Interview: “Battlestar Galactica: Blood and Chrome’s” Luke Pasqualino and Ben Cotton

Ever since George Lucas made it okay to tell a story beginning in the middle with his “Star Wars” saga, other science fiction films have decided it’s acceptable to just jump into the thick of the action before telling the whole tale. He made it alright to leave the complex backstory of how we got to the battlefield to be told later when audiences were hooked enough to have patience and listen.

SyFy Channel’s reboot of “Battlestar Galactica” in 2003 told the story of how the last remnants of an alien exodus made their way to Earth and battled against their enemies, the Cylons, along the way. After the show ended, producers decided to let fans in on how the Cylons were first built and what led up to the destruction of the title planet in “Caprica.” After two seasons of the show, we were guided into the beginnings of what would become the First Cylon War.

This brings us up to speed and paved the way for “Battlestar Galactica: Blood and Chrome.” This new movie is like “The Clone Wars” of the “Battlestar Galactica” universe. It tells us the tale of young William Adama as he graduates from the Academy in the tenth year of the First Cylon War. He’s appointed to serve aboard the Colonial Fleet’s newest battlestar, the Galactica.

Originally aired as a 10-part web-series through Machinama.com, “Battlestar Galactica: Blood and Chrome” was combined into one feature film and shown on the SyFy Channel recently. It comes out on Blu-ray and DVD on February 19, 2013.

I had the opportunity to interview actors Luke Pasqualino and Ben Cotton about their roles in “Battlestar Galactica: Blood and Chrome” in preparation for the release of the movie. Pasqualino portrays Ensign / Lieutenant William “Husker” Adama, who will one day lead a rag-tag fleet on a quest to find Earth and escape the Cylons. Cotton takes on the role of Adama’s co-pilot, Lieutenant Coker Fasjovik.

How was it stepping into Edward James Olmos and Esai Morales’s shoes?

Luke Pasqualino: It was more fun than I can probably describe in a phone call actually. I need to paint you a picture or something else in real vibrant colors. I had such a great time making it. I was never really fazed by the bar that Eddie had set.

I really wanted to go in with my own interpretation of the material. Just do the best as an actor to try and get the writing. Michael Taylor wrote an amazing script. I [wanted to] go in there and really push those limits as far as we could go.

Is “Blood and Chrome” a movie someone who hasn’t watched “Battlestar Galactica” or “Caprica” could pick up on without seeing the previous shows?

Ben Cotton: I think you could jump in on this. It introduces the Adama character. If you weren’t aware of him before I think you’d get a pretty good picture of this person.

I’m always a big fan of doing things in order. However, with this show you’d have to start with “Caprica.” I feel like this is a contained story. You could jump in and just watch this and get a good feeling for who these people are, what the world is, and what’s going on.

Why do you think that a show like “Galactica” continues to get resurrected? It was on for four seasons and then it was gone. “Caprica” comes along for two seasons and then it’s gone. It’s like a franchise that nobody can kill. It just keeps coming back. Why do you think that is?

Ben Cotton: It’s a great show. I think the writing has always been really good and people love it. It’s fans are the best fans you’re going to find. They’ll stick with you. I think people want to embrace this story. People are excited.

Luke Pasqualino: People like to see action. People like to see relationships. People like to see real life stories. People like to see drama. They like to see comedy. They like to be humored. They like all these different things and “Battlestar” can offer that. The only difference between “Battlestar” and any other show is that it’s set in space. I think we’re dealing with real life situations here; whether it’s love or hate…

Ben Cotton: It’s humanity.

Luke Pasqualino: And “Battlestar” is set in space. It just looks cool. People like what the “Battlestar Galactica” franchise does for them.

“Battlestar Galactica: Blood and Chrome – Unrated Edition” will arrive on Blu-ray and DVD on February 19, 2013.

For more articles by Eric Shirey, check out:

Sushi Girl’s’ Noah Hathaway Talks ‘Battlestar Galactica,’ ‘Neverending Story
Bryan Singer’s ‘Battlestar Galactica’ Moves Forward with A-List Writer John Orloff
Dallas Fan Days 2011 Review