Callum Keith Rennie at the Galactica 4 convention
One year ago, in August 2008 (August 9th - 10th) Callum Keith Rennie, Luciana Carro and Rick Worthy attended the Galactica 4 convention near London.
I collected some transcripts, pictures, and videos, courtesy of 3xcusemyfrench, seiyaharris, the4ts and jhava.
(image by the4ts)
Callum took part in two Q&A sessions, Saturday (9th August) and Sunday (10th August). The transcripts are taken with permission from 3xcusemyfrench.
G4 - Saturday talks - Callum Keith Rennie
It was his first convention.
“I’m not microphone friendly.”
Anytime the stewards or Bryan were gesturing him the time he had left in his talk, he kept adding up minutes. “15 minutes!” “17 minutes!”
Pictures: CKR's Saturday talk
1/ How did you get into acting?
He had other jobs and knew a friend who had a radio show. He thought it “was crap” so his friend told him to do better if he could.
Then at age 26 it was his first time on stage in a couple of plays. He quit his job to rehearse. One of the plays was American Buffalo.
So he thought “hey, maybe I’m an actor now” but there were many things he was interested in, like “the bar, and drinking”.
Years later, he got back into it and started to take one acting class a week.
He did a theatre season in Toronto but he didn’t really like it, the remembering it all part of it and it wasn’t the audience he was looking for.
He stopped drinking after he got pieces of glass in his eyes. “True Story.” He was still wearing an eyepatch when he got his first TV job on Highlander. His first part was a 2-day gig with Sheena Easton and it was fantastic.
Agent quality improved along his actor life.
When Vancouver was booming he wasn’t 3 weeks without a job.
2/ How did your previous gigs in the X-Files helped you getting a part in the movie?
Chris Carter wrote Krycek for him (!!!). But he didn’t know enough about the role and where the show was going so he turned it down.
Then years later for the movie Chris Carter asks him “can you do it in a Russian accent?”
And then “Ok, now scream at me in Russian!”
“I don’t speak Russian, I just know the accent!”
3/ Can you tell us about your experience on Memento?
It was really quick to shoot.
“I didn’t understand it when I read it… or when I saw it. But I tell everyone it’s a great movie.”
Case 39 was also fast to shoot. “Bang bang bang.” Never got to rework stuff.
“Is that a good answer? I loved it.”
4/ If this was your last night on Earth, was would you do?
“I’d get half-drunk, go to Paris and golf my way to the end.”
5/ question about some show whose name I didn’t recognize1
“Once I was on it, it was a very good show.”
It’s hard to be a new character on an existing show that already has a fanbase. “You know half of them are gonna hate your guts.”
6/ Question about Tin Man
“I haven’t seen it… but I was great in it.”
The outfits were too tight, he got them fixed and then could move his toes and breathe.
Ended up being the bad guy again.
7/ Do you prefer playing a good guy or a bad guy?
The important thing is that the character is well-written or locked in as a stereotype.
(about Leoben) “I didn’t do anything, I just talk and I get killed all the time!”
8/ Any embarrassing auditions?
He freaked out at an audition for the part of “racist white guy” for American History X.
I don’t have any notes about it though, I guess I was busy listening or sth?
9/Any stories about BSG?
At first it was just a pilot with a great cast.
“I’m not a space guy.”
Eddie Olmos really wanted it to work.
He hasn’t actually met half of the cast, mostly working with Katee. They’ve built a relationship based on trust and fun, he enjoyed watching her grow up with the show.
He loved working with Matthew Bennett.
At times he tried to “die” in different ways for the scenes on New Caprica in season 3.
“I want to die like a goldfish in a bowl.” - “That’s not how a Cylon dies!”
10/ Any props you’d like to keep?
He didn’t have a lot of props… and was sick of the shirts in the end (lol).
… and then sth I can’t read… I can’t even read my own handwriting *facepalm*
11/ Would you like to go in space for real?
“We’re already in outer space, on a planet. You mean out of it. No. It depends on the price.”
A lot of money is spent to do nothing, basically fly there and never come back!
12/ Have you ever googled your name and find sth weird?
“Not from my work. As for my private life…”
Was not aware of scifi boards before 8 months ago.
