We are privileged to welcome Brandy Ledford to Dial the Gate to share stories of her life and career and talk about her experience on both SG-1 and Atlantis!

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Timecodes
0:00 – Splash Screen
00:05 – Opening Credits
00:31 – Welcome
00:58 – Guest Introduction
01:29 – Brandy and Stargate
02:54 – Brandy’s Faith
08:05 – Zarin in “Endgame”
09:54 – Christopher Judge
11:16 – Norina in “Inferno”
14:17 – Believing in the Dialogue
18:32 – Piling on More Dialogue
20:06 – Andromeda
23:34 – The Cast of Andromeda
25:09 – The Matrix: Impactful Media
27:13 – Thank You, Brandy!
28:10 – Post-Interview Housekeeping
30:29 – End Credits

***

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TRANSCRIPT
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David Read
Hello, everyone. My name is David Read. Welcome to Dial the Gate. The Stargate Oral History Project, episode 299. I really appreciate you being here today. I’m privileged to have guests that I used to have over at GateWorld, before I migrated out on my own, occasionally on the show. And there were some that really stuck out in my mind for one reason or another, just the conversations that we had. Brandy Ledford is one of those, in particular. And I am thrilled to have her on Dial the Gate. Brandy. Thank you for being here.

Brandy Ledford
Hi. Hello from my mom’s house.

David Read
Hey, there you go. How are you doing? How are things going?

Brandy Ledford
What’d you say?

David Read
I’m sorry. How are you doing? How are things going?

Brandy Ledford
I’m really good this morning. Thank you so much. Thank you for having me. I’m really happy to be on your show.

David Read
When you look back on your body of work, particularly the Atlantis episode and the SG-1 episode that you did, do you look back on that time period with pride? And how does it make you feel having worked on, you know, some of these projects?

Brandy Ledford
First of all, thank you so much for the trip down memory lane, because I loved re watching all those episodes. You know, I don’t watch them often. I don’t watch them ever, you know, my old episodes. And I loved watching it. You know, it’s funny, because I’m always just so proud, and I’m always just so honoured, and humbled, and grateful that I was ever on incredible TV shows, right? Especially Stargate. Because it’s so beloved, it’s so well watched, it’s so respected. And so when I look back, I just feel honoured about it, and I try to see if it holds up in today’s market, right? Or in today’s time. Because the genres are all different now, although sci-fi is still, of course, really popular, and really huge. But I wonder if it would hold up today, you know, those same scenes, the graphics. So it’s interesting to watch. I love it.

David Read
Absolutely. Can I ask you about your faith?

Brandy Ledford
Please ask me about my faith.

David Read
My understanding is that, like myself, you found it later in your life. How has it helped orient you in the world, and in your goals? And how has believing in something greater than yourself helped propel you?

Brandy Ledford
Wow. David, what a good question.

David Read
We’re speaking largely to a secular audience, and you and I can go down the rabbit hole about our personal Christian beliefs, but in terms of orienting yourself in the world, I’m curious as to what you would share personally, you know, to people who don’t necessarily have those views.

Brandy Ledford
Interesting. You know, it’s funny you should say we’re talking to a largely secular crowd, just because I find the sci-fi community so open minded, and so able to suspend their disbelief that there are galaxies full of beings, and all the things that we have to believe when we watch a sci-fi show and really take it in. My episodes in particular, on Stargate. Willing to believe this story line, and yet they’re not willing to believe in a power greater than themselves. So I just find that a fascinating concept. For me personally, I did find Jesus late in life. Not late in life, but I didn’t grow up as a kid going to church, or having a faith taught to me, or role modeled for me. But I did find God in my early twenties, and then I leaned sort of “-ish” on God, right? Like I went to church. And I believe in Jesus, and to this day I do, but I find that a lot of Christians make Christianity look bad in a way.

David Read
Oh, I think you can say that about many of us, for sure.

