If you are a sci-fi fan in general, Nicole de Boer is no stranger to your television screen. Her list of credits is broad, and included Stargate Atlantis in the Season Five fan favorite episode, “Whispers.” We welcome her to Dial the Gate, where she takes your questions LIVE!

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Timecodes
00:00 – Opening Credits
00:46 – Welcome and Episode Outline
02:25 – Welcoming Nicole
04:04 – Discovering Acting
08:44 – Role Models, Roles Which Helped Her Grow, Star Trek and Terry Farrell
15:24 – “Whispers” and Horror
26:58 – Paul McGillion and the Set
29:27 – Longevity of Stargate and Star Trek, Stories and Characters
32:52 – Fan Questions, Roles Yet to Do
36:33 – Past and Future Stargate Roles, and Acting
43:07 – Deep Space Nine Memories, Wrapping up with Nicole
47:48 – Post interview housekeeping
51:07 – End credits

***

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TRANSCRIPT
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David Read
Hello everyone, and welcome to episode 107 of Dial the Gate. My name is David Read. I’m very privileged to be joined in this episode by actor Nicole de Boer. She played Dr. Alison Porter in one of my favorite episodes of Stargate Atlantis, Whispers, a very memorable show. Before we bring her in, I would ask that if you are a fan of Stargate, and you want to see more content like this on YouTube, it would mean a lot if you click the Like button. It makes a difference with YouTube’s integrated algorithm and will definitely help the show continue to grow its audience. In just barely a year, we’re almost hitting 20,000 subscribers. I would never have imagined that, so thank you so much. Please also consider sharing this video with a Stargate friend and if you want to get notified about future episodes, click that Subscribe icon. And giving the Bell icon click will notify you the moment a new video drops and you’ll get my notifications of any last minute guest changes. And clips from this live stream will be released over the course of the next several weeks on both the Dial the Gate and GateWorld.net YouTube channels. This is a live show, which means that if you are seeing this as live on YouTube on Saturday afternoon, or morning, or evening, depending on where you are from, that will give you the ability to log in and ask Nicole or myself a question. Nicole and I will talk for a little bit then I will turn the floor over to the moderators, they’ll be accumulating these questions. I will ask some of them to her and any about the show or anything relating to what I’m doing with the series will be asked after the guest exits. So without further ado, let me go ahead and bring in the person of the hour. Nicole de Boer. Thank you so much for joining us.

Nicole de Boer
Hi David, thank you so much for having me.

David Read
Good to see you again. How are things going?

Nicole de Boer
Things are good. Listen, I cannot complain. I mean, it’s been such a crazy past two years.

David Read
What are you talking about, it’s been perfectly normal for me. No, I’m kidding.

Nicole de Boer
I mean, this is normal. This is totally normal now.

David Read
How is it, looking back on these performances — everything from Cube forward — of the stuff that you have done over the years? Does it tend to be the sci-fi stuff that sticks in people’s craws when they meet you, or when they come across you and say, “Oh, yeah, that thing.” Or is it not so much? You’ve done a lot of science fiction, a lot of good science fiction.

Nicole de Boer
Thank you. I think I have too, and I gotta tell you, I am super proud of that stuff. I mean, I really am. And so yeah, definitely, I think that’s mostly what people recognize me from. I mean, it’s gonna be Star Trek, Stargate, The Dead Zone, sometimes more in the United States, The Dead Zone. And then Kids in the Hall. And those are the main things. And that’s great by me. Totally great by me.

David Read
At what point did you realize that this is what you wanted to do for your life, in your life, was to act? How old were you? What was… set us up on this adventure that you fell into?

Nicole de Boer
I fell into it as a child, as a kid. And I was actually at my mom’s recently, and she has all this stuff of mine in the basement and I was going through it and I found my old grades and stuff. It was funny to notice how they got worse as I got into high school. I was actually acting and not going to school and… terrible. I was a good student, but I just, I wasn’t around. But anyway, I looked back and I found this third grade project and it was called My Life Project, which is hilarious because you’re in third grade and you’re talking about your entire life. But at the very end of it, it says, “What do you want to do in the future?” And I said, “I would like to move to California and become an actress.” And I don’t remember writing that. I don’t remember thinking that in third grade, at all. So I was like, “Okay, check and check. I did that. That’s great.” But it was more when I got into it — it’s all over online — I played Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz. And then I joined this community theater group with all adults, and they needed someone to play the part of the Bad Seed in their production of The Bad Seed. So, child murderess. So I played that part, and then…

David Read
Gotta start somewhere.

Nicole de Boer
Yeah. And then it was really my grandmother. I had a single mom and we were very close with my Scottish grandparents, we always lived right next to them and I would go there before school and after school, and so my grandmother took me and got me an agent. And then I got started in the biz. But it didn’t really get going until I was 17 and I landed my first series regular role on a CBC show called 9B.

