When it comes to bedside manner, Stargate Atlantis’s Dr. Carson Beckett was popular not only with his patients but also the show’s fans. In fact, the character was such a hit with viewers, that he was brought back even after being killed off. Scottish-born actor Paul McGillion, who played Beckett, recently took time out from his busy work schedule to chat to Steven Eramo about his time spent in the Pegasus Galaxy.

Was the Carson Beckett character always supposed to be Scottish, or is that something you specifically campaigned for?

They wanted an international flavor for several of the characters that were being introduced in the show’s pilot episode, and when I read the script, Beckett seemed Scottish to me, so I decided I’d play him that way.

When my agent asked me what accent I’d be doing in the audition, I told her Scottish, but the casting director didn’t think anyone would understand me and suggested that I do an English accent instead. I had another look at the material and felt very strongly that Scottish was the way to go with Carson.

When I had my audition, the casting director asked me what accent I’d be doing and I said, “Scottish, because that’s where I was born and I really feel like it would suit the character.” He said, “OK, if you feel that strongly about it, give it a shot,” and lo and behold, Carson Beckett was born.

Did you have any difficulty with the medical/scientific jargon when first stepping into the role?

Yes, definitely. At first I was like, “Oh, my God, what does this mean, and can I say it with a Scottish accent?” Thankfully, my brother Mike is a doctor, so I’d phone him for advice.

You just have to put in the time, though, and really work hard at memorising the lines and making everything sound authentic. It’s a tricky thing, but you get used to it after a while, and it boded very well for me because Stargate was a fantastic training ground for any sort of memorisation that you have to do as an actor.

I always joked that Sheppard [Joe Flanigan] wooed the women, Ronon [Jason Momoa] killed the bad guys, and Beckett memorised the lines.

The season one Atlantis episode ‘Poisoning the Well’ had a huge impact on further defining the Beckett character. What made that story special for you?

I think the humanity of the episode made it a full one for Beckett. This was a story where you really got a sense of the character and felt for him in his struggle with the whole bio-ethics issue, as well as his moral obligations as a doctor.

The script had so much in it for me, from the comedy at the beginning where Beckett is “flipping out” about going through the Stargate, to the drama where my character is dealing with Perna’s [Allison Hossack] death and, again, the ethical and moral issues of using a virus to try to eliminate the Wraith species.

As someone who at that time was playing a recurring role on the show, it was great for me to get such a major story arc in an episode, especially so early on in the series. Damian Kindler wrote an amazing script, and as soon as I read it I knew that I really had to knock it out of the park. Thankfully, it went well for me.

What do you remember most about filming ‘Sunday’, the episode where Carson was killed off?

Without a doubt, it’s the crew. Obviously, everyone had read the script and knew that my character was going to die. I’d gotten along so well with the crew and they were quite upset when they heard the news. At one point I said, “Guys, it’s all good. In TV, especially sci-fi, you never know, maybe I’ll be back.” Fortunately that turned out to be true, but it was still a really, really tough episode to shoot.

I’ll never forget the scene that David Hewlett [Dr. Rodney McKay] and I had at the end of the episode where our two characters are saying goodbye to one another. The entire thing was the end of an era – for me, anyway.

Did you ever expect your character to be “resurrected” and brought back into the series?

Honestly, no, I didn’t. When I found out that Carson was being killed off, I was shocked. But as an actor, you’ve got to tell yourself, “Look, you know what, it was a great run and a wonderful opportunity, but you have to move on. It’s a TV series and these things happen.”

The fan response to the whole thing was immense, and the fact that they had this big campaign to save Carson Beckett was just overwhelming. Again, as an actor you never expect anything like that. I mean, a pipe band showing up at the studio, and hundreds of people flashing their butts with “Carson Beckett” written on their underwear; it was amazing that the fans had that kind of response to my character.

And also the fact that they brought him back was a pretty cool thing for the producers to do as well. So it was sad to go, but great to come back.

Long before Atlantis, you guest-starred in the Stargate SG-1 episode ‘The Torment of Tantalus’. What was that like?

I thought it was a terrific script. [Executive producer] Jonathan Glassner directed the episode, and Martin Wood also directed second unit, including the scene where my character, Ernest Littlefield, goes through the Stargate in a deep sea diving suit.

At the time I didn’t know that he was the first person to go through the Earth’s Stargate back in 1945 after it was dug up, having been buried by the ancient Egyptians. The fans were the ones who actually told me that because they know the programme so well. Quite often fans of SG-1 will ask me to sign as Ernest, which is kind of neat!

Stargate Atlantis: The Complete 1-5 is out now on DVD.