Armageddon Expo 2011

BBM headed off to Sydney Olympic Park last week for the Sydney leg of the Armageddon Expo. While there, we caught up with Stargate SG1 star Colin Cunningham and Aliens star Lance Henriksen to discuss their trips to Australia. They’ll be hitting Adelaide this weekend at the Showgrounds – tickets are available from Ticketek and on the door. Visit armageddonexpo.com for information.

Colin Cunningham:

You mentioned this is your third or fourth time coming to Australia, why do you visit?
As you grow, your reasons for coming down here change over the years. At first it was – wow! – I’m a part of a show which is really crazy successful, but now it’s at the point where you really get to know the fans, you meet their kids or their husbands and wives. You get to travel the world and meet all these wonderful people – we’re all nerds and geeks at heart so it’s really cool to come travel.

Do you have time to visit places while you’re in town?
Well I can’t wait to go to Adelaide and check that out, should be fantastic. I’ve been to Bondi every time, I love it there, so I’ll pop back into Bondi. But I want to see something different this time – I’ll go wherever the wind blows and just roll with it. Anything fun!

When the fans come here, is there a really common question they ask?
It’s weird, Stargate hasn’t been on the air for a while but I still get asked about it. I’m also getting asked about the new show I’m doing called Falling Skies, that Dreamworks and Steven Spielberg are doing. It’s basically War of the Worlds in TV form, but it’s really smart and intelligent – the special effects are phenomenal. It’s been a blast doing it – it’ll be on the TNT network in America later this year.

Lance Henriksen:

Is this your first trip to Australia?
No, I’ve been to Cairns before. I shot a film called No Escape that was filmed in Queensland, and I didn’t want to leave. I really didn’t want to leave but I was married at the time and my then-wife wasn’t willing to move to Australia.

What project do the fans usually recognize you from – you’ve done so many films.
Aliens, Stone Cold, you name it. I’ve done such a wide range of stuff. I’m really lucky because I’ve done all different genres, I’ve actually just done a comedy which was really entertaining. I’ve done eleven films so far this year, these juicy roles, and I’m filming a movie as soon as I get back to the states.

Can you describe the vibe when you filmed Alien vs. Predator compared to when you filmed the original Alien films?
Well Paul Anderson really did something wise. He met me at the Beverly Hills Hotel and just told me about the script. It was the first time in my career that someone just sat there and described every scene in the film – it took almost two hours but we sat and drank coffee and discussed what this character would be like. I was really happy and couldn’t wait to do it. We went to Prague and shot for months, I loved it. There were some really solid actors in that film.

You’ve been killed by an Alien and a Predator – anybody else you’d like to be killed by?
I’m up for anything and everything. Although when they kill me I always say “There goes the sequel!” [laughs]

Lance’s book, Not Bad For A Human, will be released later this year.