A R T I C L E S   &   I N T E R V I E W S

Title: Rachel Luttrell (Excerpt)
Publisher: Digital Spy
Publishing Date: July 12th 2006
Byline: Neil Wilkes & Kris Green
Source: Digital Spy


In a recent interview conducted by Digital Spy, Rachel Luttrell discusses many things about Stargate Atlantis. One such thing is the development and evolution of her character, Teyla Emmagan:

“I believe that in the very beginning she was influenced solely by her people and the influences of the galaxy that she's from. Since joining the Atlantis crew, she's been influenced by those of her crew that are from Earth and that's changed her perspective on how she deals with the greatest threat in her life, which is from the race, and how she deals with her people, so that's been a very large shift for her. And another one of the big shifts for Teyla, which has influenced her character, who she is, is just slowly moving away from her people to a certain degree. The fact that she's joined the Atlantis crew, we haven't really been touching upon her people that often. She's joined ranks with a group of people who she thinks can really really effect change for her people, the galaxy and the rest of humanity. That shifts her perspective quite a bit."

Rachel also discusses some changes that Teyla will undergo in season three:

"In season three we get to see a lot more of the light-hearted side of who Teyla is. We've got a lot more humour injected into the season - in fact, two of the episodes are purely comedic. For me, I play a character who doesn't really get to laugh all that much, so that was fun for me. We also get to see a little more of who she is when she isn't on duty, a lot of her interests. There's an angle that has been touched on right now, which is love interests. It's always been toyed with for a couple of seasons... I think we're going to get right into something, which is intriguing and fun for me to play, cos it's a totally different aspect of who Teyla is."

Rachel shares some ideas she has for the future of her character:

"There's so much of her I don't think has been fully explored. I would love to have the element of Wraith that's in her explored, because that's something she found out about in season one. Nice to see how much that affects her, and what she can do with it and what powers it's imbued her with. I'd also like to see some more connections between her and her people and where she stands right now with them, and how she's being pulled between her alliance and her loyalty to her people, and that of her loyalty towards SA15. That's something I would liketo see explored. I also want to see some interesting love interests - that would be cool. I'm always interested in the fight sequences, see some more of that as well."

Rachel also talks about what a day on the set of Stargate Atlantis is like, a potential career as a singer, her favorite experiences on set, future projects and her favorite television shows. You can read the full interview here.