Brandy Ledford
And a lot of religions do that to the religion, right? So I’m very non religious. I just really sort of love the way Jesus taught about caring and not judging, and just loving, especially the most downtrodden, right? Like he just loved and cared. And so that’s sort of the Christian that I am, and my faith guides me in my life, daily. I am in touch with God first thing in the morning. And I just really have to get centered and grounded in that humble, you know, if I can say that, I really just connect with God. It’s the most humbling experience. And then in my sobriety, you know, I’ve really found a relationship and a connection to a higher power.

David Read
You have to fill that hole with something. What is the something going to be? You can’t pretend that that hole doesn’t exist. Especially, you know, once you have removed something like alcohol or drugs from your life, you know, you can clearly see that there is now some kind of a hole. Whereas a lot of people who haven’t had that experience are like “What are you talking about? I haven’t dug that hole for myself.” To give yourself something grounded, to orient yourself in the world, is very powerful. And I think for sci fi fans in particular, they [are] exactly like you said. They are receptive, because they’re willing to experience other things on screen. There’s a lot of science fiction that explains The Trinity far more clearly than a lot of people who read the Bible can. Because it’s like “Oh, yeah, that totally makes sense.”

Brandy Ledford
Speaking of Trinity, like, The Matrix.

David Read
Exactly right, you know. I love how sci-fi opens our minds. But how, you know, our faith can fill holes in our lives that we didn’t even know were there.

Brandy Ledford
Well, and that’s exactly right. And thank you for saying that. That’s so beautiful. You know, I did not realize this conversation was going to go this way, and what an absolute incredible surprise for me to be able to talk about it.

David Read
You’ve left an impact on me, you know.

Brandy Ledford
And, like, I love the idea that if I have a spiritual malady, it’s because I’m trying to fill that spiritual void, or hole, with things outside of God, and then once I fill that up with some spiritual, then I’m not seeking, you know, drugs, alcohol, food, gambling, whatever the thing is that people are trying to fill their time with. And it’s a real big blessing for me to do that in the same way. You know, with my career, I have given that all to God as well, you know, and just had faith that he’s leading in the right direction where I go in my career. Whatever it is I do, you know, in my personal life, my private life, my family, my friends, my children, you know, like anything, I get to turn those over to God every day.

David Read
Can you tell me about finding Stargate, and the audition, I think, for Zarin. It was first [audition], the undercover Tok’ra on SG-1. Finding the team that was making Stargate happen. Where were you? Were you living in Vancouver at the time? And tell us about getting on this moving train.

Brandy Ledford
I was living in Vancouver. You know, I moved to Vancouver, and I immediately had a baby, and then as soon as, you know, he was born, I went back to work, and I started working. And just a lot of sci-fi shows shoot in Vancouver. I think because it’s such a moody, dark place, you know, it’s like easy to shoot. They ended up having a lot of sci-fi shows up there. And I just auditioned. I wasn’t really in the moving vehicle of Stargate. I was just really fortunate enough to work with Peter. So Peter DeLuise directed me a lot, actually, in my career. And I love Peter and Anne. And I just auditioned, and they thought it was right for that part. And that was really fun. And then I got to meet Chris Judge and everybody, you know, on Stargate SG-1. Super, super fun. Became really good friends with Chris Judge’s wife, Gianna, who I love.

David Read
She’s amazing.

Brandy Ledford
I know, she is completely. And so really, [with] that particular show, because I wasn’t such a big, big, big pivotal partner, I was just honoured to be there, and I just had really good memories of it. But it was just, you know, working hard. Actors work really hard on auditions. We audition and work. I put a lot of energy and effort into every audition, and I was just on a roll at that time in my career. Just like non stop working, which is a miracle.

David Read
I have had the privilege of getting to know Christopher Judge. He is pure light. There’s this imposing man, and his laugh, it just fills up a room, you know. You can hear him two or three rooms away. It’s like “That’s Christopher Judge. I’ll be right back. I’ve got to say hello.”

