Ever since San Diego Comic Con earlier this year, I had been anticipating Syfy’s new series, Stargate Universe. Since the show premiered in October, I have been addicted to watching Syfy every Friday night although last week marked the fall finale until the show returns in Spring 2010. As a holiday treat, I thought it would be fitting to interview one of the stars of this hit show and lucky for me, I was able to talk to actress Ming-Na who you may be familiar with from the films, The Joy Luck Club, Mulan, Push and the television series ER and Vanished. To get your Stargate fix for the weekend, keep reading!

In the episode, “Life,” we met Camile’s partner Sharon (played by Reiko Aylesworth) and saw more of their relationship. How much into Camile’s life will we see do you think?
It’s a very large ensemble so you will get to see her interact with the characters on the ship much more and just get glimpses of her life.

Do you think there will always be a way for those on board Destiny to reach their loved ones on earth or will certain events and circumstances finally block off that communication?
That’s a good question! Right now, we really love the opportunity to communicate with the people on earth. It’s a way also to get the previous Stargate actors/characters on the show, so I don’t think we will be getting rid of that. I think it seems like a really important part of the show, where there is still that hope that they might be able to get back to Earth.

Camile is a very determined person, some would say stubborn. Do you think the people on board Destiny see her?
I think a lot of the civilians trust her to guide them and they are relying on her to give them information since she has connections with what is going on in Young’s head and she is also trying to maintain a relationship with Rush. So for now, the civilians believe in her and hope she will find a way to work out the situation. Though she will butt heads with the authorities, Young and Rush.

I think she already has.
Yeah, yeah! And in future episodes even more so.

It was so interesting to see her on Destiny and then in “Life” at home so vulnerable, just like everybody else.
Yeah! I think a lot of people can relate to that because when you are at work, you are a soldier in a sense and you have to put on your professional face and put aside your personal life to stay focused on the situations at task. I love that the writers wanted to let the audience see that she didn’t get to her position of power by always being the bitch, because she really isn’t. She tries to find out ways to work out the situation and sometimes she has to put on that tough persona in order to sway with the boys, so to speak, even though she doesn’t like to. (laughs)

What has been the most challenging scene to shoot so far?
There have been a couple but I think for sure my intimate scenes with Reiko Aylesworth because both of us have never played lesbian characters before. We were absolute virgins in kissing another woman on and off screen so it was a challenge because we loved what was in the script and we wanted to make sure that it came across that they were in a long term relationship and were very comfortable with each other – and it was a heightened sense of love because they have been separated for a period and they may never see each other ever again. So that was challenging. We hit it off and had great chemistry and it was wonderful.

How much impact do you have over where your character goes, what is it like working with creators, Robert Cooper and Brad Wright?
They have been very open with allowing a dialogue with me as far as helping to develop Camile. It’s really great. Coming from theatre, I always respect the writer and I figure, I’m not hired as a writer so I shouldn’t be the one trying to get them to write certain things…I trust them. So the only times that I would have conversations with them would be once I get the script, read through it, and if there is something that doesn’t roll off the tongue easily or feel quite right, then I feel very comfortable having that conversation. It’s great, they trust that I am not trying to take over or be a diva about it so it is a nice collaborative working environment.

Do you plan on really watching SG1 or Stargate Atlantis or do you not want to watch those to not affect anything about the way that you approach Stargate Universe?
The only time I look at the other shows is when there is a character from previous episodes and now I have an interaction with that character or knowledge of that character. That’s when I will do the research but as far as going back and watching the shows, it would be only for my amusement to catch up but I don’t have a lot of time with work and 2 kids…I don’t have time to watch many of my favorite shows.

Of all of the characters on Destiny, who do you want to see Camile interact with more?
I would love to have Camile have a more bonding relationship with the other women, not on a sexual level but just to show that just because she is gay doesn’t mean she wants to go to bed with every woman on board. A relationship with Chloe (Elyse Levesque), that would be nice. Right now, all we see is how she butts heads with the men and it would be nice to even see her take on a more maternal role towards Eli (David Blue), you know, just to show more colors of her other than the female leader on the ship.

Follow Ming-Na on Twitter.