David Read
Anything that you could have told yourself now, then? “You know what, this will cause you some pain, try to avoid that. That person, they’re not worth that in this industry.” Professionally, I mean, not just general… or, I mean, general life experience that applies.

Nicole de Boer
Yeah, just to have… because we all… you have moments of great confidence and then other times you’re terrified of stuff. Mostly just to go for it, at times where I might have chickened out a little bit or felt a little fearful. But I have to say, David, other than that, I’ve been very, very fortunate in all my time, of all the people I’ve worked with, it’s always been a great experience. I’ve had one tiny time with one person, that was not great. But really, other than that, I’ve been really very blessed. And it’s been wonderful. And it’s sad to find out, as I got older, how blessed I was and how lucky I was, and that really bummed me out to find that out. But I really had wonderful experiences with everyone I worked with, pretty much.

David Read
Do you mean that you didn’t feel grateful enough?

Nicole de Boer
I mean, I was sad to find out as I got older — because, like I said, I started young — when women started to talk about experience. When I started to hear about things that were going on, that’s when I felt upset that that was, kind of, almost the norm. And to realize, “Wow, how did I get by without…? How did I not…?” To miss that kind of thing? And I did. And it’s sad that I should be so grateful that that should be not as normal. You know what I mean?

David Read
I mean, you can certainly speak to the behind the scenes element to it. But, certainly, when you look at — and I’ve seen a fair bit of your work — when you look at the caliber of people that you were paired with, and…

Nicole de Boer
That doesn’t matter, right? As we found out. But yes, I’ve been so blessed to work with amazing people that I managed… that I could learn from, that did, show how things are done, that did hold a tone for how we’re going to do things in a standard that was high. And then that’s how I learned and so that was great.

David Read
Who has helped you learn the most over the years? Has helped you grow as a person and as a professional?

Nicole de Boer
As a professional… It’s different people. It’s… women, usually, of other actor friends, of female friends of mine. Just different advice, when you’re sitting together with a glass of wine, talking about the industry and roles, and just over the years it’s mostly been my female actor friends, really. We all support each other.

David Read
What role, would you say, Nicole, helped you grow in ways that you didn’t expect? Or pushed you harder than you expected it to, when looking back on the work and saying, “Wow, that really influenced me as a human being, that really influenced me as a person, that gave me… that reinforced my character in ways that I didn’t necessarily expect.” Not just character as the persona, but character as you, as a human being.

Nicole de Boer
I don’t know if there’s any one particular… I mean, being on Star Trek and playing Ezri Dax was just huge. I mean, it absolutely changed my life, in many ways and I did have to push for different things within that season that I was on. It was just one season, but…

David Read
The final season of a landmark show.

Nicole de Boer
Yes.

David Read
You’re one voice. That had to have been tricky.

Nicole de Boer
Exactly. So, there was a lot of elements to that, it was coming in and “replacing” someone and the nerves that go along with that, and just wanting to do such a great job. It was the biggest thing I had gotten at that point. And then there were certain episodes where I really had to push myself, to really dig deep with the character. And just the size of the show and the very, very long hours. I think we’ve made other documentaries now, talking about the extreme long hours on that show. But the people were great. There was some inter-politics dramas. I was coming in at the very end of a long time that those actors had been together, so they had a lot of stuff that had gone on in that time and I was coming in at the end of it. And so there was a lot of growth there for me, and wonderful, really wonderful, just being pushed that little bit, having to reach that little bit all the time and learned so much on set. How to manage myself as an actor, as my business, interpersonal. All of it.

David Read
A brand, everything.

Nicole de Boer
Yeah.

David Read
Jeri Ryan had said — I don’t know if it was Brannon who warned her before she… or one of her peers — that, “You know what, you’re gonna get aboard this moving train, you better start jogging beside it, because it’s not slowing down, and it is… once you’re aboard, it is what it is.” And I would imagine that would be… the stressful thing for me would be knowing when to speak my mind and when to speak up on something and when not to, because so much of the rhythm of the show is completely set in place, and you kind of just have to, in certain parts of it, find where you fit in. And also, be brave and willing to speak your mind at certain points, too. I don’t know if I could do it!

Nicole de Boer
Definitely, I think the main thing that helped me with that is, I just felt so right about playing that role. Like, as soon as I read the sides for the audition, I just knew that was my part. So feeling that good… because I haven’t always felt that good in stuff that I’ve done. You know, you go and you do it and you’re like, “Oh, it was good, it was okay,” but some you just feel more perfect for, so, it would have been scary to go into that situation if I didn’t feel so sure about playing Ezri Dax. So that really helped, a lot.

David Read
As a fan of DS9, I have… feel free to say, “I’d rather not go into this,” which is fine.

Nicole de Boer
We’re here to talk about Stargate!

David Read
I know, I know. Before I get to the meat and potatoes of Stargate, past present or after, did Terry ever give you her blessing on the performance as well? Or was it just, “This is your take, this is your character. Now you do your thing, I did my thing.”

