Actress Katee Sackhoff starred in 24, Battlestar Galactica and Riddick (Picture: Jason Merritt/Getty Images)

Katee Sackhoff, 33, is best known for starring as Starbuck in the Battlestar Galactica reboot. She is in Vin Diesel sci-fi action film Riddick, out now on DVD.

Was showing your left boob essential to the plot of Riddick? I’m at an age where I think everyone’s seen a boob before and it wasn’t a big deal. It was essential in that the character needed to know Riddick had seen her in a very vulnerable position and could have killed her but didn’t.

You’ve said people have been critical of that scene in particular and some aspects of your character in the film in general. If I was hurt or offended every time someone criticised me I’d never have shown up for my second day on Battlestar Galactica. People hated the fact Starbuck on that show was a woman – I got death threats. Someone’s always going to have a problem with something you do – you’re never going to make everyone happy. Even if you get a 50/50 response, you’re still doing well.



Do your fans want to see you as a non-stop arse-kicker? There are many different kinds of fans for many different reasons and a large section of my fanbase doesn’t want to see me do anything other than be tough. Then there are people who want to see me do a little bit of everything. I’m trying to give everyone a bit of what they want but, at the end of the day, it’s about me having fun and enjoying what I do for a living – so I go where the excitement is and do things I haven’t done before. There’s something different about every character or job that makes me want to do it. On Battlestar it was as simple as I’d never shot a gun before and I got to do that.


What role has had the biggest impact on your career? Starbuck in Battlestar Galactica, for sure. The biggest impact on my life was the TV show The Education Of Max Bickford when I was 19 and working with Oscar winners like Peter O’Toole, Marcia Gay Harden and Richard Dreyfuss every day. That was when I thought: ‘Wow, I might be able to do this for a career.’ Battlestar Galactica meant I was offered more ‘tough girl’ roles – I finally found what people wanted to see me do, then made a career out of it.

Why did you want to become an actress? I was very shy and insecure growing up and acting gave me an outlet. My first professional job was Mr Holland’s Opus but I took a break right after that because I hated it. I decided if I wasn’t going to be one of the leads there was no point doing it. There’s a hierarchy on a film set and when you’re at the bottom it’s not much fun.

Why did you go back to it? Ultimately I feel passionate about art – it gives me an outlet and there’s a camaraderie and a feeling of inclusion when you’re on set and working. I didn’t have that in high school and longed to feel included.

There’s a fan campaign to get you the role of Ms Marvel in the Marvel superhero films. Are you interested? Of course, I’d be stupid not to be interested. I’d love to do it. Who wouldn’t? It’d be fun. I grew up trying to find strong female characters in lots of different venues and comics were a place you could find them – incredibly strong women with very few limitations.



You’ve got supernatural film Oculus coming out soon – what was it like? I had a great time working on that. It’s a very different type of horror movie I think people will enjoy.

Karen Gillan has a ten-minute monologue about the history of mirrors in the film. Did you see her do it? She did a brilliant job with it. I shot all of my stuff before Karen started working so she had time to prepare but a lesser actor would have had a horrible time with it. To keep the audience’s attention for ten minutes with just you talking is pretty impressive and she does a great job. I play Karen’s mom – I can’t really give away how.

What’s happening with the ‘female Expendables’? The script is amazing. The producer, Adi Shankar, did Dredd and The Grey, and can take an idea and turn it into something incredibly strong. It’s hard, gritty, nasty – everything you want an action movie to be. I can’t wait to get started on it.

What lessons has your career in showbiz taught you so far? I’ve always looked at this as a job – it’s not my life. Everything is finite, you ride the wave as long as you can and you need to find other things to make you happy because you’re not going to get it from this business. I’ve always been realistic about this business and gone in with a level head. Some people might call it pessimistic but I call it realistic. I’m producing my own projects and enjoy writing. If you can make yourself malleable, your career can last a long time.


Are you producing films? Yes, a couple of big ones and a couple of small ones. I produced a comedy, Sexy Evil Genius, a couple of years ago, which I’m proud of. I’m engaged to a producer – I’ve been with him for eight years – and when your fiancé’s produced films like Pitch Perfect and you see how he attacks this business, you can’t help but be influenced.



Riddick is out now on DVD and Blu-ray.