JohnBillingsley.Net
January, 2005
Magazine: Stargate SG1 - The Official Magazine
Issue: #2
THE OTHER GUY
By: David Bassom
Star Trek: Enterprise actor JOHN BILLINGSLEY talks about his trip through the Stargate in The Other Guys…
John Billingsley boldly went where no Stargate SG-1 guest star has gone before during the making of the Stargate SG-1 adventure The Other Guys. As cowardly scientist Dr. Simon Coombs in the sixth-season episode, the Star Trek: Enterprise actor temporarily shed Dr.Phlox’s Denobulan prosthetics to participate in one of the most hilariously inept rescue missions ever mounted by anyone on Stargate SG-1. And in an affectionate nod to his most famous role, Billingsley also got to poke a lot of fun at the Star Trek franchise while Coombs and his fellow scientist, Jay Felger (Patrick McKenna), bumbled through their quest to save SG-1 following the team’s apparent kidnapping by the Goa’uld…
How did you land the role of Simon Coombs in The Other Guys?
Paul Webber, who casts the show here in Los Angeles, is an old friend of mine. When he saw that the script for The Other Guys featured a character who was contemptuous of all things related to Star Trek thought it might be funny if he actually had a Star Trek actor playing the character who reviles Star Trek, so he asked me if I might be interested in doing it. I was happy to do it – I was on hiatus from Enterprise at the time so it fit into my schedule, I love Vancouver and I always welcome an opportunity to get up to that part of the world, and I thought it was a clever and funny script.
Did you know much about Stargate SG-1 before you worked on the show?
Frankly, I didn’t know the show at all. I had seen the movie when it first came out and I had dim memories of liking it, but that was all that I knew. When I found out I was going to be doing the show I watched a few episodes to familiarize myself with the series. I really appreciated the tongue-in-cheek quality of the show, but I’ve got to confess that I was quite mystified by the ongoing plotline. After watching a few episodes I was like, “OK, I give up. I don’t know what the hell they’re talking about!” [Laughs]
How would you describe your experience making The Other Guys?
I had a blast. Patrick McKenna was just a doll. I just enjoyed working with him so much. I didn’t know him at all before we did the show, but we got on very well right away. It was really one of those wonderful, fortuitous things – we found that we got along terribly well and had a great time working together. Patrick comes from an improvisational background, as do I, and we were given a lot of latitude to improvise and keep a scene going after the text had elapsed. A lot of the dialogue that made it on screen was actually improvised by us, which was a treat because on Star Trek you dare not change a word!
It was also refreshing to work on a sci-fi show that had such an irreverent approach. Everyone on the set, particularly Richard Dean Anderson [Colonel Jack O’Neill] seemed to enjoy the show’s general tongue-in-cheek quality, and I think that sense of ‘spoofery’ and fun is really one of the show’s strengths.
I had not expected to have to wear one of the most uncomfortable costumes I’ve ever worn on a show, for the scenes where my character goes undercover [as a Goa’uld soldier]. But that was all right and certainly didn’t stop me from enjoying working on the show.
Was your portrayal of Coombs influenced by your portrayal of Dr Phlox in any way?
No, it wasn’t influenced by Phlox at all. Phlox is somewhat anomalous for me as an actor because I’m normally cast as a villain or a neurotic, highly strung guy, whereas Phlox is the most relaxed, calm and peaceful character I have ever played. So I guess my role on Stargate SG-1 was made more like the roles I normally play – he was hyped up and easily angered!
Is it true that Patrick accidentally broke your glasses during the shooting of one scene?
[Laughs] Yes, he did break my glasses. We were doing a little bit of physical interplay and he was supposed to grab my head and squeeze it to his chest to shut me up while I was being a cowardly lion, and he unintentionally snapped my glasses in two! I actually suggested to direction [Martin Wood] that we could use that in the episode – I thought my character could have fixed his glasses with tape he just happened to have on his tool belt, and I could have an absurd –looking pair of glasses hanging from my face for the rest of the episode! I though that would have been funny, but they decided not to go in that direction.
What did you think of the finished episode?
I enjoyed it. I thought it captured the askew kind of comedy that it was going for and I think most people really enjoyed it. From what I have heard from fans, I guess it was one of the most overtly comic episodes they have done, and people seemed to welcome I as a bit of a change of pace.
Have you received a lot of feedback to your appearance on Stargate SG-1?
I have been stunned by the amount of people who have seen and apparently enjoyed The Other Guys. There’s been a tremendous amount of interest in my work on the show – I get as many comments about that one episode of Stargate SG-1 as I do about anything else I have done in my career! Stargate SG-1 is just such a well-loved show, and I feel fortunate to have appeared in the series. I do sense that being in an episode has increased my stature in the sci-fi community.
Would you be open to appearing in further episodes of Stargate SG-1 or maybe Stargate: Atlantis?
Of course, I would love to go back and do some more stuff on Stargate SG-1. I was actually very sorry that they didn’t bring my character back when they brought back Patrick’s character back for an episode [season seven’s Avenger 2.0] – I was in the middle of doing Enterprise and that stopped them from approaching me. But I’d like to do more. Beat the drums! I’d love to come back.
Submitted by Jo Healy