Nicole de Boer
Yeah, she didn’t… no, because we didn’t talk to each other beforehand at all. I mean, I was coming from Canada, she was already on Becker. It was such a fast process. I was brought in, I got my uniform, I was on set. And I knew Terry was nearby.

David Read
Yeah, she was practically next door.

Nicole de Boer
Yeah, so I was like, “I really want to see her,” but we didn’t actually get to see each other because of both of our crazy schedules. Until we did a convention in Pasadena right as we both finished the season, filming. I will say that it’s all good. I think for Terry, she was very, very hurt. And not by me, by producers and stuff and she has since spoken on that and made very clear. And I just felt so bad about that. So, she wasn’t running to grab me and hug me or anything, but it wasn’t about me personally. And then later, her and I got to go to Australia together to do a convention down there, and we were hanging out and it was like we were sisters and it was all great.

David Read
I cannot recommend enough What We Left Behind. It was a crowdfunded documentary that performed extremely well, only, I think, to be beaten by To the Journey, the Voyager one that’s coming out now. And all of what we’re talking about is discussed in this and it’s definitely worth everyone’s time if you’re a fan of DS9 to check it out.

Nicole de Boer
Yeah.

David Read
Stargate Atlantis.

Nicole de Boer
Yes, let’s talk about that.

David Read
Another joining in on the final season. Ultimately, what was the final season. Had it not been, I am convinced that you guys — you gals — would have been brought back for another one because the episode was so much fun and so cohesive and just worked. It’s an episode called Whispers, written by Joseph Mallozzi and Paul Mullie. I watched it again last night before joining you for this and it is one of my favorites hours of Atlantis. Tell us about getting this role and working with this cast?

Nicole de Boer
Yeah, for sure. It was so great. When I got the audition, I was super excited because I was like, “Stargate, this is awesome, it’s such a cool show.” Of course, I know people on it, I knew David Hewlett, and we’ve worked together on Cube and stuff before.

David Read
And not one scene shared with him in this one.

Nicole de Boer
I know! It was too bad. But I did get to meet Paul McGillion and he was pretty fun and great, too. But yes, I would love to work with David Hewlett again, oh my God. So, yeah, I was really excited and the first time I came in, I went to MGM in LA to audition and they asked me to read the role of Teldy first. And then… I can’t remember now, because it is a little bit of a long time ago…

David Read
Yeah.

Nicole de Boer
If I did the audition and went home, and then they asked me back? Or maybe they had us… maybe they had me read both parts. And I remember doing Teldy first. I can’t quite remember that, but I do remember that I read for Teldy first, and then I read for Dr. Porter after. And that was a good sign because then I thought, “Okay, that’s good, because I’m probably going to get Dr. Porter, if they’re asking me to do that.”

David Read
Yeah, absolutely. “Let’s try this one.”

Nicole de Boer
Yeah, exactly. And I thought, “You know what? I think this part’s better for me anyway.” When I read it I was like, “Yeah, this makes more sense.” So, yeah, I got the part and I got to go up to Vancouver, which is always a treat. I love filming in Vancouver. And then they said, “We want to have you guys come in early, too, because you’re going to need to fire, use these P90’s.” And I was like, “What’s a P90?”

David Read
Submachine gun.

Nicole de Boer
And then I found out and I was like, “Whoa, really? What? Okay.” So we all had to come up. Now, I was a new mom at the time, a pretty new mom, my daughter, Summer was, like, 15 months at the time. So I had to figure it out and arrange if I’m going to have a nanny or what, but my parents were always excited to be with their granddaughter, and to come to Vancouver. In the past, I would have them come and we’d be put up at the Sutton Hotel. And my parents would fly out and I would take the pullout couch and I would give them my room and make it a little trip and I’d go work on set all day. So they were like, “Yay, can we do that again?” I said, “Sure, you’re gonna be babysitting.” So I’m coming in and I’ve got to do these P90 rehearsals. I meet the gals. Of course, Christina Cox and I came up together, we knew each other. We were both young actresses in Toronto, so we go way back. But we’d never actually worked together, so this was our first time working together. And the other problem is, is I got a terrible sinus infection as soon as I got there.

David Read
Oh no!

Nicole de Boer
Like, one of those where your head is just, “Ah!” So bad, so bad. And I’ve since learned to give up dairy. But for many years, I constantly had these sinus infection. So, I get up to Vancouver and I get a sinus infection. And it was super painful and I had to get the doctor to get me antibiotics and stuff. So, we went in to do these… to learn how to handle these guns. These automatic… semi-automatic rifles?

David Read
It’s a semi-automatic weapon, yeah.

Nicole de Boer
Weapon, yes. And it was… I was into it. Super cool. I mean, nervous, but into it. I was in… I was a bit miserable with my face at the time. But…

David Read
Oh, absolutely, it’s one of the worst things you can have.

