Scottish-born character actor Robert Carlyle is one of the most versatile thespians you're likely to meet. He's played a cold-blooded killer on the classic UK crime drama Cracker (1990), a police officer in the BBC drama Hamish Macbeth (1995-97), a psychopath in Trainspotting (1996), a strip-teasing steelworker in The Full Monty (1997), an international terrorist who feels no pain in the Bond film The World is Not Enough (1999), and an intelligence operative in 24: Redemption (2008).

And those are just a few highlights.

Inspired to take up acting after reading Arthur Miller's "The Crucible", the graduate of Glasgow Arts Centre probably never imagined, however, that a journey that began in Scotland's largest city would one day take him to distant worlds aboard an ancient starship. Yet, it is aboard the starship Destiny in a distant corner of the universe where Carlyle now finds himself, as he dons the persona of Dr. Nicholas Rush in Stargate Universe, a role which on the one hand might have been the furthest thing from his mind, and yet which seems to be the sort of part for which he was always born to play.

Certainly, Carlyle was always the first choice for producers Brad Wright and Robert Cooper, who pictured him as the ideal fit for Stargate Universe's enigmatic Dr. Rush. A few phone calls and some back and forth negotiations later, and Carlyle was bound for Vancouver, and for the distant reaches of the universe. Touted as the series' leading role, the character of Dr. Rush has been described thusly: "As [the team fights] to survive, Dr. Rush works to unlock the mysteries of the ship and return the group home, but evidence of his ulterior motives soon arises."

Yours truly had an opportunity to sit down and chat with Robert Carlyle recently. Open and magnanimous, he talked about his journey to the world of Stargate, and was even good enough to engage with us in a little word association concerning some of his more notable projects over the years...

CinemaSpy: Were you at all familiar with the 'Stargate' franchise prior to signing on with Universe? Did the producers give you a crash course in the lore, or have you watched any episodes of the other two shows to familiarize yourself with the 'Stargate' universe?

Robert Carlyle: I didn't know that much about it, to be honest. I was familiar with the movie, and I knew of the shows, particularly SG-1. So eventually they sent me about 200 episodes...and I was surprised that I had actually seen quite a bit of it—it was quite familiar to me for some reason. And then I realized, "Of course, it was a very successful franchise that went on for ten years." So I made myself more aware of it as my discussions with the producers progressed.

CinemaSpy: When we were chatting with Brad and Robert, they indicated that they always had you in mind for the role of Dr. Nicholas Rush, without, of course, knowing if you would be amenable to taking it on. You've had the opportunity to play plenty of fascinating characters, from Begbie in Trainspotting, to Adolph Hitler in Hitler: The Rise of Evil, to Carl Benton in 24: Redemption. With such a rich diversity of character roles under your belt, what were the qualities that drew you to playing Dr. Nicholas Rush in Stargate Universe?

Robert Carlyle: I guess I was personally attracted to the character, because here is a man who has propelled these people through the stargate to an unknown entity, which happens to be the Destiny spaceship, and he doesn't want to go home. And that was the first thing. I thought, "What, he doesn't want to go back?"

CinemaSpy: A bit counterintuitive to what you'd expect.

Robert Carlyle: Absolutely. Here he is on this rusty old bucket on the edge of the universe. Who in their right mind wants that? What's going on in this man's mind? So the more I spoke to Robert and Brad about that, the more I realized that there's quite a wealth of background in there, which may well indicate why he behaves the way he does. And that's gold dust for an actor, that kind of thing.

So Rush kinds of exists very much on his own on the ship. I think he'd quite happily stuff them all into an airlock and jettison them into space if he thought he could get away with it. If he could do it all, he would. And the same holds for many of the other characters. They'd do the same to him if they thought they could. But they need this guy. So there's a counter-dependency. And that's interesting.

CinemaSpy: Now, being that he is that much of lone wolf, do you think that there is a danger that the audience may have a difficult time empathizing with him?

Robert Carlyle: Do you know, to be honest, I think the answer is probably yes. I think it probably will. But that is again one of the reasons I took the role. I love that. I don't like it if it's easy for me. I don't like it if it's made easy for the audience to like or dislike a character. You always want to pin characters on some kind of believability. And this man is box of tricks; you're never quite sure which way he's going to go.

