Katee Sackhoff, the star well-known for kicking all sorts of ass on television, still has a lot on her plate despite current world affairs. With an acting career spanning over 20 years, she is considered a modern pioneer of sorts for female representation in the wide spectrum. She has tackled all sorts of genres from science-fiction to horror and has also even dabbled in animation. Regardless if you recognize her from Battlestar Galactica or Longmire, one thing should be clear: her talents are a force to be reckoned with.
Newer fans might have gotten to know her from her recent roles on CW’s The Flash and Netflix’s Another Life. The Star Wars fanbase definitely knows her as the Mandalorian Bo-Katan seen in both The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels. Another Life was picked up for another season and went into production shortly before the Coronavirus pandemic. Fortunately, fans do not have to wait at all to see (or more accurately hear) Sackhoff in action. She reprised her role voicing Bo-Katan in The Clone Wars’ final season last week and is going to play an intricate role heading into the series finale.
We were lucky enough to have Sackhoff for an exclusive interview. We discuss her reprisal in both The Flash and The Clone Wars. We not only get an update on season two of Another Life but also on the other projects she has been tackling during this very eerie time. Check it out below!
DF: We want to discuss your recent return to The Flash. How was it returning to the show under the leadership of a new showrunner, Eric Wallace?
KS: It’s great. Every time that I’ve gone over to The Flash, everybody has always, always from the very beginning been so supportive and welcoming. It’s such a fun character to play. That being said, as a performer it also takes a lot of confidence and it’s really, really important to have a supportive group around you to do something that you haven’t done before. For me, I really wanted to lean in hard to Amunet being crazy. Part of her being crazy was her accent and the way that she moves. It took a lot of sleepless nights leading up to my first day to build up the confidence to actually do it because it was something that was decided by myself and the old showrunner. To his credit (Eric Wallace), when I showed up on day one and said “I want to do this”, he said “She’s going to do this” and everyone went, “Okay, great, let her do it”! It ended up being so important to who Amunet is because it really helps the audience understand that she is a loose cannon.
DF: For this season, you only returned for one episode. Would you want to come back again to reprise the role?
KS: Oh, 100%. Amunet and The Flash are hands down the most fun I’ve had in this industry because there has been such freedom in creating this character that is just so over the top. They’ve really given me that freedom and what’s born out of it just is so much joy because I’m getting to do what I wanted to do when I was a little kid, which is playing characters that are so far from myself. I absolutely would go back anytime they want me to.
DF: Switching gears to your Netflix series Another Life. It was seamlessly quite a hit for the streaming service, what drew you to join the series?
KS: What I loved about Another Life was that it wasn’t taking itself so seriously. We have, especially now this comment is so much more apropos, but we have so much reality that is so heavy in our own world that sometimes you want to turn the TV on and watch something that you have to completely suspend disbelief to enjoy. It’s just popcorn, fun, and a quick ride. I love that about Another Life. I love that from the moment you turn it on, from the cliffhanger at the end of every single episode – regardless of your thoughts on the probability of things that are actually happening, you have to admit that it’s fast and fun to watch. That was something that I was craving for the last 20 years. Having two shows that were so heavy, Longmire and Battlestar Galactica were both very, very heavy in realism within their different genres. But it was nice to go someplace where I didn’t need to know how fast the ship went, because it’s not real. I enjoyed that very much.
DF: The show was recently renewed for a second season. What can fans expect from the second season of Another Life?
KS: We actually are two episodes into shooting. Obviously like every other show, we’ve been put on hiatus for a while because of COVID-19. We have gone through two episodes. What they can expect this season is much of the same energy. The thrill ride of it all and pace will be very similar. Some of the things that are going to be different – you’ll see some new faces and I’m going to use a word that is very indicative of this show, but we are going to get a little bit more “sciency”. One of the things that Netflix really allows you to do because of the system they have in place is that they really allow you, as producers and as a network, to look at feedback from the fans in a controlled place. To dissect that information and make changes to a show that the audience wants to see. So some of those changes the fans are actually going to see in season two, which is really great.
DF: Would you say that kind of feedback is absent in other network programs that you have worked on?
KS: Absolutely yeah. I think that there is a fine line between creating the show that you want to create and holding fast to that and then making yourself a slave to what the audience wants. You don’t want the latter because then that makes you start to pander to them and you really want to hold fast to what you were creating to begin with. Now, if there’s an overwhelming response saying, “We didn’t like this” and it’s 80% of the people that watched it – well, okay maybe you can take that to heart. But if you’re constantly changing what you created in trying to make every single viewer happy, it’s never going to work. What I like about Another Life is that the audience that loves it, really loves it and the audience that hates it, really hate it. That’s totally okay you know? I’m incredibly excited to start the next season back up again.
