James Callis Talks Battlestar, Gaius Baltar and Why Playing Bad Guys is Fun
Battlestar React-ica: Katee Sackhoff's First Watch of BSG
Katee Sackhoff - Starbuck from Battlestar Galactica
4.9 • 522 Ratings
🗓️ 4 November 2025
⏱️ 86 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Happy Tuesday, Everyone! I can't believe it's taken this long, but this week I am finally talking to my friend and Battlestar legend James Callis! On Battlestar, James played Dr. Gaius Baltar. He is also known for playing best friend Tom in the Bridget Jones' Diary movies, as well as appearances in Star Trek: Picard, 12 Monkeys, Arrow and most recently as Claude Whelan in Slow Horses. James was an intimidating person for me to interview — he's so smart about acting (and about everything else) and he plays a really good bad guy— but in this conversation, you get to see his goofy side and his tender side too. James is an incredible dad and I loved getting to talk to him about how fatherhood helps him keep the nonsense of life on set in perspective. He has also worked with some of the greatest actors of all time and we discuss what traits Gary Oldman, Kristin Scott Thomas, Peter O'Toole and Omar Sharif all have in common. I thoroughly enjoyed this conversation and I'm so happy I got to see James in person! Enjoy the episode and check out our Patreon for an extended hindsight where my producer Jeph and I discuss James and all things Battlestar in more detail. Send me an email thesackhoffshow@gmail.com Produced by Rabbit Grin Productions Mail Sack Song by Nicolas @producer_sniffles Join us on Patreon! http://patreon.com/thesackhoffshow ----------------------------------------------------- Support our Sponsors: New Every Plate customers can enjoy a special offer of only $1.99 a meal. Go to https://www.everyplate.com/podcast and use code katee199 to get started. Applied as discount on first box, limited time only.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hey everyone, happy Tuesday. Welcome to the Sackoff show. Thank you so much for being here. It means the world to me. |
| 0:07.3 | In an overcrowded podcast space, you being here is super cool. So thank you. I want to remind you to like |
| 0:14.7 | and subscribe because that's the only way you're going to get reminders that we're here every Tuesday. |
| 0:19.7 | Today's guest, I'm just going to get right into it because he's one of here every Tuesday. Today's guest, I'm just going to get |
| 0:20.8 | right into it because he's one of my favorite people. Today's guest, I am dipping into the |
| 0:26.2 | Battlestar cast again with Mr. Gaius Baltar himself, James Callis. James has also been in Bridget |
| 0:35.5 | Jones Diary. He was in Picard. He was in 12 monkeys. He's currently in |
| 0:41.4 | slow horses. James is constantly working and he is just a wonderful, wonderful actor. I |
| 0:49.5 | thoroughly enjoy watching him. I love him even more as a person. He and his entire family are just |
| 0:56.0 | every one of them are like a gem. I think that you're going to love this episode. It was in person, |
| 1:03.4 | which we know makes it fun. So if you're listening in your car, you may want to actually watch |
| 1:08.8 | when you get home tonight because it is in person and it is over on our YouTube channel. |
| 1:14.2 | Send those questions and comments to The Sackoff Show at gmail.com. |
| 1:17.2 | And other than that, I'm just going to get out of your way and enjoy my wonderful friend, the incredibly talented James Callis. |
| 1:42.2 | Music James Callis. I'm so happy that you're here, though, because like every single time I talk to somebody about the show, they're like, why haven't you had James Callison? |
| 1:50.5 | Like, and I'm like, well, because he intimidates the shit out of me. |
| 1:55.5 | Oh, that's funny. |
| 1:56.3 | It's true, though. |
| 1:57.1 | That's one of the reasons. |
| 1:57.9 | Well, the other reason is I wanted to do it in person, of course. |
| 2:00.2 | But, like, it's true. It's like your brain and your talent have always intimidated me. Oh, gosh. Always. |
| 2:11.8 | So your style of acting is enthralling to watch and to act opposite of. |
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