Elyse Levesque plays Chloe Armstrong in Stargate Universe. The Canadian actor spent time as an international model before moving to Vancouver in 2006 to focus on her acting career. In conversation with CinemaSpy, Levesque talked about the dynamic among the cast members and how her character develops through the first season. All without spoiling any dramatic plot moments.

CinemaSpy: How familiar were you with the Stargate franchise before taking the role?

Elyse Levesque: I'd heard of it. Being in Vancouver, it's one of the biggest shows shot here. I'd heard a lot about it but I didn't follow it.

CinemaSpy: How does your character fit with the ensemble that makes up Stargate Universe?

Elyse Levesque: My character on the show is a young woman named Chloe Armstrong. She is the resident fish-out-of-water. She comes from a very different lifestyle than a lot of the other Destiny crewmembers. She's the daughter and aid of a United States senator. She went to Harvard Law and majored in political science, and I think much of her life ran with the popular crowd, tried to fit the perceived persona of a senator's daughter. So when she comes on board the Destiny she's very much out of her element. None of the people were meant to be there, but at least they come equipped with a skill or mindset that allows them to deal with the situation. Chloe is just out of her element. For her it's a shock to the system. She has personal things which happen to her that she has to overcome and deal with and she needs to find a way to make herself useful on board the ship. Which is a huge issue for her, this sense of uselessness.

CinemaSpy: Have the writers created a situation where the skill set that she does have comes into play?

Elyse Levesque: You bet. She went to Harvard, so she's very politically savvy, and certain events occur on the ship and she is called upon to step up.

CinemaSpy: You've been shooting for a few months, how has the cast come together?

Elyse Levesque: What's special about this situation is I feel like we hit the ground running right off the bat. We just jived, immediately. It's a big crew and all of our recurring actors are fantastic and make the show even greater. We all just — fortunately — bonded instantly, and I think that lent itself to the characters and the show.

CinemaSpy: It's one of the things the Stargate shows have always benefitted from: savvy casting.

Elyse Levesque: Everyone's very well cast. Some people are going to kill me for saying this, but some of them are very much like their characters. Some of them not at all. Jamil Walker Smith is nothing like his character. He's not like Ronald Greer at all but that just goes to show he's a really talented guy.

CinemaSpy: What aspirations do you have for your character in the show?

Elyse Levesque: As we see near the end of the season, she starts to brush up a lot on Stargate history, so she can become aware of what's out there, and I can see her becoming a go-to person. I don't know if she would join the ranks of the military, unofficially, or a human resources person, but I'd like to see her take on some sort of leadership role on board. I think we maybe setting her up for that.

CinemaSpy: There's a lot of things going on for Chloe. There's dealing with new people, the growth of her character.

Elyse Levesque: There is. There's so many things. Just the troubles of being dropped on a ship and running out of resources and never knowing if you're going to live or die.

CinemaSpy: How much have you discovered about your character that you didn't know when you first stepped in?

Elyse Levesque: There have been a couple of things that I've realized as I went along. One thing, which is interesting, is that this is a place she's supposed to be. Originally I go with the notion that she's a fish out of water, but I actually think she's in her element in this place. I think it's the first time that she's able to be herself and trust people. These are people that care about her for who she is and they don't have an ulterior motive.

CinemaSpy: And she's aware of that? Do we see her come into that revelation?

Elyse Levesque: I think so, because I think she starts to reveal herself a lot more.

CinemaSpy: How many episodes have you read forward to?

Elyse Levesque: They're pretty good about only giving them to us a week or two before we start shooting. I don't like getting too far ahead of myself because the episodes are so cerebral. I've got to read them a couple of times, call David Blue, ask him what's happening in the episode, and then . . .

CinemaSpy: What is it about David Blue that he is your go-to guy?

Elyse Levesque: He's like a human encyclopedia. If you just have some random question, like do strawberries reproduce by their little seeds, he'll know the answer. And he's such a fan of the show, so he knows a lot, and can put it into perspective for us. He pretends that it's so painstaking for us to always be going to him, but I think he secretly likes it.

CinemaSpy: Do you get time to rehearse with the cast before shooting?

Elyse Levesque: At this point, we rehearse, we discuss the scene, and then we go do it. In the beginning they gave us a couple of rehearsal days for the pilot. But I think everyone is just rooted in their characters now. We just know, instinctively, what would be going on.

CinemaSpy: Do you see the ship, Destiny, as a character?

Elyse Levesque: You know what, I think it is. I think a huge part of what sets the tone and mood for the show is that ship. It's really unique. Often you see pristine, immaculate, futuristic-looking ships, and this ship is very old. It's got very interesting technology, but it's in no way a sparkly, immaculate ship. It's falling apart, and I think it lends itself to the premise for the show.

CinemaSpy: Any plans for when the first season wraps?

Elyse Levesque: I've put some thought into it, but I keep hoping that this doesn't end, and that 20th episode doesn't ever get finished, we just keep shooting forever. It's just too much fun. I'd like to do some traveling, but if a work opportunity presented itself, I would definitely jump on board. We'll see what happens with the show and where it takes us.