Brandy Ledford
Have you ever seen? He’s a photographer. He did a calendar of all of us women of sci-fi. Yeah, you saw that.

David Read
It’s a great calendar. What was it like working with him behind the lens?

Brandy Ledford
He was really good. Oh my God, I loved working with him. You know, there’s a lot of movement, as a photographer. I like when the photographers move, you know, and it was just a lot of movement, and a lot of really good concepts and ideas. It was fun. We shot at his house, and everybody was there, and it was really fun.

David Read
It’s amazing how pivotal… I mean, you think, obviously the photographer is in control, but in terms of how they interact with their subject, and how they put them at ease, and how they play with them, you know. It can really change the performance. Even though they’re captured in stills, the life is still coming out, you know. There’s a lot to that. With his personality, man, oh, man, I don’t know how I would have kept a straight face.

Brandy Ledford
It was fun.

David Read
Tell us about being on Atlantis, working opposite the likes of David Hewlett, Joe Flanigan. I mean, these folks [have] quite energy unto themselves. Atlantis [is] a little bit different show. More technical. This was a very technical episode, a lot of visual effects. What was it like shooting Inferno?

Brandy Ledford
I loved Inferno. I want to go back to SG-1, just real quickly, to talk about difference, right? So, like, for me to play Lord Zarin on SG-1 was, [like], I didn’t really understand, you know. The fun part for me was that incredible custom made dress they made for me, and then, you know, they changed my voice, and it was this whole, like, quick… I just felt lucky to be there, but I wasn’t really in it, right? With Atlantis, I had a couple little easter eggs in there that I’m not sure your viewers know about. And I’m gonna spoil [it], I’m gonna tell them.

David Read
Please!

Brandy Ledford
So you know, Jason Momoa was my co-star on Baywatch, and we’re really good friends. And I’ve worked with him a number of times. I mean, I worked with him for the year, you know, on Baywatch. But once we were on Stargate together, I don’t know if you could notice, but we have this little look between us when I’m walking in that first scene. When I’m walking past Joe, and Rachel, and David, and then I sort of look at Jason. And we had this idea that we were just going to look at each other like “I know you.” Because we were co-stars on a long show, and now we’re over here on Atlantis together. So Ronon and Norina have this look that makes no sense in the scene, except Jason and I were like, “Let’s do this.” But that is the theme of the whole show for me, just fun. Now, of course, I’m playing a serious character. And, you know, I say it all the time when I’m interviewed about my sci-fi shows. I love sci-fi for women, because women get to be strong, smart, tough, beautiful, capable, respected, and I got to be my full, beautiful self, and still be taken seriously as a smart, you know, person on the show.

Brandy Ledford
And she’s in control of a whole team.

Brandy Ledford
She’s in control of the whole team.

David Read
Yeah, you know, she’s the head honcho over this base.

Brandy Ledford
I mean, where do you see that, other than in sci-fi? Really. For me, it’s always an honour and a privilege to remember that. And we had a lot of fun. I loved working with Joe. Joe Flanigan was so fun. We had such incredible chemistry. I’m not sure if you can tell.

David Read
I can. A lot of it was in the dialogue, and it just came out great. They hired well.

Brandy Ledford
Well, that was all real.

David Read
Oh, absolutely.

Brandy Ledford
You know, David. I have the most respect for David. I think he is a comedic genius. I think he’s a really caring, soulful actor. I loved working with David. I mean, really, really, he’s my cup of tea, for sure.

David Read
How is it, day after day, ingesting these lines of dialogue? Much of it technical, much of it you have to believe a little bit yourself in order to properly convey it, and having it come all back out in the exact correct order, as a someone who hasn’t acted since college. How is that done? How do you do that?

