a regular gig and most of the time is spent writing emails and securing the talent as well. That’s what I’ve got. Next weekend we have Cliff Simon, Ba’al, joining us March 14th at 12 Pacific Time, followed by Peter Kelamis. He played a couple of different characters, but predominantly Adam Brody on Stargate Universe. He’ll also be on March 14th at 2pm Pacific Time. We’re working out further guests beyond that. Robert Cooper and I have been talking about a third episode so hopefully that will be happening really soon. Lots more to discuss with Robert and who knows what’s gonna happen next. I really appreciate everyone tuning in and making the show possible. Let’s keep on going with the subscriber base, we’ve not yet cracked at 8,500. Once we hit 10,000 subscribers, a few different doors open up on the YouTube channel for some other perks and options and we’ll be going in that direction as well. My thanks to Sommer, Ian, Tracy, Keith, Jeremy, Rhys and Antony; my moderating team, you guys make the show happen. To Linda “GateGabber” Furey and Jennifer Kirby as well, my whole production team, couldn’t do the show without you guys. Thanks to Vaitiare once again for joining us. My name is David Read for Dial the Gate, I’ll see you on the other side.