 September 22-24, 2000 Vancouver, British Columbia
 Actor Peter Williams speaks to the convention crowd, along with Sean, the youngest ever to be First Prime of Apophis. |
A Jaffa and a Gentleman
Attendees were treated to a little acting lesson under the direction of Tony Amendola, a.k.a. Master Bra'tac. Mr. Amendola encouraged a handful of participants who had an interest in acting to come up to the stage. After giving a whispered instruction to each participant, he stood back to watch the outcome.
Several participants began to "act out," making obvious, visible gestures indicating they were attempting to count the number of chairs facing them. All of these individuals were promptly sent back to their seats. The remaining three, none of whom had given any indication as to what Mr. Amendola had instructed them to do, were said to represent the importance of focus.
You could say that there is an interesting parallel in that lesson to the teachings of a Jaffa. After all, no one could ever say that Christopher Judge as Teal'c appears distracted! However, the audience Q&A session did not address this. Still, another parallel was mentioned. One of at least three Japanese attendees asked whether the similarities between the Jaffa master and an ancient Samurai warrior were planned. Mr. Amendola appreciated this statement, and noted that he had, indeed, studied something of the Samurai and taken those lessons with him to his role as Master Bra'tac.
 Veteran actor Tony Amendola stars in "SG-1" as Bra'tac, Teal'c's Jaffa master. |
Mr. Amendola appears to be a very kind man who sincerely likes to discuss the nature of his art. It was also a pleasure to see Master Bra'tac and Apophis (actor Peter Williams) together on one stage. Both actors said they would like to do battle again, against each other's characters.
Peter Williams turned out to be quite a character himself. At the cocktail party on Friday night, and throughout the weekend, he seemed to be a rather "fun-loving" guy. When I gave him one of the Sekh's Party patches (discussed in another article), he was all geared up for next year's party -- say "Sekh's" out loud and you'll start to understand why!
Also, when he learned that Jay Avacone, J.R. Bourne and Christopher Judge were all asked the infamous question "boxers or briefs?", at least one attendee reported that Peter was all geared up to provide his own answer, complete with giving the audience a bit of proof, as Jay and J.R. had done -- both happily dropped their "drawers" enough to show the audience the white underneath. Christopher Judge, answering that he didn't wear underwear, admittedly could not follow through with proof of his own. Unfortunately, the question was not raised during Peter's Sunday session.
 Peter Williams and Sean continue to entertain GATECON goers. |
Still, Peter is not all about "Sekh's." He is also a very gentle man who is quite natural around children. There were a few wee ones in attendance at various times throughout the weekend, especially a young toddler with a Jaffa symbol on his forehead who caught Mr. Williams' eye. During the second day of the convention, Mr. Williams announced that as Apophis he needs a new First Prime, and he called the child forward. He then held the patient 2-year-old on his lap for quite a while as the discussions proceeded.
Mr. Williams' responses to questions related to the costumes for Apophis and the use of the Egyptian language were notable. It was interesting to learn that his helmet normally weighs 60 pounds, though another, movable version, that is one with hydraulics allowing it to open and close, weighs even more, and is equipped with some very heavy rubber inside. As to the workings of the hydraulics, Mr. Williams said that someone must stand behind him to make the helmet open and close. He also stated that he must be very careful to keep his head back when this is going on, to avoid getting his nose clipped!
 Peter Williams as Apophis in "Serpent's Song." |
Another interesting fact regards the face mask he had to wear for Season Three's "Jolinar's Memories" and "The Devil You Know." He reported that he had to endure five hours in make-up to get the mask on, and another couple of hours to remove it. The make-up artist involved has won an Emmy for his previous work.
One last little tid-bit cannot be left unsaid. In answer to a question regarding the use of real, ancient Egyptian language, Mr. Williams discussed the episode entitled "Serpent's Song," in which we finally hear something from Apophis' host. Apparently, pain-staking efforts were made to ensure the language spoken was accurate. However, some sort of mix-up resulted in only one script having the appropriate words. While Daniel spoke the true language, Apophis' host would not have been understood by his own people - Peter William's script contained gibberish!
<< BACK - TOP - NEXT >> |