Brandy Ledford
Exposition is the hardest acting. Because it’s just so much. And a lot of times, God bless them, but writers don’t understand that words have to actually fit in your mouth, right? And so I just do a lot. I rehearse it a lot. I’m quite fortunate. I have a photographic memory, so it helps, you know, with a lot of that stuff, and actually I used to be quite proud of being able to do a lot of exposition. I ended up with a lot of exposition on a lot of TV shows, right? Like just the person, like, throwing out the words. And the truth is is you just have to really make that stuff even more life or death believable. Because it’s so rote. It can get monotonous, it can get boring, you know. It may be important to make it interesting. In order to do that, you can fake it, or you can really, truly believe it. And so I just would go into this, like, world of complete imagination, and just completely believe what I was saying, even if I didn’t understand it. And I’ll tell you something. I didn’t understand a lot of things I said. I had to, you know, find out, look it up. And even as it was explained to me, I still didn’t know. I just believed it anyway.

David Read
For sure. You have to accept the process is going to lead to somewhere productive. And the person whose shoes you’re standing in, they know what it is that they’re talking about, and you have to accept that they will when you convey it, you know.

Brandy Ledford
That’s exactly right. Actually, you nailed it. And not only do I have to convey it because of my co-star, I have to convey it to my audience. Because they know. And I didn’t understand this quite as I was ever filming any sci-fi show. Like, they know what’s up. The audience is smarter than I am. They know exactly what I’m saying. They know exactly what universe I’m talking about.

David Read
They’ll catch you if you don’t believe it.

Brandy Ledford
They’ll catch you, yeah. So I had a lot of respect for that. And that’s why I wanted to look good, I wanted to come off believable. I’m an actress, you know, I really wanted this to sell. But also out of respect for the fans. And even when, to this day, years, decades later, when I’m on a podcast, or being interviewed, I do a little research. Because these fans are still so, you know, interested in that, and they’re still holding on to these episodes and loving that. And I want to show them respect, that I respect that, you know.

David Read
I think that’s one of the nice things about modern television, is that everything is so accessible, so much of of past television. If it’s good, if it is a quality [television], can be pulled out of the archives, and you can still find it online. Stargate is on Pluto, you know, streaming 24/7, all three shows, and it’s finding its way into new audiences that have never seen it before. Into younger audiences who weren’t even born. And it’s evergreen, as Brad Wright used to say.

Brandy Ledford
Oh, Brad, how is he? Do you ever talk to him?

David Read
About a year ago, we spoke on, like, a multichannel show. He’s doing great. He’s just an extraordinary fountain of ideas. Him, Rob Cooper, you know. Whatever they do, you can watch knowing that it’s going to be sincere, you know. And in most cases, really well done.

Brandy Ledford
They’re very creative. They don’t forget that people need to understand, you know. They have a really, really good way of explaining and writing these shows for people to enjoy and really absorb.

David Read
Absolutely. When you are putting out all of this, you said you’re, you know, making sure that the exposition sounds and feels real, and you take pride in your work of being able to push through all this material. Do you find that the more you did it, the more they would give you? Yeah. Was it reciprocal?

Brandy Ledford
Did I say that before in an interview a long time ago? It sounds like I’ve said that before, but that is what ends up happening.

David Read
Oh no! Really? Yeah, she can shovel it in. Let’s give her more to shovel. Like coal into a furnace.

Brandy Ledford
You got to stop being so good. And I actually, you know, I got a kick out of it. I enjoyed it. Tthat is hard, I gotta say. Yeah. But they would give you more because you’re the girl that can do it.

David Read
Absolutely, that’s right. You know, you gotta lean into your instincts and accept the fact that you can go there. I have had a couple of actors on who, and Joe being one of them after he talked with Richard Dean Anderson, would admit to flubbing some lines so that they would give dialogue to other people, so that they wouldn’t have to carry as much. Because it wasn’t their strength. Like Richard Dean Anderson had a two finger rule. And he was also an executive producer, so he got scripts early, and could do this. If it was longer than his two fingers, they would adjust it, you know. Because that wasn’t necessarily his strength, so they would just feed into it. Can you share any of your experience on Andromeda?

Brandy Ledford
What do you want to know? I loved Andromeda.

David Read
Being an artificial life form.