Some people think being an actor is “driving around in a limousine being fed grapes by beauties but unless you’re Tom Cruise or sth you’re just a grinder”
13/ Any tips for writers?
“Write stuff and then send it.”
14/ Does Leoben really love Kara or is it part of the plan?
To him it’s more of a connection between a sear and her guide than physical.
15/ What was your weirdest fan experience?
It was when he was shooting an episode of Due South (baseball episode2) out of town. A guy and a girl came to see him and the guy said “wanna sleep with my sister? She’s a big fan of your work. 50 bucks.”
1 From his answer I take that this question was about Due South.
2 Dr. Longball
(image by the4ts)
G4 - Sunday talks - Callum Keith Rennie
This Q&A was shorter, and I was probably recovering from the hilarity of the Whose line is it anyway? improv so I didn’t write down much.
1/ Any funny stories about the X-Files movie?
Feel free to fill this in!
2/ What did you like watching growing up?
Classics like Brando movies, Charlie Chaplin. He likes westerns but doesn’t like horror movies.
3/ How was it to work with the wolf on Due South?
The only thing I wrote down is “they pick up things quicker than humans.”
4/ Did you base Leoben on someone?
“Myself.” Lol
“He’s more human than a human.”
5/ Sth about intensity is easy for him. (you don’t say!)
6/ What about a comedic role?
He just finished 12 more episodes of Californication.
7/ Sth about a sequel to…3 sth… sorry!
8/ Which British series would you like to star in?
He’s not that familiar with British TV.
9/ If you could work with any leading lady?
Angelina Jolie.
10/ “The second question was… about me.” (about his most rewarding experience)
“For every show I want to take an acting class.”
3 Hard Core Logo. See transcript by seiyaharris
The next part is taken with permission from seiyaharris ( Part One, Part Two):
(image by the4ts)
Callum Keith Rennie was first on this morning, looking HOT still and answering questions at length and honestly. This is his first con and he wasn't sure what to expect, he thought it'd be scary but it's not apparently. He told a long, involved story about how he got into acting, he did a thing for a friend (I think) and kind of fell into it but he was quite into drinking and alcohol and all the things that come with it and the acting tailed off a bit due mostly to events in his personal life and the he took a piece of glass in the eye in a bar fight and thought 'okay, so I'm done with drinking' and he liked acting so he went back to it and his first job was a guest spot on Highlander, still with the eyepatch from the bar fight and they asked him 'can you drive?' and he was all 'yeah! Sure!' and whipped his eyepatch off and drove with one eye. And he did a guest spot on The X-Files and they called him back in and asked him if he wanted to do this one part, Krycek, said they would write the part for him. But ultimately, he didn't know what was going to happen with the character and it wasn't a good deal and so he passed. 10 years later they asked him to come in for the role in the second movie. Chris Carter asked him if he could do a Russian accent and he said yes and they gave him some dialogue, but he couldn't tell anyone what it was and that was pretty much it. He said when he turned down the Krycek role he sent Chris a note explaining why he was saying no, because he's a good guy and he didn't really understand how the whole Hollywood thing worked at the time and when he went in for the movie part Chris said he still had the note *G* He said he auditioned for the part of Benton Fraser and then went back to be RayK and Paul ran the show like a tank commander and kept telling Callum it would never be like that again, the relationships and the working atmosphere and he was right. There was more. Lots more. He smiled and looked people in the eye when he answered their questions if he could. He was relaxed and relatively frank and most excellent.
[...]
Sunday at the con, blah blah blah, there will be a Hard Core Logo sequel that they will probably shoot in November. Because Hugh Dillon was busy, Callum was busy so they weren't talking but now they're talking and there will be the sequel. And it'll be those two guys, meeting up and talking through their problems, now that Callum and Hugh have done the same IRL. ... yeah, that movie really was life imitating art.
And this is from the G4 post by jhava (also with permission, of course):
(image by the4ts)
That was probably the best one day con I've ever been to. All the guests were lovely, but in particular ... Callum Keith Rennie. I haven't anticipated meeting any actor so much since the first time I saw Peter Wingfield in 2003. And the reality lived up to the anticipation. He's exactly what I was expecting him to be; a bad boy turned into an actor; articulate and sharp with his wit; and incredibly sexy. He's not a conventional pretty boy, but he has charisma and appeal to spare.