DF: Right. It all seems to be about the creative balance between what you want to do and what others want to see in the show.
KS: Yeah, absolutely. If I did what my fan base wants to see me do, I would go back to Battlestar Galactica or Longmire for another 10, 20, or even 30 years because that’s what people want to see you do. They want to see you do what you’ve been doing successfully for the last 10 years. Just because that worked, was fun to watch, and you excelled at it doesn’t mean that you don’t want to go do something else creatively and that there isn’t room for something else.
DF: Right and then on the other end, there are shows that have other things to do creatively and otherwise, like The Clone Wars where you recently returned. When did you find out that you would be coming back in the last season?
KS: I found out that I would play Bo-Katan in The Clone Wars pretty early on into the final season because it takes a coordinated effort. To make sure they don’t want to write it if you’re not available. They definitely made sure that I was still interested and obviously, I mean, you would have to be a dumb-dumb to not want to be in The Clone Wars. So, of course, I jumped on it. I’m a huge Dave Filoni fan. I’ve been a fan of his for so many years and I love everything that he does.
DF: Definitely. Fans have been following this current season quite closely. With your appearance in the “Siege of Mandalore” arc, what can fans expect from your character in this final season?
KS: I don’t want to say anything nor do I think I can. But I think that Bo-Katan will continue and will always strive to try to lead Mandalore to the best of her ability and the way that she deems fit. We’ll continue to see more of that from her.
DF: Last week, we saw Bo-Katan appear on the show. She had a small but pretty significant role in Star Wars Rebels. Was there any kind of significant change that you made in your portrayal of her in that show to that in Clone Wars – to differentiate yourself from the younger version?
KS: Yes and no. Every time we have seen Bo-Katan, she grows as a leader and is becoming better at it. That doesn’t necessarily mean that she will ever be the right leader. I think that with Bo, it’s really important for me to take stock in what she’s learned and actually implement that moving forward. Because at the end of the day that is what Bo does so well, she puts her people first in what she thinks is best for them. Whether or not that is the truth or if there is a better leader out there, we don’t know. But she will always do what she thinks is right by her people.
DF: The character relates to Mandalore obviously, which has a big relation to The Mandalorian, a huge hit for Disney Plus with shooting for season 2 already wrapped. With Lucasfilm exploring Mandalorian culture and the Darksaber so closely, would you want to see your character be translated into live-action for that series?
KS: I mean, who wouldn’t! I grew up watching Star Wars. I grew up obsessed with Star Wars. Part of what I loved about playing Starbuck was that she reminded me of Han. I absolutely love that world and it’s part of the reason why I took The Clone Wars and wanted to play Bo to begin with. That being said, of course, there are people that are going to jump to conclusions that Bo is going to be in The Mandalorian because on paper, it does make sense. But you know, we’ll just have to wait and see and cross all my fingers and toes. You never know.
DF: Right there with you.
KS: Hopefully it goes for five seasons and every year I get another opportunity to do that potentially!
DF: Are there any upcoming projects of yours that you would like to make our audience aware of?
DF: I would implore people to go catch up on season one of Another Life because as soon as it’s safe to do so, we are going to get back to filming the second season. I’m also really passionate right now about my YouTube channel that I started with my boyfriend Robin. We had so much downtime between season one and season two of Another Life. I really wanted a more in depth way of connecting with my fans, giving them what they asked for. Which is a glimpse into my life, but leaning heavily into health, fitness, motivation, and sort of living a whole happy life. We are getting a really great response from that. The second season started airing March 31st on YouTube.
We also started recording our workout exercises at home during this whole quarantine because, you know, I’m sitting here having to work out at home. People constantly ask me what I do to work out. We were like, “Why don’t we just film this, edit it, and sort of throw it up online and see if it helps people”? I have to say, people are actually really enjoying the workouts because Robin and I do them together and they’re not – you know the production value is incredibly low. So I think people are actually not intimidated by them, which is great. That’s what you need with an at-home workout, right? You need something that’s fun to watch, not intimidating, and over within 30 minutes. That’s pretty much what all of our workouts have been and people seem to really, really be enjoying them a lot. We will continue to do them until this is over and maybe even after that.
DF: Sounds good, we’ll definitely be able to check that out.
KS: Absolutely. Also, keep watching The Clone Wars because I’m super excited about where Bo is headed!