Brandy Ledford
All love to Stargate, but, like, Andromeda, Doyle was my favourite character I ever played. And I talk about her a lot when I’m asked about my career, because I got to be sort of an action [character], right? Like, I got to do a lot of action. And I just love it. My dream would be to be like Trinity on The Matrix, right? I got to do a lot of that with Doyle. Also, Doyle was incredibly beautiful, smart, tough, respected. I mean, she was an android, but, of course, I loved that, because she was programmed with all this incredibleness. And again, like the leader, like the strongest being in the universe, and sort of in command. And and I just loved that process. And that was, you know, I was on that show for eight months. I got to really, really experience a lot of exposition. But a lot of great camaraderie with my cast. I loved, loved, loved, loved it. I loved everything about it on Andromeda.

David Read
Can you tell me about finding her humanity in the slower beats, in the slower moments. Where do you do that when the main driver is more of an action oriented show? You know, you’re playing an artificial intelligence. I mean, in general. How do you work the humanity into that?

Brandy Ledford
Incredible question. Same as the exposition. You just really, truly believe, right? I didn’t think “Well, how would an Android react to this life?” And I really, truly humanized her, made her human. I actually cared more. I mean, I loved Doyle. And I loved Harper, and, you know, I just formed relationships with the cast, with my co-stars. Our relationships within the show, within the galaxy, within the actual ship, with all of it, like, I just created backstories for our relationships, as if she were human, right? As if it was life or death, and real. I never once thought of her as anything other than human.

David Read
Okay, because it’s always a fine line of what do you believe and what does the character believe? What are you trying to imbue into the character? Because you’re obviously creating a performance. But you know, in the front of the screen, the character doesn’t know that. The character just exists, as it is.

Brandy Ledford
That’s right. That’s when you fully go into “It’s real.” It’s not pretend. It’s not make believe. I just was in her.

David Read
For this moment, it’s happening?

Brandy Ledford
Yeah. I mean, you know, I also had so much fun with her, like, I just had so much fun. Do you remember this scene when Harper programmed her to have human responses? So when Kevin Sorbo was, like, unhooking my wires from the back, I had, like, real human responses as one might to a gorgeous man touching her.

David Read
Oh, come now, of course, of course!

Brandy Ledford
That’s fun for an android. It’s fun for anybody, right? So I did that, and then like that, you know, it was, what can I say? I loved her. I loved everything about her.

David Read
Lockwatcher, he kind of already asked the question that I that I just post you, is there anyone that from that particular crew or cast that you’ve kept in touch with? That you try to stay connected to?

Brandy Ledford
To which show?

David Read
To Andromeda.

Brandy Ledford
Oh, Andromeda. Some of us follow each other on Instagram. And you know, I’m not really aligned with Kevin Sorbo way these days. I mean, you know, God bless him, but I don’t keep in touch with him. Jason Momoa, and he wasn’t on Andromeda, he’s the one I’ve seen recently, you know, the most.

David Read
He’s like, skyrocketed. But Lexa?

Brandy Ledford
Good for him. I love Lexa. She’s the reason I was on Andromeda.

David Read
I didn’t know that.

Brandy Ledford
Oh, so is it a pitch hitter or a pinch hitter?

David Read
I think it’s a pinch hitter in this case. It’s the baseball term, yeah.

Brandy Ledford
She was pregnant and couldn’t film Season Five, so they brought me in to not replace her, but to stand in for Rommie, and do what Rommie did. But then I was extra. And so I ended up staying on the show for the year. And then she came on after she’d had her beautiful baby, and came on a little bit later. So we did get to work a little bit together. And I loved her husband, Michael Shanks, on Stargate.

David Read
Absolutely. Michael’s coming on at the top of the hour.

Brandy Ledford
Oh say hi to him from me!

David Read
I definitely will. Absolutely. Tracy wants to know “Is there a book, movie or TV series that has deeply impacted or influenced you?”

Brandy Ledford
The Matrix.

