Feature: Battlestar Galactica

Growing Pains

As the first female Starbuck in Space, Battlestar’s Katee Sackhoff tells Starburst that she’s happy to roll with the punches…

Katee Sackhoff spent a great deal of last year fending off unwanted attacks by the Cylons as Lt Kara ‘Starbuck’ Thrace on Battlestar Galactica. Production of the show’s first season wrapped in September 2004 and after that the actress enjoyed a well-deserved break. Having rested up, however, she can’t wait to get back in front of the cameras.

“I’ve been going stir crazy,” she jokes. “At first it was nice to just chill out, but it wasn’t long before I was running around looking for things to do. I went to New Mexico for three days for Grace Park’s [Lt Boomer on Battlestar] wedding, which was beautiful, but I didn’t stop to relax because I wanted to see the sights. I recently moved house, so that kept me busy, and I’ve also booked a movie. So I’m looking forward to starting work on that, and hopefully we’ll hear soon about the future of Battlestar.”

Although she’s only worked in the business for a little over six years, Sackhoff has already garnered an impressive list of feature film and TV credits. The actress has been a regular in two other series, The Fearing Mind and The Education of Max Bickford, but Battlestar is her first Sci-Fi experience. In the 2003 Battlestar mini-series, her character of Lt Starbuck is a brash, take-charge young woman who doesn’t hesitate to express her opinion. Luckily for Starbuck, her expert piloting and tactical skills help make up for her shortcomings in discipline. The lieutenant is just as spirited in the weekly series, but has changed in other ways, explains Sackhoff.

“My character is learning to take responsibility for what she does, and that’s a big thing for her. By the end of this [first] season, we’re going to find out what she’s truly made of. Starbuck is put in a situation where she falls to pieces, and she’s going to have to dig deep within herself to find the strength to survive. That’s something she’s never had to do before.

‘It was fairly intense shooting the last two stories of this year [Kobol’s Last Gleaming, Parts One and Two],” continues the actress. “Physically, Starbuck is a very strong character and whenever I’m playing her I end up doing things that most actors probably wouldn’t do. For example, a scene could call for Starbuck to jump off a roof and I’ll be like, ‘No problem, I’m cool with that. She’d do it, so I’ll do it.’

“Let me tell you, I ended up with so many bumps, cuts, and bruises while we were shooting our season ender that when I’d go home, my boyfriend would look at me and say, ‘It looks like you got the crap beat out of you’. I’d say to him, ‘I know, but it was fun’. I really did have a blast, especially since most of my bruises were a direct result of Starbuck slugging it out with other women. I won’t tell you which ones,” she chuckles, “but trust me, there were a lot of them.”

by Steven Eramo

Get the full interview in
Starburst #320

Photo © Sci-Fi Channnel
Feature © Visual Imagination 2005. Not for reproduction

Taken from

Starburst #320
February 2005
ships from Jan 13 2005
News-stand Price
UK £3.99 / US $7.99

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