CinemaSpy: Presumably that would mean that he must have some redeeming qualities in the mix somewhere as well?

Robert Carlyle: Well, I personally think he does. It's very well written, and everything about this man is for the greater good. So if someone has to be sacrificed for that, then so be it. "You want to go home, don't you?" That's his mantra.

Even where you're playing characters as dark as Hitler, you still have to apply the same logic—that they don't see themselves as villains. I realized in that particular role, for example, that there was no point in personally fighting with this character or hating this character, because it doesn't serve the role or the authenticity of the role. You have to embrace the character and ask yourself, "OK, so what was it that he believed?" Obviously we're way over the line here comparing Dr. Rush to Adolph Hitler, but the point is that there are reasons why all these people behave the way they do, including Dr. Rush, and that's enough for me to work with as an actor.

CinemaSpy: What criteria do you look for when choosing a role?

Robert Carlyle: I guess the overall thing for me is if the script has got it. When I get sent a two hour script, I'm always looking at the first 20 minutes, because it's the first 20 minutes that's going to capture, or not, any kind of audience. And there's a tremendous first 20 minutes in the Stargate Universe opening episode. So that's criteria number one for me; number two is do I empathize with the character I'm playing; and number three, do I sympathize with the overall journey that the characters are on? These are all the key points for me.

CinemaSpy: You once slept on the streets near London's Waterloo station for five nights to prepare for playing a homeless man. How do you prepare for playing a character like Nicholas Rush?

Robert Carlyle: Well, of course the more fantastical the role, the more difficult the research process becomes. What I did do, however, was back in Glasgow, my home town, I spoke to a couple of scientists. One guy was a quantum physicist — he was like a savant — and he began to talk about how all these concepts are theoretically possible. And it was a fascinating couple of hours I spent with both of these guys. And the one thing I asked them — because I wanted to get this across with Rush's character — was if they had ever come across a mathematical problem which had ever affected their mental health. And you know, they both gave the same answer. They both said, very quietly, "Oh yes." And I thought, "OK, I don't need to pry anymore."

Anyway, there's a lot of that in Rush. And you can see that. He's been somewhere. He's been down a really long, long road, this man.

CinemaSpy: How involved are you working with Brad and Robert in developing your character? Is it fairly collaborative, and do you offer significant input, or is it all pretty much on the page?

Robert Carlyle: We've been very, very luck on this series. It's been pretty much all on the page. I think this whole notion from Brad [Wright] and Robert [Cooper] is something they've been thinking about for many, many years. And I think it's stuff they have wanted to do, but perhaps haven't had the chance. But I can tell you that Brad pretty much takes care of most of Rush's lines, because he knows this character so well.

And then they trust me after that to take care of any small rearranging of sentences and stuff like that. I remember when I first got on the phone with Brad and Robert about this series, the very first thing I said to them was, "Look guys, I'm flattered, but are you sure you've got the right guy here?" I told them that my bread and butter had typically been smaller, independent films, and that I was used to working in a very improvisational style. And there reaction to that was: "Bring it on." So I've got wonderful freedom within this part. We have a wonderful collaborative relationship. And long may that continue...

CinemaSpy: There's been a lot of intensity on the part of fans with respect to Stargate Universe. What would you say to fans of the previous two shows who are perhaps skeptical about Universe to convince them to give this new series a chance?

Robert Carlyle: Sure. Well, I guess they were probably skeptical about Atlantis when it was announced. And I guess some were skeptical about SG-1 when it first arrived. No one should judge a book by its cover. What I believe you have to do with Stargate Universe is watch at least the first six. If you don't like it after that, there's nothing we can do that's going to make you like it, in all probability. But personally, I'm confident that after watching six episodes, or even less, frankly, that you're going to want to keep tuning in each week.

CinemaSpy: Do you find that there's anything about genre material, i.e. science fiction, horror and so forth, that is more liberating for you personally as an actor...or conversely, more restrictive?

Robert Carlyle: You know, if you had asked me that before I went into this show I would have probably told you the latter. But now I don't think so. I think it is quite liberating. Stuff that comes up in episode two might rear its head again in episode seven, and you'd kind of forgotten about it. And that's fascinating. And I like this idea that you're never actually alone out there in space, nor certain about what you might encounter next. The possibilities are only limited by the writers' imaginations.