Nicole de Boer
It is, and it was the only thing that made the whole thing a bit of a bummer, but once the antibiotics kicked in, it was great. And I met Janina, who was really a hoot, right away. I was like, “Wow, this woman, this young woman’s a hoot, she’s going places, too.” I could tell right away. And Leela, who was so lovely and great. So, we all get in there, but, Christina Cox was already like a pro. She had used guns in so many… and these types of weapons, and was such a pro. So, Christina’s just like, “Yeah, give me this thing.” And she just amazing. We’re all looking at her and we’re like, “Oh, man, we gotta… We gotta figure this out.”

David Read
“Up our game.”

Nicole de Boer
Totally, “We gotta up our game with this one.” Yeah, it was great. And we spent, I don’t know, better part of a day learning how to use them and I felt pretty good about it. I was like, “Okay, yeah, this is pretty cool.”

David Read
The firearms training is always a tricky balance, because, that’s the thing… With Stargate, it was very much part of that show, being a paramilitary series.

Nicole de Boer
Yes, it was, and I learned that.

David Read
And they took it so seriously, like, “If you respect this weapon, and you’re safe with it…” They teach you what to do.

Nicole de Boer
100%. And of course that’s very much, right now, what’s going on with everything.

Nicole de Boer
On the set of Rust and stuff. And it really did give me pause and make me think about all the times that I’ve had to handle a weapon in my life.

David Read
Exactly.

David Read
Correct. You use your own personal experience to say, “Okay, how could this have happened based on what I know to be standard, or what I have been trained to do.”

Nicole de Boer
I’m no big weapons… but I have, from my first, from Prom Night IV I had to have a handgun pistol and fire it and I remember every single time…

David Read
Checking it?

Nicole de Boer
Yes! I didn’t even need to check it because the person, the armorer, or whoever, or props person or whoever it was, would yell, “Everyone stop and look and here’s the gun and here’s the barrel and here, it’s empty.” And, I mean, very, very clearly. And I would be standing there looking at it going “Okay, okay. Yes, yes, yes. Okay. Great. Yes, thank you. We all saw that, great.”

David Read
Yeah, “What happened?”

Nicole de Boer
That’s what you need to do.

David Read
It’s still a developing story, so we’ll see.

Nicole de Boer
Yeah, so, anyway. But very safely, very well handled on Stargate and that was really fun. And then we get into the filming and the fog and the scariness. I gotta say, a funny thing about me is, I don’t really like to watch horror movies or horror, but I like to be in them.

David Read
Really?

Nicole de Boer
Yeah, I like making them, but I’m not someone who likes scary movies, really, I get way too scared. I mean, watching Stranger Things with my daughter was like, “That was tough.” I mean, that was scary! Come on, like, those things are scary in the beginning. So that kind of reminds me of — Whispers was first — that sort of same kind of thing. You know, when we were watching Stranger Things I said to my daughter, I was like, “Ooh, this reminds me of doing Whispers.” Like, “There was this bog and it was so scary and the creatures…” And the creatures were great. Those actors did such a wonderful job, such a good job.

David Read
They could barely see. They had little slits, I’m sure.

Nicole de Boer
They can’t see. No, they’ve got this goop and can barely see, they’re in all this fog. Their physical stuff was so good, but then it was so cute because off-stage, off set, outside, my parents and my daughter came to visit and she wasn’t scared of them.

David Read
Really?

Nicole de Boer
They’re talking in a nice voice, like, “Hi, how are you?”

David Read
“Don’t mind me, I’m just working with your mom.”

Nicole de Boer
I know, and I remember thinking, “I wish I got a photo of this.” I was gonna text my mom this morning and say, “Do we have any photos?” And then I also remember Jason Momoa coming by, so I was like, “Damn it!” I wish I got a photo of my daughter with the creatures and Jason.

David Read
It’s interesting you say that you don’t much like to watch horror but you didn’t mind being in it? Did you like haunted houses growing up?

Nicole de Boer
No. I mean, my mom used to play this game with me because we had an apartment where the kitchen [inaudible] to hold my dog, which is a Lhasa Apso, not a very scary dog.

David Read
Oh my gosh.

Nicole de Boer
She would hold him and we’d get him all revved up and then I would run — I was a little kid — and I would run around, he would chase me, and I would be terrified of my little fluffy dog chasing me around the house.

David Read
There’s a circuit that switches on in your head. It’s the part of us that used to be prey.

Nicole de Boer
Yeah, that’s right. And I kind of liked it too, but I don’t like to watch it. But it’s fun to be in it because you’re seeing how it’s all made.

David Read
Yeah, you’re a part of the magic.

Nicole de Boer
You’re a part of the magic and I think that’s pretty fun. And same when I did Prom Night IV, that was pretty fun, too. So I haven’t done a ton of horror, but I do… yeah, it is fun to be part of, I gotta say.

David Read
Did the fog trigger your sinuses at all, make it any worse?

Nicole de Boer
Oh, yeah, I was a hot mess at that, but I had the antibiotics going.