And after the improv session, it was time for Mr. Callum Keith Rennie's Q and A. And I apologize but I am made of complete fail here as I didn't take notes. I was rather focussed on the gent himself and taking pictures.
What I do recall:
*this is his first con!
*a sequel to Hard Core Logo has been written. (And I confirmed same during the autograph session when he indicated they might start filming in Toronto in November.)
*he still seems bemused by the fact that he's landed so many acting jobs when he has no real acting training. Everytime he's on a set he panics briefly, wondering what he's doing there.
*he is very much a networker and builder of relationships. From every acting experience, he draws a positive experience -- either from the contacts/friends he makes or from the filming itself.
*save for one year, he's been working steadily for the past fifteen years. And he's the first to describe himself as a "jobbing actor". Character roles are his strength.
And, last but certainly not least, YouTube videos of the improvisation session, also provided by jhava:
1. Singing
2. Overcome by a Western Kiss
3. Wrong Script
4. Voice Swapping (1)
5. Voice Swapping (2)
6. Miming
7. Hair, Teens, Breaks
8. Gorilla
9. Rapping
Links:
This has been already linked above, but just to make sure, benelie, who also posted the transcripts to 3xcusemyfrench, took lots of pictures at the convention: 78 pictures on Saturday and 22 pictures on Sunday. (You might recognize at least on of those pictures, since she was nice enough to make it available for Callum's Wikipedia page.)
the4ts also took pictures, 117 of them. This is actually the wrong link, also it's MORE than 117 pictures. See? If you want to tell her how awesome she is, do that here.
siluria was at the G4 convention and has posted about it here and here (includes pictures as well).
(image by the4ts)
The German Caprica City forum has G4 related threads here and here.
That are all the links I remembered. If anyone was smart enough to actually to, you know, bookmark posts about the Galactica 4 convention, please let me know, so I can add them to the post.
ETA: Ah-HA. neu111 was indeed smart enough to save links. Here they are:
wolfevents online store (There's actually nothing of interest for CKR fans, yet. They might release a DVD for the convention though.)
Neil Davidson's Convention Galleries (just a few pictures of Callum)
JEDI CHEFS (a few pictures of Callum)
photos © Anno Superstar, conventions (some more pictures of Callum)
mina_from_transylvania · Albums - Convention G4 (tons of Callum pictures)
Caprica City: Conventions + Fandom - Galactica Four (2008) (some pictures of Callum)
LJ REPORTS
2008-08-15: jhava: For the CKR fans amongst you ...
2008-08-11: jhava: One of these please? Comments upon a fangirl weekend
2008-08-10: siluria: CKR and Rick Worthy
2008-08-10: siluria: I'm back home after meeting two very wonderful people - Callum Keith Rennie and Rick Worthy
2008-08-12: princess_s: Galactica 4 aka the con that was right out of left field
annosuperstar 10/8/8
anno-superstar 17/08/08 - Hello, she's back
anno-superstar 17/08/08 - The Eagle has landed.
anno-superstar 19/08/08 - The London Diaries, pt. 1
anno-superstar 19/08/08 - The London Diaries, pt. 2
anno-superstar 24/08/08 - IDK, my BFF Leoben?
anno-superstar 27/08/08 - good things happen to people who wait?
anno-superstar 31/08/08 - The London Diaries, pt. 3
anno-superstar 01/09/08 - Sweden! London! Battlestar! Who! (madness ensue)
buckbeakbabie Wolf Galactica 10/08/08
Seiyaharris 08/08/08: Tonight, Callum Keith Rennie shook my hand
Seiyaharris 09/08/08: Callum Keith Rennie was first on this morning
Seiyaharris 10/08/08: Sunday at the con, blah blah blah
esmerelda-t 11/08/08 - Very brief con report
esmerelda-t 11/08/08 - Just a quick post
lexi599 12/08/08 - a short recap of the BSG con
aurelianne I'm back !!!! 12/08/08
LJ COMMENTS
mythoxia - Hunting for new pics of CKR is hard work... 22/11/08
Vsee - G4 con reactions 13/08/08
j_s_cavalcante 12/08/08: I thought they were all gorgeous. But CALLUM...BICEPS
c_regalis's posts
Scriggle's posts
I collected some transcripts, pictures, and videos, courtesy of 3xcusemyfrench, seiyaharris, the4ts and jhava.
