Amanda Tapping, who originates the role of theoretical astrophysicist and Pentagon expert Captain Samantha Carter on the new sci-fi series Stargate SG-1, recalls a recent guest shot on The X-Files with a mixture of glee and dread.
"I was mostly dead on The X-Files," Tapping says cheerfully. "And apparently I give good 'dead.' " Tapping played a character who seduces FBI assistant director Walter Skinner (Mitch Pileggi), "and ends up sleeping with -- boy, I'm really proud of this -- sleeping with him. And then when he wakes up in the morning, I'm dead and the whole show is about whether or not he killed me.
"I had two scenes with David [Duchovny] and Gillian [Anderson] where I was dead in a morgue drawer and on an autopsy table. Thanks for bringing it up."
Born in England and raised in Toronto, Tapping graduated from the University of Windsor's school of dramatic art. She also appeared in Due South, Flash Forward and the TV movies Forever Knight and Lessons in Love before her stint in The X-Files and now a featured role in Stargate.
"I am 'everywoman' on the show," Tapping says. "The great thing about this character is she one of the guys, in as much as a female character can be one of the guys. She's an equal -- which may be the science-fiction part of the show, I'm not sure.
"Whoops! Quoted on that one."