David Read
Okay, it does make a difference.

Nicole de Boer
And you know, what else helped, was Joe Mallozzi’s amazing chocolates he had on him.

David Read
Did you have a chocolate party, or did he bring some to the set?

Nicole de Boer
So the norm… He had a chocolate parties… Oh, no, you know what? He might have had a chocolate party, but I just couldn’t go, between my little girl and my sinuses. But I remember the door knocking in my hotel room and it was Janina and Christina and they were like, “Hey!” and, “We brought you some chocolates.” I still remember that. So I think they went over to Joe’s house.

David Read
Okay. He had an annual chocolate party for years.

Nicole de Boer
Yeah, I know, I remember him saying that. But we had some on set and it was awesome. I think there’s a couple of photos floating around out there with me, biting a chocolate.

David Read
How was Paul? Did you know Paul? You didn’t know Paul before this?

Nicole de Boer
I didn’t, no. I mean, Paul McGillion, he’s a hoot. He’s great. And of course, I loved it because I grew up with my Scottish grandparents, so a bit of a soft spot there for the Scottish accent. We had such a good time, Paul and I. Yeah, I really liked those two characters together, Dr. Porter and Carson, I thought they were adorable. I mean, I looked at the show recently, so I could do this, I looked at it the other night and I was like, “Wow, the majority of this is just Paul and I flirting.”

David Read
Yeah, it’s adorable. Dusty sure doesn’t think so, but, you know, “I’m gonna go sweep the neighborhood again.”

Nicole de Boer
Yeah, exactly. Yeah, really fun. And then also with the other Joe. I mean, he’s great, too. It was just a really… it was a fun experience and Will Waring did such a great job of directing.

David Read
Yes.

Nicole de Boer
Do you remember those… the tent that we had so that we could keep all the smoke in it?

David Read
‘Cause that stuff isn’t cheap, you know, you want to preserve it as much as possible.

Nicole de Boer
They used a ton — a ton! — of smoke. The fog. It was thick as soup, it was so thick!

David Read
The thing that I love about that particular set, they called it The Village set.

Nicole de Boer
Right.

David Read
They had introduced it, I believe, in season two of Atlantis and season nine of SG-1. It was an enormous soundstage. It was one of the bigger ones that Bridge had. They could convert it into almost anything. And especially with the fog, when I was rewatching the episode, you could see how they reconfigured it so you could tell, with the landmarks there, kind of where you were in the village in the episode. And the stuff… it’s just a huge jigsaw puzzle. When it all comes together on screen, the location of the well, it’s the center of town, you kind of get your orientation through this soup. It’s just brilliant stuff.

Nicole de Boer
Really brilliant, I mean, the special effects. They did such a fantastic… the set. I mean, everyone, it’s just an incredible job, I was so impressed.

David Read
When you look back at these long-standing franchises that you’ve been a part of, two of the biggest ones in all of television, right there, that we’ve just been talking about…

Nicole de Boer
Yeah.

David Read
What is it? Do you see any, in terms of commonalities, of why they just keep on stretching off into the distance? Like, Star Trek has had five or six, seven series since DS9, and Stargate, there’s murmurs that it’s going to be booting up once again, we’re at 360 some odd episodes, and we’ll be getting started hopefully in the next couple of years with whatever MGM and Amazon are cooking up. What is it that transcends this medium and just makes it so evergreen, in your estimation? Is it the stories? Is it the characters?

Nicole de Boer
Yeah. It’s both, it’s all of that, it’s this guiding light for us. If you’re not… whether you are religious or not, but certainly if you’re not, which a lot of people are science-minded, whatever that is, it is something that remains, like, looking at the human condition and gives you hope and gives you a set of morals and guidance. I mean, that what I feel it is, really, and definitely the hope for humankind. Yes, we’re not perfect and reflecting on history, because that’s the main thing, right? And it’s unbelievable, it’s like, “Haven’t we learned from history? And haven’t we learned how to…” And I think these shows are constantly a reminder, written with these beautiful stories, to remember our humanity and to have hope for us and to know that we’re not perfect, but to keep striving for our best selves. And I think that’s why people turn to it again and again and again. And you know, ’cause things get blown up, and it looks great.

David Read
No, I think you’re right, I think the best of this stuff holds a mirror to who we are and makes us remind ourselves, “Okay, yeah, we’re not as big as we think.”

Nicole de Boer
Yeah. And it gives a family to so many, too, and then, of course, you have all the various conventions for all the different shows.

David Read
Right.

Nicole de Boer
And that’s family there, too. Yeah, I mean, there’s no doubt in this crazy time that we’re going through, and there’s been a lot of crazy times throughout history, it’s just that we have social media too, and news, and it’s in your news feed constantly, from the moment you open your eyes to the moment you close them. We’ve gone through tough times before, but we need something like this to keep us together and I think these shows really provide that.

David Read
I think that’s a great point. It’s the glue that keeps us together.