(image by the4ts)
Callum took part in two Q&A sessions, Saturday (9th August) and Sunday (10th August). The transcripts are taken with permission from 3xcusemyfrench.
G4 - Saturday talks - Callum Keith Rennie
It was his first convention.
“I’m not microphone friendly.”
Anytime the stewards or Bryan were gesturing him the time he had left in his talk, he kept adding up minutes. “15 minutes!” “17 minutes!”
Pictures: CKR's Saturday talk
1/ How did you get into acting?
He had other jobs and knew a friend who had a radio show. He thought it “was crap” so his friend told him to do better if he could.
Then at age 26 it was his first time on stage in a couple of plays. He quit his job to rehearse. One of the plays was American Buffalo.
So he thought “hey, maybe I’m an actor now” but there were many things he was interested in, like “the bar, and drinking”.
Years later, he got back into it and started to take one acting class a week.
He did a theatre season in Toronto but he didn’t really like it, the remembering it all part of it and it wasn’t the audience he was looking for.
He stopped drinking after he got pieces of glass in his eyes. “True Story.” He was still wearing an eyepatch when he got his first TV job on Highlander. His first part was a 2-day gig with Sheena Easton and it was fantastic.
Agent quality improved along his actor life.
When Vancouver was booming he wasn’t 3 weeks without a job.
2/ How did your previous gigs in the X-Files helped you getting a part in the movie?
Chris Carter wrote Krycek for him (!!!). But he didn’t know enough about the role and where the show was going so he turned it down.
Then years later for the movie Chris Carter asks him “can you do it in a Russian accent?”
And then “Ok, now scream at me in Russian!”
“I don’t speak Russian, I just know the accent!”
3/ Can you tell us about your experience on Memento?
It was really quick to shoot.
“I didn’t understand it when I read it… or when I saw it. But I tell everyone it’s a great movie.”
Case 39 was also fast to shoot. “Bang bang bang.” Never got to rework stuff.
“Is that a good answer? I loved it.”
4/ If this was your last night on Earth, was would you do?
“I’d get half-drunk, go to Paris and golf my way to the end.”
5/ question about some show whose name I didn’t recognize1
“Once I was on it, it was a very good show.”
It’s hard to be a new character on an existing show that already has a fanbase. “You know half of them are gonna hate your guts.”
6/ Question about Tin Man
“I haven’t seen it… but I was great in it.”
The outfits were too tight, he got them fixed and then could move his toes and breathe.
Ended up being the bad guy again.
7/ Do you prefer playing a good guy or a bad guy?
The important thing is that the character is well-written or locked in as a stereotype.
(about Leoben) “I didn’t do anything, I just talk and I get killed all the time!”
8/ Any embarrassing auditions?
He freaked out at an audition for the part of “racist white guy” for American History X.
I don’t have any notes about it though, I guess I was busy listening or sth?
9/Any stories about BSG?
At first it was just a pilot with a great cast.
“I’m not a space guy.”
Eddie Olmos really wanted it to work.
He hasn’t actually met half of the cast, mostly working with Katee. They’ve built a relationship based on trust and fun, he enjoyed watching her grow up with the show.
He loved working with Matthew Bennett.
At times he tried to “die” in different ways for the scenes on New Caprica in season 3.
“I want to die like a goldfish in a bowl.” - “That’s not how a Cylon dies!”
10/ Any props you’d like to keep?
He didn’t have a lot of props… and was sick of the shirts in the end (lol).
… and then sth I can’t read… I can’t even read my own handwriting *facepalm*
11/ Would you like to go in space for real?
“We’re already in outer space, on a planet. You mean out of it. No. It depends on the price.”
A lot of money is spent to do nothing, basically fly there and never come back!
12/ Have you ever googled your name and find sth weird?
“Not from my work. As for my private life…”
Was not aware of scifi boards before 8 months ago.
Some people think being an actor is “driving around in a limousine being fed grapes by beauties but unless you’re Tom Cruise or sth you’re just a grinder”
13/ Any tips for writers?
