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Humans, to John Cavil (Dean Stockwell), are just a bunch of cockroaches waiting to be squashed and if he -- or better phrased it -- has his way, mankind will be crushed by their very own creation, the Cylons. Cavil, of course, is a Cylon, and fans of Battlestar Galactica glimpsed the always-sardonic Cavil and several other Cavil models in action over the course of a dozen-plus episodes of the show. Now, the Cavils are back in the new direct-to-DVD movie Battlestar Galactica: The Plan, which fills in the blanks about the Cylons' infamous plot and reveals the hows/whats/whys of several popular characters' disturbing actions. In fact, two of the Cavils -- John and Brother Cavil -- are the central figures in The Plan, which stars Dean Stockwell as the Cavils, was directed by former Battlestar Galactica regular Edward James Olmos, and is out Oct. 27 on DVD.
The Plan is really a showcase for Stockwell, the veteran film and television actor best known for Quantum Leap, Blue Velvet, Dune, and Married to the Mob. PopStar recently spoke with Stockwell by telephone and came away with the following exclusive interview in which he discussed The Plan, explained that he's up for a Quantum Leap redux, and let producers know he's ready to work some more.
What did you learn about the Cavils, about the Cylons, that you didn't know before you received the script for The Plan?
Well, I didn't know how intimately connected to the demise of all humanity this character was. In the 10 or so episodes that I did of the show I was totally unaware of that.
Does acting opposite yourself ever get any easier?
It's a tricky thing to do, it's a tricky thing to do. The tricky part of this one was that the two characters are identical in every way except their inner workings, because one of them was exposed to humans on Caprica and the other was exposed just to the people on Galactica. So you have one character that is very negative and the other who has some humanity in him. So they are different characters, and yet they look exactly the same and sound the same. In a very subtle way I had to bring that off so that you could tell there was something different between the two.
Now be honest: You only agreed to be in The Plan because you get a bed scene with super-sexy Tricia Helfer, right?
(laughs for a full 10 seconds): Yeah.
What did you make of Olmos as a director?
I love Eddie. I worked with him first when he was directing an episode of Miami Vice way back when. I liked him very much then, and that show turned out to be the highest-viewed show that they did in the whole run (of the series). I love him as an actor, from working with him on episodes I did of this show, and I was very glad to hear that he was going to direct this. And I think he did a smashing job, I really do.
The Plan is probably only for people extremely familiar with Battlestar Galactica. Would you agree that it's a kind of a gift for longtime fans?
Yeah, it really is.
Are there more Galactica stories to tell, or do you think you think you've played Cavil for the last time?
Not necessarily. It depends on how well it does. I think the fans will flock to buy it, and if there's a great enough response to it...It's left open.
People have been clamoring for a Quantum Leap reunion movie for years and years. If it ever came together, how open would you be to playing Al again?
Oh, absolutely. But I think it's been too long now.
It may be, but if it ever were to come together, what would you want to see for Sam (Scott Bakula) and Al?
I think everyone would want Sam to make it back in time, and (I'd like to see) the story of how that is brought about. That would fulfill Al as well, bringing Sam back (home). He tried to do it for four and a half years. It's my absolute favorite show of mine.
What else are you working on at the moment?
I'm not working on anything right at the moment. I make art. I've had quite a few exhibitions and am moving toward a couple of new ones. The only reason I've stopped (acting) is I'm not getting offers right now. I'm hoping that when The Plan surfaces that it will lead to some more work.
