[The Gateroom] Can you tell us how you got the role of Dr Robert Rothman, please?

[Jason Schombing] Peter Deluise is a very, very good friend of mine, and his brother Michael is one of my best friends. We’ve been friends for many years, and we’ve worked and made little independent films and other little things we’ve done together. He lives in Vancouver, as I did, and he was just talking about a role that was coming up that he was trying to create for “Stargate”, just another character, and he wanted me to play it. So he created the character, asked me to do it, and was honoured, and went and did it. I think in the first episode, I was confused, as I had only about 3 words. So after I had done it, I pulled him aside and said “what the hell is going on here? What kind of role is this?” He said “don’t worry, it’s gonna get better – I just wanted them to see you.” So I made him a little funny, even with the three words, and that won the producers over, and they made another episode with me. But then they killed me.

[TG] Were you disappointed that his role was only spread over three episodes?

[JS] You know, I was a little disappointed – I was having a blast. I really was having fun with the cast, and the crew especially. But I totally understood them making the least likely person the bad guy in that particular episode. What I couldn’t understand, however, was that because it took place in the future, and there was such a thing as a Stargate, you’d think that I might be able to come back in some fashion! It’s been wonderful having the success of these conventions for such a small part, so, in a way, I have come back!

[TG] What attracted you to the role in the first place?

[JS] He (Peter Deluise) said he would fashion it after me in a way – a bit of a neurotic Jew! That sounded like fun – to be able to do what I do normally, without really even having to act! It was great, to basically have fun on set with the guys.

[TG] Was there anything in particular that you hated about Rothman?

[JS] No. As an actor, you’re doomed if you hate anything in your character. If you don’t like him, nobody’s gonna like you, because they just sense it. So you have to find, even if you’re playing the role of a paedophile, you have to find a way.

[TG] How much like Robert Rothman are you?

[JS] On some levels, personality wise, I’d say about 50% of that is Robert Rothman, and the rest is like an extended version of me for laughs, to really play into the neurosis, which I don’t feel I have, all that much. Also the educational part – it’s none! I didn’t graduate high school. So the fact that he was a scientist – archaeologist – kinda made it fun for me to play around with rocks and stones and make believe I actually knew what I was doing!

[TG] So you basically caricatured yourself?

[JS] Yeah, in that role I did. I had a lot of fun doing that role. Peter (Deluise) and Richard (Dean Anderson) bring a lot of humour to the show, and so that allowed me to be funny with the role, which made it more interesting to me.

[TG] What was your reaction when you were told that Rothman would be taken as a host?

[JS] I didn’t understand what a host was, personally, not having watched the show before that. So I didn’t know what it meant. He (Peter Deluise) said “Jay, we’ve got good news and bad news. The good news is that you’ve got a HUGE episode coming up.” I said “oh, that’s fantastic!” Peter replies with “but the bad new is that we’re killing you off.” So it was mixed emotions.

[TG] How was it to play the “other” archaeologist on “Stargate: SG-1”?

[JS] I never watched the show, although I knew the guys from the bars in town, but I didn’t know them as their characters because I didn’t watch “Stargate”. I didn’t know WHERE I’d fit in. I thought maybe they were all archaeologists, I just wasn’t sure. I became a fan of the show after I was on it, and I have watched it and followed it since. It is actually hard to watch a show when you hang out with the actors in real life. Hanging out in a bar with Teal’c – Chris Judge – is a little weird. It’s a little different to hanging out with him on the set with that Mercedes emblem on his head! You wanna talk about completely opposite to his character? My god!

[TG] Would you ever think about auditioning for a role in “Stargate: Atlantis”?

[JS] Absolutely! I haven’t spoken to Peter in a while, and I know he has a lot to do with the show, but I would love to. I’m going back up there, actually, moving back up to Canada on May 1st, so that might be something that might happen. I don’t hear anything in the works about it, but absolutely, I would love to. I love to work, so it’s all good.

[TG] If they found a way of bringing Rothman back, would you be interested in that?

[JS] Absolutely.

[TG] Obviously, the way things are going with “Stargate” at the moment, with the time travel puddle jumper, it’s a possibility.

[JS] It’s only if it’s in the minds of the producers minds, do they even remember? Do they go back and look at characters again? It’s not like I see these people that often. It seems like I hear a lot about it with the fans, though.

[TG] I’ve noticed it’s come up a few times on various fan forums.

[JS] I noticed! And I thought “I wonder if the producers ever check in on these things?” It would be fun to come back, but it’s not my place to bring it up.

[TG] You’ve appeared in many sci-fi shows, ranging from “X-Files” to “Mutant X”. If you could have a permanent role in any of the sci-fi shows you have appeared in, which would it be, and why?

[JS] Obviously, not any more, but back in the day, “X-Files” because of the high profile. The calibre of actors you work with, and the scripts – it’s just a different level. “Mutant X”, I have to say, is the character I would love to play on one of the shows all the time. “Mutant X” was similar to Rothman, but very, very desperate and more personal. That character had a bit of neurosis, but lived more in his own little world, his own little bubble than Rothman – he was a more elaborate personality to play, and a lot more fun. I’d like to play the character from “Mutant X” on “X-Files”!