David Read
The Matrix? Yeah. The Matrix is a whole other level.

Brandy Ledford
Well, and the Bible.

David Read
Well, of course, yes. But in terms of, like, sci-fi, you know, the subtext, you can mine that thing forever.

Brandy Ledford
I can watch the matrix 100 times. I may have watched it dozens of times, and still get something new out of it, and still be influenced by it. And it holds up, speaking about shows that still hold up, right? Like, I can watch The Matrix and still enjoy it. I would say it influenced me the most to Tracy’s question, in various ways throughout my life, you know, in various and different ways. As I get older, as I understand about choice, as I understand about The One, as I understand about sci-fi in general.

David Read
I think the big thing, the big takeaway for me, is you have a purpose. The chances of you being here are infinitesimal. You are here for this brief little blip, and then you are gone. What ripples are you going to leave? And are they going to be good ripples, or are they going to be ripples that are going to have darker consequences? You set your course. And I think the best science fiction tells us, and reminds us that we are not just randomly spinning through space, although sometimes it feels that way. But we are here for a particular time, for such a time as this, and go out, and do what you were meant to do.

Brandy Ledford
Amen. I love that, David. I couldn’t even have said that better myself. Wow, that was beautiful.

David Read
I really appreciate you coming on.

Brandy Ledford
I really appreciate you asking me these incredible questions. I loved every second of this. Thank you. Thank you for having me on.

David Read
I was privileged to interview you know, of about 150 folks over on Gateworld, and there have been some that have just stuck with me in my mind through the years. And we only got to speak on the phone briefly, but that time spent with you, then and now, has been very important to me. Thank you for sharing yourself, and your faith, and your feelings, and it means so much to have you back.

Brandy Ledford
Wow, thank you. I’m so honoured. I’m so humbled. Thank you.

David Read
Thank you for coming back. I’m going to wrap up the show on this end. If you’ve gotta go, I understand.

Brandy Ledford
I gotta go to yoga.

David Read
Hey, there you go. Thank you Brandy for coming on.

Brandy Ledford
Thank you so much.

David Read
You take care of yourself.

Brandy Ledford
Yeah, you too. Bye.

David Read
That was Brandy Ledford everyone. Norina and Lord Zarin on Stargate. You know, I’ve been privileged to get to know so many folks over the years, and there are just some that really do stick with you for one reason or another, and she’s just a gem. Michael Shanks is joining us in 30 minutes at the top of the hour for Dial the Gate episode 300. I hope you’re going to be able to stick around for that. If you enjoy what you’ve seen with episode, click the Like button. It does make a difference with the show, and will continue to help us grow our audience. Please also consider sharing this video with a Stargate friend, and if you want to get notified about future episodes, click Subscribe. And giving the bell icon to 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 few weeks, on both the Dial the Gate and Gateworld.net Youtube channels. Big announcement today. Stargate transcripts. Dial the Gate transcripts are now available over at dialthegate.com. I just posted a video on the channel about this, just a little bit ago, so go and check it out. And if you want to get involved, let me know. That’s what I’ve got for you here. Questions for me. William Aarons “David, you should have blue back after he views the Nightwalkers episode.” Blu Mankuma. We had him on last week. He was Sheriff Knox in Nightwalkers. I sent him a Dropbox link, and apparently he couldn’t open it. I wish he would let me know, because I would have troubleshooted it for him. But yeah, he was cool. Blu was really cool. And it’s one of those where we didn’t talk a lot about Stargate, but we talked a lot about him. And that’s just as important, as far as I’m concerned with this Oral History Project. Because he had a tremendous relationship with Don Davis. And they were both in the same vocal range, so they were up for a lot of parts that had to do with voice. And if you want to hear a little bit about Don, go over and check out the Blu Mankuma interview. That’s what I’ve got for you here. Michael Shanks, again, is coming up at the top of the hour. One question per person in the Youtube chat for that. My name is David Read for Dial the Gate. I appreciate you tuning in, and I will see you on the other side.