Q- How does she see fandom and being a celebrity?
A- Because she is Canadian by birth and personality Torri doesn’t see herself as a star. She sees it in perspective and the science-fiction genre of TV was ideal because actors go to cons and are embraced by the warmth of the fans yet when they actors are on the streets they aren’t hounded with a million cameras. Torri also pointed out that if everyone had cameras following them 24/7 everyone would be worthy of the tabloids… where as the conventions leave her appreciative of the acknowledgment and support of the fans.

Q- With Elizabeth Weir, what aspects does she find most different from her but that she’d like to have.
A- Torri thinks that Elizabeth thinks before she speaks and wishes that she did that more because it often gets herself into trouble. Elizabeth has been criticized for not taking action but Torri feels that Elizabeth takes a back seat and listens to everyone and everything and thinks about possible solutions and then takes action.

Q- Was Torri a fan of Stargate prior to Atlantis?
A- She hadn’t seen the show before and like most actors didn’t have a TV but knew RDA’s work and when she began taping she got 5 seasons and box sets and watched them every night after filming and very quickly fell in love with the charm of the series and thought that because it was based in our time it was accessible and relatable to today’s audience.

Anjirika(Me)- First may I say on behalf of all your fans on gateworld that we love you and would love to see more of you on Atlantis. And now, I know that you’re well aware of us Sparkies and I have to ask, is the connection there scripted or is it telegraphed by you and JoeF though the looks and body language or is it all a delusion and in our minds?
A- She thanked us for our support and then said that she didn’t want to shatter the delusions because delusions were good. Torri said that she and JoeF did NOT make the conscious choices of John and Elizabeth’s reactions to each other but that when there is chemistry between two actors it translates well on screen and that makes things really interesting. She said that the writers know us and that they play with us a bit with the nature of the Sparky dynamic and the nature of their friendships. Torri also pointed out that John cares for all the members of his team and that it is only when he is concerned with a female that it is looked like romantically. She also pointed out that sexual tension is exciting but that the follow through might kill it… [In short she didn’t answer my question… well, she did. It’s not telegraphed and not a delusion, therefore Sparky must be the canon of choice for TPTB on Atlantis.]

Q- What is her fav. part of being in love to play?
A- Torri said that being in love on screen is like being in love in real life. You have to be in the moment, at peace and confident and drunk with the energy of being in the present and creating a challenge.

Q- Who did she enjoy working with on the show?
A- Torri said that it was a great group and that the bar had been set so high in SG1 that they were able to have so much fun and there was no room for bad behaviour or divas. She adores all of them and feels especially close to Rachel because they felt outnumbered and therefore are close. David makes her laugh [Hewlett I suppose] Jason is the eye candy and the guest stars bring such great energy that wakes the crew up, like Mitch. She said that she was like Switzerland because she made such a diplomatic answer.

Trialia- Mt. Sinai, of all the places to climb, why there?
A- Torri first thanked Tri for doing her research and said that she was there and it was the only mountain around. She was with a friend in Cairo for New Years Eve and that her pilgrimage up the mountain was more historical than religious as it had been in the past. Her friend had a champagne bottle and two classes that she wanted to dump when they were half-way up the mountain. They made it to the summit at sunrise of the new year and there was nothing in their view that had changed in the last 1000 years and that beauty was something that she discovered after climbing the mountain.

Q- If it were her choice, what would she chose to explore about Lizzie that hasn’t or won’t happen/be explored?
A- Torri said that we haven’t seen Elizabeth in her own inner conflict yet. She said that Elizabeth is so anti-military and so anti-manifest destiny that the fact that she was okay with the torturing shows that she went against everything that she believed in. Torri wanted to show the 3AM conflicts that Lizzie had with herself to show how Lizabeth would have made that decision and therefore to justify her compromises.

Q- Who would Torri choose to ship with Elizabeth?
A- Johnny Depp! ^_^ Torri said that Lizzie thinks that the wraith queen is quite hot…. But then said that her answer would change everyday and she laughed because she wasn’t really answering the question. She kept waiting for Elizabeth to have her fling with an alien and wanted Lizzie to go through the gate to a planet with 8 armed men…. She then said that she would take almost all of them for Elizabeth because a girl has to take what she can gets.

Q- What were her experiences in Tekwars?
A- Tek War was her first job out of school and at the time she was snobby because she wanted to work on Shakespeare who she thinks is fantastic and therefore walked in all cocky and in the end learned so much as was humbled in the Year and a half that she worked with whom she calls ‘Captain Shat.’ who treated her like a niece. She was in awe of it and it was a wonderful experience.

Q- Which Shakespeare role is her fav and why would she want to play it?
A- Torri mentioned that all women would love to do ‘Romeo and Juliet’ or a ‘Midsummer Night Dream’ but that because she is older she has to have a shift in ages of roles. She mentioned that King John’s mother would be great to play but that for that she would want to wait for a few years because she is still an adult and not a spring chicken anymore… and she has done Macbeth already and it isn’t her fav and too dark.
The Questioner then pointed out that she would be brilliant as Viola from ‘The Twelfth Night’ and I agree…..