CinemaSpy: Are you satisfied with the arc of your character this year...and have there been any unexpected twists in your character that made you think: Wow, I didn't see THAT coming!

Robert Carlyle: I'm very, very happy and very satisfied with the character. What I'm really delighted about is Dr. Rush's backstory; more of the clues about that don't actually come until about episode fourteen...and I love that. So it takes a while before you discover what's going on with this man. They don't try to give it all away in the first couple of episodes, or even the first six or seven.

CinemaSpy: So is there stuff in there that surprised you, too?

Robert Carlyle: It didn't surprise me so much. I'll tell you why. Many, many years ago, when I first started off with a guy named Ken Loach [Riff-Raff, Carla's Song], Ken didn't give you a complete script—and in those early days I thought everyone worked this way. And the reason why Ken did that is because so many actors first read a script to see how many lines they have. And then they'll jump to the end. And the danger if you do that is that there is a tendency to play that ending all the way through the script. And Ken's philosophy — and mine — is to play the moment. And the best way to do this is if you don't know what's coming. It keeps the character fresh, and more alive, and more aware.

And how do I do this in a high-end television role? Well, because these scripts take time to come through. They tell us that there going to get us the next few scripts as soon as possible, and I say, "Guys, I don't wanna know, just give it to me on the week we're going to do it." So unless it's something particularly dramatic that you must be aware of for some reason, or anything particularly physical, you don't have to know. And I prefer that working method.

CinemaSpy: Is there another character in Universe to whom Rush most closely relates? One that he is perhaps closet to as the season develops?

Robert Carlyle: I'll have to say no, because he is so much of a loner. I think, ironically, that his nemesis, Colonel Everett Young — the person who is the antithesis of Dr. Rush — is the person with whom he reaches the closest understanding. And I think that's just fantastic.

CinemaSpy: Assuming that Universe runs for several years, this could potentially be the most time you've spent with a single character. What would it mean for you to live in the shoes of Nicholas Rush and journey with him for an extended period of time?

Robert Carlyle: I don't know. But what I hope is that it continues in the same vein under which it's started out, because I must say that I'm really enjoying this—more than I ever would have believed. So if this character remains interesting to play, then I'll keep doing this until they give me the hook.

CinemaSpy: How's Vancouver treating you? Is this your first time shooting here?

Robert Carlyle: I was actually here a couple of years ago finishing off a movie I did called Eragon. We shot just about all of it in Hungary, but we came to Vancouver to finish off some green screen work. So I had a few weeks back then in Vancouver, and I loved it. I thought it was a fantastic town and hoped that I would get the chance to come back here. So when Universe came up, I must say that the fact that it was shooting in Vancouver was a real hook for me. I love it here; love Vancouver. I love the people, and I've worked quite closely with Canadians for the past five or six years, on projects like Human Trafficking with Christian Duguay in Montreal. So I like you guys a lot.

CinemaSpy: Word is that Danny Boyle is moving closer to actually getting a Trainspotting sequel off the ground. Are you still enthusiastic about the idea of returning to that story?

Robert Carlyle: There's always been some problems getting everyone to agree to the whole thing, but I will say that I'm more than prepared to do it, and it's more likely to happen now due to Danny Boyle's Academy Award win [for Slumdog Millionaire]. It's probably the only character I would be prepared to go back and revisit in a film sense. There's a lot more mileage in that character...and in that story.

CinemaSpy: OK, I want to play a quick word association game with you regarding some of your past work, if you're game...

Robert Carlyle: I'll do my best.

CinemaSpy: Cracker

Robert Carlyle: The beginning of everything.

CinemaSpy: Hitler: The Rise of Evil

Robert Carlyle: The beginning of something new.

CinemaSpy: Trainspotting

Robert Carlyle: The Holy Grail.

CinemaSpy: The Full Monty

Robert Carlyle: The movie that brought me choice.

CinemaSpy: The World is Not Enough

Robert Carlyle: Revisiting my childhood.

CinemaSpy: Eragon

Robert Carlyle: Disappointing.

CinemaSpy: 28 Weeks Later

Robert Carlyle: A rejuvenating, fantastic experience.

CinemaSpy: 24: Redemption

Robert Carlyle: Kiefer and I are great friends, so it was always going to happen.

CinemaSpy: Stargate Universe

Robert Carlyle: The future.