Nicole de Boer
Yeah.

David Read
I mean, certainly in my household, it’s something that… My father and I are way too similar for our own good, but we set our differences aside and watch science fiction, and come together. I’ll just leave it at that.

Nicole de Boer
That’s wonderful, then. That’s good for you.

David Read
Tracy wanted to know, “Is there a role, Nicole, that you would love to take on that you haven’t yet had the opportunity? Or perhaps a particular genre?”

Nicole de Boer
Well, I can tell you right now that I’ve done different genres, and honestly, I’m really comfortable in sci-fi.

David Read
Yeah.

Nicole de Boer
I enjoy that world, I always have. I mean, I remember when I started doing it I just sort of fell into it. In Toronto, there’s just a lot of sci-fi being shot there, in Vancouver, and I just started doing it. And I really liked it because it wasn’t just playing some guy’s girlfriend. They were stronger roles, they were more interesting. I actually loved wearing the uniform because I hate going to wardrobe fittings, constantly, when I’m on a show, and it’s just adding more time to your day. Nothing against wardrobe, they’re amazing and it’s fun to dress up and stuff, but I’m a kind of gal… I’m like jeans and t-shirts kind of gal. And it’s nice to dress up, but I love just having the same thing to wear every day and not having to constantly figure out what you’re gonna wear and go to wardrobe fittings. Seriously! And I just love being in space and I feel good there. I feel comfortable there. I like sort of military stuff, too. Not like action, I just mean the… you know?

David Read
The uniformity.

Nicole de Boer
Yes, yes! And the sort of… yeah, and all that. I just love it, I just feel comfortable there.

David Read
If only they would have added pockets on those Federation spacesuits.

Nicole de Boer
Yeah. But I think now, especially that I’m older now, I think I would like to play a role with a little more maturity. Because I’ve always been cute and younger and all that kind of stuff. Ezri was sort of confused, but getting there. I would like to play something a little more together, with a little more power.

David Read
I loved one of your performances that had such an edge by the end of it — I don’t know if Brad Wright wrote it or not — your episode of The Outer Limits with Robert Patrick. And the makeup.

Nicole de Boer
So good. It’s still one of my favorite things I’ve ever done.

David Read
It’s a great story. And it’s one of those where it’s like, you get to the end of it, it’s like, “What? Oh, no!” I think there was a second part, even later on, but you have a physical transformation.

Nicole de Boer
Yeah.

David Read
And it’s just crazy.

Nicole de Boer
That was such a good… I mean, that script was amazing by Brad, and I think maybe someone else, but it was Brad Wright. And Brad Turner directed it and then I got to work with Robert Patrick, just a two hander, two actors in this cell, and the story was so good. And then I had to do prosthetics, my first time doing a lot of prosthetics. Yeah, that was just such a cool one.

David Read
Quality of Mercy, I believe, is the episode’s name. Listen, out there, if you’ve not seen this, The Outer Limits is one of those great sci-fi shows from the 90’s. But you guys, you chew that up. It’s another one of those examples of Brad just putting two people in a scene and it just takes care of itself. Just great drama. Let me look here. Goran Andonovski. “Have you had another audition or offer for a Stargate or Star Trek role before or after being on one of these shows? And how willing would you be to come back?

Nicole de Boer
Before or after… No, I think that was it? I did… but then Joe Mallozzi went on to do Dark Matter and I auditioned for that. And I got in the mix, there, but it just ultimately wasn’t right. I was just a little older. For whatever reason, that wasn’t right, but of course we were really wanting to work together again, but that didn’t work out. I don’t think so, since that. But yeah, I would absolutely love it. I would love to do a new… be part, in some way, of a new Stargate of some kind, something like that. Yeah.

David Read
Wakey II wanted to know “Were you to come back as Dr. Porter, in a future Stargate, what would you like to see the character go next?” If Brad does another one, it’s entirely possible that a lot of these past players will be invited back at some point.

Nicole de Boer
Well, that would be fantastic. That would be great to play Alison Porter now. I mean, it’s wide open. We didn’t see her do a whole… it’s wide open for that entire team. Well, except for for Leela. It really is.

David Read
Well, you know, it’s sci-fi, so anything’s possible.

Nicole de Boer
That’s true. Anything is possible. It’s wide open, just for all kinds of adventures, just get her in there. I’d love to see her, of course, with Carson, again, too. Or with… giving him a hard time, at least. Yeah, just in the mix, just doing some fun adventures. That would be great.

David Read
Elizabeth Lee. “What personal touches do you get to add to your characters and your performances, especially with such a unique cast and crew?” Giving Stargate as an example, where does the dialogue and the stage direction end and your performance begin? And does a lot of that just happen when you arrive on set that day, and you get a feeling for Paul and some of the others?