Q- Does Torri turn her bubbly personality off in SGA or anywhere?
A- No. Her personality is heightened on stage because she is nervous though she doesn’t like Lizzie being reserved and she wished that Lizzie was open and available to joy. Torri was sad that she couldn’t bring that bubbly personality to Lizzie although she did try to find the similarities and play up the differences.

Q- Is Joe as sarcastic in life?
A- Yes, in a lovely way.

Trialia (again)- How does Torri feel about fanfiction?
A- Torri admits that she swore off scifi cons in the beginning because she couldn’t handle the adoration of the fans but has come love the realization of the creation, inspiring, scripts, poetry, anything that inspires a voice in her opinion is great and she is in awe and inspired. In fact ‘Smile of April’ came about through two of her fans who completed three short films and one feature while they were waiting for their work papers. Torri was impressed by them and they got her to finish her own scripts…

Trialia- What her fav. project ever was?
A- She loves being on stage and she has a memory of being in a play that was inspired from George Elliot which dealt with women writing in a time that woman couldn’t write and it was about struggles. It challenged her the most and yet everything has a place in her heart for different reasons.

PeterL- Would Torri want to do more Science-fiction or Horror?
A- Not horror- Torri is a chicken can’t even see ‘Scary Movie’ because even though it’s a parody she misses the parody. She would love to do more sci-fi so yes because it is a world that can explore politics and religion safely. Sci-fi give us a platform to discuss hot topic items in a safe matter. IE- the Goauld and the Wraith are there instead of England and Iraq. Torri found that because actors react sci-fi is hard because you’re reacting to a green screen and you have to guess what the range of the reaction must be… it is a huge leap of faith and at first pride didn’t let her play big but her nephew Garath taught her the wonders of imagination and Torri pointed out that more conventions mean more conventions which she loved!

PeterL- What about her scripts?
A- She doesn’t want to dilute them but one is about a pirate (Pirate Lizzie) and another is a long project and she wanted to play the main character but now she wants to direct it.

Q- What was her reaction to ‘First Strike’?
A- Not everyone knows what happens in season three so she doesn’t want to go into it but she didn’t know a lot at the time she went in and said ‘What? What? What does that mean?’ in reference to getting hurt but she was told that this is TV which is a shifting medium and there are cliff-hangers and cliff-hangers and she is aware that things have to change.

Q- She was asked if she took being kicked off as an insult.
A- On a bad day yes, but normally she knows that it is the nature of TV and action/ science-fiction TV especially.

Q- What was a funny moment/ joke on set?
A- She hated the question yet always got it. SG1 were the pranksters and yet on SGA David J is the jokesters and everyone else are practically grandparents in younger bodies. Although with Jason, he is a strapping young man who loves the attention and stands in aggressively sexual positions and Torri could never look at him because like two-feet away he would be in various states of undress and was not shy about it and he would go as far as he has to go so long as he got a blush or giggle he didn’t really care. Not to mention he would touch in appropriately and sometimes she would be like… ‘no’ and other times it was like ‘continue teasing.’

Q- Does Joe comb his hair?
A- “Joe is a very reserved, serious and quiet book worm who comes in with his hair greased and come in 1h early. The biggest budget is hair gel and that’s why she got booted…. (she giggled)” … and it’s always like that

Q- When it comes to the gate technicians and ad libbing was Chuck written?
A- The first time she mentioned it, it was an ad lib and a ‘can keep’ joke that got past the producers and it is now scripted as Chuck and Chuck is fantastic. He was a stand in and the emotional medic on set. He is smart and funny and sensitive

Q- Does fandom influence choices as an actor?
A- RDA thought of the hug in ‘The Return II’ and he knew how the fans would go crazy and have shippy stuff spinning in their minds.

Q- Is DH as neurotic as McKay?
A- Yes, and DH reels it in for McKay

My Mum in lieu of my younger sister- In ‘Before I Sleep’ the scenes where she played herself, was that hard? Hard did she work on the reactions?
A- It was hard, Torri was excited about doing a character piece but quickly realized that it would be hard to do. The production brought in an actress who rehearsed the scene with her and Torri learned what she was doing and the actress learned what Torri was doing. When it came to doing something physically in front of the camera the actress would react and it would be caught in frame and it would have to be matched. It was a mother-daughter relationship and that was a hard idea to get her head around. It was more technique vs. method and everyone basically throws out method in science-fiction. What Torri did is that she put herself in that position and asked if she would necessarily believe herself even though science said yes. Torri said that it was a very nurturing mother-daughter relationship and she decided that if Torri could talk to her younger self she would try to give advice.

Q- Katherine Stron in ‘The City’ was who she played and as a Thespian what does she think the greatest challenge for Canadians is?
A- Torri loves ‘The City’ and felt as though it should have gone on because she took joy in the character. She also said that she is a Canadian actor who lives in LA which is in fact the second largest Canadian city in North America and it breaks her heart that she made that choice. For Canadian actors they have to compete with the USA but we have a different economy and when we try to mimic their quality it doesn’t quite work out well because us Canadians don’t get the low-budget stuff. Torri does love how the Canadian people have talent are so loyal and she will and does come back as other do

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For more photos from this event 'kindly provided by Peter,' please follow the links below.

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