“Write stuff and then send it.”
14/ Does Leoben really love Kara or is it part of the plan?
To him it’s more of a connection between a sear and her guide than physical.
15/ What was your weirdest fan experience?
It was when he was shooting an episode of Due South (baseball episode2) out of town. A guy and a girl came to see him and the guy said “wanna sleep with my sister? She’s a big fan of your work. 50 bucks.”
1 From his answer I take that this question was about Due South.
2 Dr. Longball
(image by the4ts)
G4 - Sunday talks - Callum Keith Rennie
This Q&A was shorter, and I was probably recovering from the hilarity of the Whose line is it anyway? improv so I didn’t write down much.
1/ Any funny stories about the X-Files movie?
Feel free to fill this in!
2/ What did you like watching growing up?
Classics like Brando movies, Charlie Chaplin. He likes westerns but doesn’t like horror movies.
3/ How was it to work with the wolf on Due South?
The only thing I wrote down is “they pick up things quicker than humans.”
4/ Did you base Leoben on someone?
“Myself.” Lol
“He’s more human than a human.”
5/ Sth about intensity is easy for him. (you don’t say!)
6/ What about a comedic role?
He just finished 12 more episodes of Californication.
7/ Sth about a sequel to…3 sth… sorry!
8/ Which British series would you like to star in?
He’s not that familiar with British TV.
9/ If you could work with any leading lady?
Angelina Jolie.
10/ “The second question was… about me.” (about his most rewarding experience)
“For every show I want to take an acting class.”
3 Hard Core Logo. See transcript by seiyaharris
The next part is taken with permission from seiyaharris ( Part One, Part Two):
(image by the4ts)
Callum Keith Rennie was first on this morning, looking HOT still and answering questions at length and honestly. This is his first con and he wasn't sure what to expect, he thought it'd be scary but it's not apparently. He told a long, involved story about how he got into acting, he did a thing for a friend (I think) and kind of fell into it but he was quite into drinking and alcohol and all the things that come with it and the acting tailed off a bit due mostly to events in his personal life and the he took a piece of glass in the eye in a bar fight and thought 'okay, so I'm done with drinking' and he liked acting so he went back to it and his first job was a guest spot on Highlander, still with the eyepatch from the bar fight and they asked him 'can you drive?' and he was all 'yeah! Sure!' and whipped his eyepatch off and drove with one eye. And he did a guest spot on The X-Files and they called him back in and asked him if he wanted to do this one part, Krycek, said they would write the part for him. But ultimately, he didn't know what was going to happen with the character and it wasn't a good deal and so he passed. 10 years later they asked him to come in for the role in the second movie. Chris Carter asked him if he could do a Russian accent and he said yes and they gave him some dialogue, but he couldn't tell anyone what it was and that was pretty much it. He said when he turned down the Krycek role he sent Chris a note explaining why he was saying no, because he's a good guy and he didn't really understand how the whole Hollywood thing worked at the time and when he went in for the movie part Chris said he still had the note *G* He said he auditioned for the part of Benton Fraser and then went back to be RayK and Paul ran the show like a tank commander and kept telling Callum it would never be like that again, the relationships and the working atmosphere and he was right. There was more. Lots more. He smiled and looked people in the eye when he answered their questions if he could. He was relaxed and relatively frank and most excellent.
[...]
Sunday at the con, blah blah blah, there will be a Hard Core Logo sequel that they will probably shoot in November. Because Hugh Dillon was busy, Callum was busy so they weren't talking but now they're talking and there will be the sequel. And it'll be those two guys, meeting up and talking through their problems, now that Callum and Hugh have done the same IRL. ... yeah, that movie really was life imitating art.
And this is from the G4 post by jhava (also with permission, of course):
(image by the4ts)
That was probably the best one day con I've ever been to. All the guests were lovely, but in particular ... Callum Keith Rennie. I haven't anticipated meeting any actor so much since the first time I saw Peter Wingfield in 2003. And the reality lived up to the anticipation. He's exactly what I was expecting him to be; a bad boy turned into an actor; articulate and sharp with his wit; and incredibly sexy. He's not a conventional pretty boy, but he has charisma and appeal to spare.