Nicole de Boer
Yeah, and that’s when you have your table read, first of all, you always get all the actors together and you read through the entire script and that’s your first place to hear it out loud, with everyone else. And in that you’re playing with what you’ve been thinking of, as you’ve been doing your own work at home with the script and what you want to do. And then when you hear it and you meet other actors, maybe you’ve not worked with some before, maybe they’re new. You just start to feel it and hear it and get a feeling for it. And then yeah, you get on the set… I mean, a lot of times, especially with stuff like this, the scripts, they’re so good and they’ve already gone through rewrites, so what we’re getting, it’s pretty much ready to go and there’s not much tweaking needed. Although that can happen if you decided something’s funky, a little bit, work on it with the director, the writers. But yeah, and then that’s when you start to play, as an actor, and that’s where you find little moments. And hopefully, if you kind of know what you’re doing as an actor [inaudible]. You learn to do these things and find those things pretty quickly and that all just comes from being really in the moment and listening and being there and then all that stuff sort of flows. And then when you’re on a series, what will happen is, the dailies go back and the writers and producers see them, direct, and then they’re picking up on what you’re doing, or they’re picking up on, “Oh, look at how Nicole and Paul worked in that scene together, we like that. Let’s do some more scenes with them, because we’re kind of feeling something there.” So then, another episode or two later, you’ll get another scene with them and it becomes a give and take between the two.

David Read
It’s a back and forth.

Nicole de Boer
Back and forth, yeah.

David Read
Absolutely.

Nicole de Boer
That’s what’s so delicious about it all.

David Read
Would there be circumstances where, in the series that you were part of, you were really feeling something and you just pray that, “Please God, that they pick up on this.” Or would you have an opportunity to go up there to the office and say, “Hey, this really worked for me. Having more of this wouldn’t be bad, in my opinion.” Where’s that line there, where you’re hoping that they intuit something that you see on screen versus you get to go up there and say, “I love this. If there’s any chance we can do more of this, that’d be fantastic.”

Nicole de Boer
Yeah, there’s times where you just say — depends on what show you’re on, if the director directs a lot, also a producer — then right there, when you’re on set, you’re like, “I like this, let’s do more of this.” Or, “I think him and I together or her and I together, this stuff’s good. This is gold. We need to do more scenes like that.” And you all just kind of stand around and go, “Yeah, this works.” Or, “Please don’t make me do that ever again, because as you can see, it wasn’t my best.” I do get a little… I like doing a little bit of action, but I remember in Star Trek, where they had me fighting some Breen or something that… it was this large, large man coming at me and I just felt ridiculous. And stunt was like, “Okay, choreograph, and you’re gonna go ‘this’ and ‘this’ and then you’re gonna push him.” I was like, “I’m gonna what? I’m gonna push him? Are you serious? No, he’s gonna send me flying.” So things like that just made me go, “Oh, can we do less of that for me?” Or, more special effects?

David Read
“Just give me a phaser. I’ll take him on.”

Nicole de Boer
“Give me someone shorter. Just give me someone shorter to work with.”

David Read
There is a certain amount of suspension of disbelief that you just have to kind of deal with.

Nicole de Boer
It’s true. And then that’s what I remember, and I go, “Listen, Nick, it’s all gonna be good, and people are suspending their belief because they want you to be kicking ass.” And then they go, “Okay, all right, it’s true. Let’s kick some ass.”

David Read
Adam Mortimer. “What was your favorite episode on DS9?”

Nicole de Boer
Oh, my favorite? It’s hard to say. I mean, I really… For myself, I really like — the names are escaping me — where Ezri had to bring out the murderer in her to solve a case.

David Read
Is that the one where you had the gun that could go through walls?

Nicole de Boer
Yes. That was cool too, that gun. Never saw that gun again.

David Read
Field of Fire.

Nicole de Boer
Field of Fire, thank you. But then other than that, I really like the group ones where we all really got to have fun together, because like I say, I was coming in at the end and they all seemed a little tired. They’ve been there for many years, wearing hours of prosthetics, getting in and out of them all day. And they were all lovely, but I was sort of the youngest one in the group, outside of Aron and Cirroc. And so I loved when we had a chance to do Badda-Bing Badda-Bang. That was so fun. Stuff with Vic, I mean, I just adored James Darren. He is such a charming man and when he looked at me and was like, “You know, you remind me a little bit of Sandra Dee.” I was like, “Oh my God!” Just like, [swoons]. So yeah, that was so fun.

David Read
I loved Take Me Out to the Holosuite.

Nicole de Boer
Ah, so great. Take Me Out to the Holosuite was so fun, but they were all melting out there, in their… That was tough because we were at Loyola Marymount and it was like 110 degrees and they had to have these special huts so that they could stand in them and Michael Dorn wouldn’t melt.

David Read
Right, and his face.

Nicole de Boer
Yeah. But, yeah, it was so fun doing those ones.