[TG] You played Atwood in “Timecop”. If, in the near future, if time travel were a reality, would you be willing or interested in doing what your character tried to do?

[JS] Oh, god no! It lifted an eyebrow only because I knew you couldn’t do it. I’m a big pussy – I wouldn’t be able to do it. I probably wouldn’t be able to go back in time. I’d probably be too afraid to step into that thing! But no, I would never want to steal, or change the course of time, or have anything to do with changing anyone else’s life. For a Jean Claude Van Damme movie, it’s really good one. It had a couple of loopholes in it, but it was a fun movie to make. The role was really fun, and it was my first experience in a very high budget movie – doing once scene over three weeks!

[TG] What did you think when you found out that the character you were playing in “Timecop” was a former TEC agent turned renegade?

[JS] I loved it, because the more levels a character has, the more fun it is to play for me. If he’s a bad guy, and I can make him seem endearing, then there’s an arc there that really is enjoyable. To make you like the bad guy is what I try to do, and If you’re convinced by it, then I’ve pulled it off, and it’s exciting. In other similar roles I’ve tried to play, I’ll add humour to a character you’re not supposed to like, so you’re forced to like him. As I said before, crazy people don’t think they’re crazy. The person playing the role has to take it on as if he’s really that person. And if you’re really that person, you think you’re doing it for the right reasons. And Atwood in “Timecop” was doing it for his family. He had a hustler streak in him. He was really doing it for his family, and he had no choice. But he was kind of enjoying it, which was wrong.

[TG]  What was the most interesting role you’ve ever played?

[JS] They’re all pieces of a wonderful time, you know? A fun one I played was an Italian immigrant on a TV series called “Early Edition”. I had to do an accent, he was very vulnerable, and he was in love… Very different from the bad guys, so that was challenging, and also fun, and was also in Chicago, which was cool. But off the top of my head, I can’t even think of a role. It’s like the Academy Awards – how do you give one award away for so many amazing performances? I couldn’t even think off the top of my head who my favourite actor is – there’s so many.

[TG] You’ve acted in a wide number of different genres throughout your career. Is there a particular genre that appeals to you, and, if so, why?

[JS] The genres that appeal to me are the ones that I DON’T play, really. Relationship pieces that I don’t ever play. I play a lot of characters that feed the audience with information, and I try to make them fun, or I play the bad guy – the stereotypical roles. The ones that excite me are the ones that are not stereotypical, like just sitting on a street corner with a buddy, talking about some insane relationship I’m having, or you know, relationship stuff that you have to talk about in everyday life, and only stars get to do it in the movies! Those would be the roles that I would love to definitely take on, and to play with the simplicity of playing with those feelings. Otherwise, comedy is a genre I love. But not straight out comedy, like a sitcom, more like adding humour to (a situation). Very heavy stuff is a little TOO heavy for me sometimes, but I’d LOVE to do a love scene! I’ve never done a love scene. What’s even weirder is that my mom wants to see me in a love scene! I’m like, “ma, what are you talking about?” And she’s like “but son, you’re handsome, and I’d love to see you in that thing…” She’s a soap opera buff. But that’s another one I won’t do, I won’t get.

[TG] Having written “Stag” in 1997, how would you compare writing to acting?

[JS] I don’t enjoy it as much! I don’t even enjoy acting as much as I enjoy directing, believe it or not! I’m a multi-tasker, and I can do thirty things better than I can do one thing, and sitting in front of a computer, writing, was hard. It’s hard, because I get bored, and I want to move around. I’m dyslexic, and I’ve got ADD, and all those other things that actors are, and I can’t focus, and I’ll forget what the hell I was thinking about. I’ll go “oh, screw this”, and I’ll wanna go out and play! It’s the same with acting – when they say “action”, I’m having a ball, but when I’m waiting around, I’m bored with sitting in that trailer waiting. I mean, they can’t even find me sometimes – they give me walkie-talkies so they can call me, because I’m always with the crew, or where they’re building a set, or where they’re making some kind of special effects. I’m never around! And with directing - directing I can do! Twenty or thirty things to delegate and create at the same time, and then put it all together. I remember, when directing the very few things I’ve directed, feeling so alive at the time. There’s a short film I made, called “Method Or Madness”, which got into a couple of festivals, but didn’t win any awards, but I remember making that, shooting it in five days, and I didn’t sleep at night! And I didn’t sleep, not because I couldn’t, but because I was just excited! That’s something I’m trying to open those doors up to do myself now. Not in television, but in films. It’s hard.

[TG] You produced “Prey Of Innocence” in 1994. What kind of experience was that?

