It’s hard to believe five years have passed since Edward James Olmos captained the human survivors of Ronald D. Moore’s Battlestar Galactica. But what really made Bill Adama tick? Let the man himself explain.

Olmos, who played Adm. William Adama in the hit sci-fi reboot back in the mid-2000s, chatted with Pop Mythology about his take on the character and what it takes to be a good leader — be it in real life or science fiction. It’s a fascinating conversation, and you can still see Olmos’ passion for the character seeping through.

Check out the choice excerpt from the interview below:

What do you think is the most important aspect of command? Olmos: A captain needs a true understanding of the situation presented before him. This gives you clarity of thought in dealing with the obstacles and the prolific nature of human behavior in an extreme situation. In Battlestar Galactica, there was a clear violation of humanity – I mean, the technology we created had reduced the human race to 49,000 people. Things don’t get any more extreme than that. Question: What was your captain’s biggest challenge? Olmos: To grasp the immensity of what had just taken place. My character experienced an incredibly difficult position he was thrown in. We were ill-prepared, piloting an obsolete museum of a ship with zero ordinance and we were tasked with the responsibility of defending the human race. We had archaic, analog technology against cutting-edge killing machines. I think my character was well-suited for the challenge because he was that type of guy, but he was still faced with the task of defending humanity against efficient killing machines with out-of-date weaponry, which he didn’t have enough of in the first place. The biggest challenge was the whole story itself.

Olmos hits the nail on the head, and it’s hard to imagine anyone else taking the reins of the CIC and keeping humanity alive against such long odds. He played Adama with the perfect mix of humanity and steely resolve, and you know what, we think it’s high time for a rewatch.

(Via Pop Mythology)