David Read
I would imagine… I want to wrap this up on just the overall impression of looking back on all of this work. You have a kid, I imagine the work that you did, it must bring you a great deal of satisfaction to know that you can turn to your child and say, “This is stuff that your mom was in. This is stuff…” Or maybe you don’t share, maybe you guys don’t watch television. But, at the very least, you can say “This is high quality, ethically grounded, morally grounded content that I’m proud that I was a part of. And it’s not something that I would at all be embarrassed for you to watch.” Because there’s all kinds of programming out there. You gotta bring home the bacon, you gotta make it work. And the stuff that you did was excellent.

Nicole de Boer
Well, David, thank you, that’s exactly how I feel about it. That’s exactly how I feel. And I’m so proud. I mean, you just said it perfectly. That is how I feel. Although, I have a teenager and then she’s like, “Yeah, whatever.”

David Read
Okay, so you’re at the teenage phase already? Okay.

Nicole de Boer
No, she gets it, and she’s awesome. But, you know, I’m just her mom. But she she does get it. Yes, I feel so proud that this is something that I have that can’t be taken away from me, that this is something I did and it’s such a wonderful thing to be part of it. I am so proud. So proud of it, yeah. That’s exactly how I feel.

David Read
I am very optimistic about another Stargate show and I would love to see you be part of it, either as Porter, or in another form. And only time’s gonna tell.

Nicole de Boer
Oh, wow, that would be fantastic. And I would love that, yeah. I hope you’re right.

David Read
Nicole, thank you so much for joining us, it means a great deal to see you again and know you’re doing good.

Nicole de Boer
And thanks for… I’ve just checked out this channel, it’s amazing! And you’re so good it, David. Thank you for bringing me on.

David Read
I appreciate it. And like I said before the show, I would very much like to get all the ladies together to do a commentary on this episode…

Nicole de Boer
I would love that.

David Read
…at some point, perhaps even bring Paul in, but…

Nicole de Boer
That’s a great idea.

David Read
So, keep your ears open. I may be approaching in the next few months to see if we can make something like that happen.

Nicole de Boer
Okay, that sounds great.

David Read
Thank you, Nicole, so much. I’m gonna go wrap it up on this end.

Nicole de Boer
All right. Thank you.

David Read
You take care.

Nicole de Boer
You too. Bye.

David Read
Bye bye. Nicole de Boer. Whispers, Stargate Atlantis. I love her to pieces. She has been in so much great programming over the years and she’s just a rare talent. My name is David Read, you’re watching Dial the Gate and we are brought to you every week for free and we do appreciate you watching. But if you want to support the show further, consider buying yourself some of our themed swag. We’re now offering t-shirts, tank tops sweatshirts and hoodies for all ages, as well as cups and other accessories in a varieties of sizes and colors through dialthegate.com/merch. You can click on a specific design to see what items are being offered. Checkout is fast and easy, dialthegate.com/merch, and thanks so much for your support and I just added — you can’t see them here — but I just added some Goa’uld symbols and a list of what caused each of their deaths. So you get each of the Goa’uld System Lords, their symbols on a t-shirt design and underneath it says ‘Nuked’ or ‘Jaffa Revenge’ or ‘Impaled through the back of the chest’, all the things that took out the different Goa’ulds. So that’s what we’ve got here for you. Just coming up in the next little bit, we’re going to be bringing aboard J.C. Vaughn… let me get my information up here, so, apologize. Okay, we’re gonna be bringing aboard J.C. Vaughn and Mark Haynes. They are responsible for the Stargate Atlantis and Universe comics and are going to be joining us in just a little bit over an hour, so that’s what we have coming up next. I did have one question set aside for me. Two of them. Teresa Mc, “Can you show on your Atlantis city model where things are located like sleeping quarters or the labs?” I’m gonna have to bring in one of the people who designed this model to help me with that because I have no idea where anything is in the city of Atlantis other than the main tower with the upper puddle jumper bay and the lower puddle jumper bay, but someone has written all that out and I will endeavor to have them on. Claireburr, “I wonder if we can have a David Read interview, say, Gary Jones acting like David or interviewing him as if he were not a regular part of the show.” Thank you for that. We had a WonderCon AMA about eight or nine months ago, where Jenny Stiven, one of our regular contributors came on and she interviewed me. That’s kind of the best that we’re going to have of that. But that’s all I’ve got for you guys, and I appreciate you so much tuning in. If you enjoyed this episode, please consider sharing it with other Star Trek and Stargate fans. Thanks so much to my Producer Linda “GateGabber” Furey as well as to my moderators, Sommer, Tracy, Keith, Jeremy, Rhys, and Antony. My big thanks, a big tremendous thanks to Frederick Marcoux at ConceptsWeb, our web developer at Dial the Gate and also thank you to Jeremy Heiner, our webmaster, who keeps the site up to date. We will be back in about an hour to interview the folks responsible for the Stargate Atlantis and Universe comics, Mark L. Haynes and J.C. Vaughn. My name is David Read for Dial the Gate. I thank you so much for tuning in. See you back in about an hour. See on the other side.