[JS] That was also directed by Michael Deluise. I was actually in it as well, so it wasn’t just a producing hat. And I didn’t like producing, either! Producing is a job that’s needed, obviously, but it’s not a job I can do. It’s too much begging! It’s not creative, except in the way of seeing how cheap can I get that bench for? It’s not fun, and you’ve gotta have a head for that, So that was a little crazy. The role I played was really fun, with Michael, but what made that whole experience really insane for me was that I was doing a movie in Japan at the time, called “Three Ninjas: Kickback”, and I had to fly 13 hours back in the middle of the shoot, because I didn’t want to let Michael down. I had to work, but I was producing, from Japan, this little independent short film in LA. SO it was crazy. I had to come back, and I couldn’t sleep, and I was tired, and I had to play the role. I would never wanna take on producing anyway! That wasn’t a lot of fun!

[TG] Is there any particular role on TV or in the movies at the moment that you would absolutely love to play?

[JS] No. I never look at another actor’s role and think “I wanna play that role”. But shows – “24” is an exciting show to be on – I would love to be on (“24”), and “West Wing”. Those shows just look amazing, especially “West Wing”. The acting and the writing is just - the words coming out of their mouths are written so well that all you can do it create. You’re not stuck on trying to say words that don’t make sense to you. So I guess those are shows I would like to be in.

[TG] As well as an accomplished actor, you are also a talented photographer. What inspires you with regards to your photographs?

[JS] My fiancée says I’m very physical, very visual. So I look around a lot, I see things from the eyes, which is part of the directing thing I want to break into more. I think, being on sets, I used to watch, I used to look through the lens, and see what they see – the closing off of the frame, closing everything else out, creating a little world within that box. That excited me. Knowing I could do it myself with a hand-held camera, it’s my own personal thing, my own personal world I can go into, almost like in a Zen way – relax, and do photography. With Photoshop now, you can play around with photos, and that’s exciting for me. Even when I was a kid, my parents have told me – I don’t remember – but when I was a kid, I went to photography class at camp, but I don’t remember a lot of it! My brother in law is also a photographer, and I remember dabbling in it with him, but mostly, I think it’s just being surrounded by it, and being very visual.

[TG] Do you admire any photographers in particular?

[JS] No, I haven’t done a lot of research at that end, in studying who’s who. I pick up certain books, and admire a LOT of photographers, but I wouldn’t be able to put names to them.

[TG] It’s more a style thing?

[JS] Yeah. You go into photography shops and pick up certain books, and you go “oh my god, these shots are amazing”, and you look at the name, but I’ll picture the shot in my head for a long time. I can remember shots now that I loved, but I’ll never be able to remember the name of the photographer. I have certain coffee-table books of photographers that I love – I just can’t think of their names!

[TG] When you take your photographs, what are you aiming for? Is it a real life presentation of what the eye can see, or are you aiming to convey an emotion across to the viewer?

[JS] It’s very personal – I don’t really do either. I see something, I frame it with my eyes, and then I frame it with my hands, and then I’ll pick the camera up. I’ll either see it or I won’t. Honestly, I’ve got maybe a thousand amazing shots, but I’ve got ten thousand terrible shots! You just shoot – it’s just the freedom of shooting. It’s not a cheap hobby, that’s for sure – you can just click away, and you’re not sure what you’re gonna get. There’s an amazing photographer in New York who’s a cab driver. His stuff is shown everywhere. He takes the camera without looking through the lens. He just takes pictures of people walking, sometimes through the cab window, sometimes in the mirror, but he’s becoming famous through this. His shots are amazing, and just beautifully taken. But I gotta believe he’s thrown a ton out! But it’s a very weird thing, a very weird art, using your body, I think, as part of the art, by using your arms, and everything, just to get ready to take the shot. You get this fluid rhythm, and then you take the shot, and it’s done, and you’re moving onto the next. Later on, you get to enjoy them, and look through them, and say “oh my god, look at that!” Some shots are planned. I’d like to stage – I haven’t done that yet in photography, staging some really fun scenes, and getting some really cool shots that way. There’s another photographer who did photos like that – set up models and created the mood. So much time left to do SO many things!

[TG] Aside from acting and photography, what are your other interests, your other passions?

[JS] Writing, photography, film-making. That’s one of my passions, and I’d love to open that door up, but it’s so hard. My passions… my hobbies? Snowboarding, time with my family, good food, laughing – all those things.

[TG] You mentioned that you do the conventions circuit a lot.

[JS] Well, not a lot, I think I did it once! But I’ve been asked to do more. Ah no, I did it twice, but there’s some coming up. I haven’t heard from this gentleman in a while, but we had discussed me coming to England in May. I’m supposedly gonna be at that, but I haven’t heard to finalise anything. We did a semi-contract earlier in the year, and then there’s supposed to be one following that in Germany, so I’d be coming out for like, three weeks to do that one and then the one after that. I’ve never been to Europe, so that’s why it really sounded exciting. Visit two cities, and have a week off in between! Some fans wrote to me, and, although I can’t get back to everybody all the time, I wrote back, and said I might be coming to the Children of the Gods Convention, and I hope I do for the fans, as well as to experience Europe. Nothing for these events ever gets finalised, though – I think they call you up the night before, and go “you coming tomorrow?” There’s one in Vancouver coming up. But it’s not “Stargate” any more – now it’s a sci-fi convention. They changed it because of problems with something.

[TG] Thank you very much!

[JS] My pleasure! And happy Easter!