And after the improv session, it was time for Mr. Callum Keith Rennie's Q and A. And I apologize but I am made of complete fail here as I didn't take notes. I was rather focussed on the gent himself and taking pictures.
What I do recall:
*this is his first con!
*a sequel to Hard Core Logo has been written. (And I confirmed same during the autograph session when he indicated they might start filming in Toronto in November.)
*he still seems bemused by the fact that he's landed so many acting jobs when he has no real acting training. Everytime he's on a set he panics briefly, wondering what he's doing there.
*he is very much a networker and builder of relationships. From every acting experience, he draws a positive experience -- either from the contacts/friends he makes or from the filming itself.
*save for one year, he's been working steadily for the past fifteen years. And he's the first to describe himself as a "jobbing actor". Character roles are his strength.
And, last but certainly not least, YouTube videos of the improvisation session, also provided by jhava:
1. Singing
Click to view2. Overcome by a Western Kiss
3. Wrong Script
4. Voice Swapping (1)
5. Voice Swapping (2)
6. Miming
7. Hair, Teens, Breaks
8. Gorilla
9. Rapping
Links:
This has been already linked above, but just to make sure, benelie, who also posted the transcripts to 3xcusemyfrench, took lots of pictures at the convention: 78 pictures on Saturday and 22 pictures on Sunday. (You might recognize at least on of those pictures, since she was nice enough to make it available for Callum's Wikipedia page.)
the4ts also took pictures, 117 of them. This is actually the wrong link, also it's MORE than 117 pictures. See? If you want to tell her how awesome she is, do that here.
siluria was at the G4 convention and has posted about it here and here (includes pictures as well).
(image by the4ts)
The German Caprica City forum has G4 related threads here and here.
That are all the links I remembered. If anyone was smart enough to actually to, you know, bookmark posts about the Galactica 4 convention, please let me know, so I can add them to the post.
ETA: Ah-HA. neu111 was indeed smart enough to save links. Here they are:
wolfevents online store (There's actually nothing of interest for CKR fans, yet. They might release a DVD for the convention though.)
Neil Davidson's Convention Galleries (just a few pictures of Callum)
JEDI CHEFS (a few pictures of Callum)
photos © Anno Superstar, conventions (some more pictures of Callum)
mina_from_transylvania · Albums - Convention G4 (tons of Callum pictures)
Caprica City: Conventions + Fandom - Galactica Four (2008) (some pictures of Callum)
LJ REPORTS
2008-08-15: jhava: For the CKR fans amongst you ...
2008-08-11: jhava: One of these please? Comments upon a fangirl weekend
2008-08-10: siluria: CKR and Rick Worthy
2008-08-10: siluria: I'm back home after meeting two very wonderful people - Callum Keith Rennie and Rick Worthy
2008-08-12: princess_s: Galactica 4 aka the con that was right out of left field
annosuperstar 10/8/8
anno-superstar 17/08/08 - Hello, she's back
anno-superstar 17/08/08 - The Eagle has landed.
anno-superstar 19/08/08 - The London Diaries, pt. 1
anno-superstar 19/08/08 - The London Diaries, pt. 2
anno-superstar 24/08/08 - IDK, my BFF Leoben?
anno-superstar 27/08/08 - good things happen to people who wait?
anno-superstar 31/08/08 - The London Diaries, pt. 3
anno-superstar 01/09/08 - Sweden! London! Battlestar! Who! (madness ensue)
buckbeakbabie Wolf Galactica 10/08/08
Seiyaharris 08/08/08: Tonight, Callum Keith Rennie shook my hand
Seiyaharris 09/08/08: Callum Keith Rennie was first on this morning
Seiyaharris 10/08/08: Sunday at the con, blah blah blah
esmerelda-t 11/08/08 - Very brief con report
esmerelda-t 11/08/08 - Just a quick post
lexi599 12/08/08 - a short recap of the BSG con
aurelianne I'm back !!!! 12/08/08
LJ COMMENTS
mythoxia - Hunting for new pics of CKR is hard work... 22/11/08
Vsee - G4 con reactions 13/08/08
j_s_cavalcante 12/08/08: I thought they were all gorgeous. But CALLUM...BICEPS
c_regalis's posts
Scriggle's posts