Why Star Trek: Voyager's Robert Picardo Joined Stargate SG-1

Starting in the seventh season of the ultra-successful "Stargate SG-1" TV series, noted actor Robert Picardo played a character named Richard Woolsey, a stuffed-shirt overseer who kept a close eye on the members of the Stargate project. Woolsey is not a villain in his own mind — he seeks only order and oversight — but his bureaucratic shenanigans caused more harm than help. From 2004 to 2007, Woolsey appeared in seven episodes of "Stargate." His episodes of "Stargate" also overlapped with recurring appearances in the third and fourth seasons of the spin-off "Stargate: Atlantis." In that show's fifth and final season (which ran from 2008 to 2009), Woolsey became a series regular, with Picardo appearing in 20 episodes. 

Picardo might be best known for his role as the holographic Doctor on "Star Trek: Voyager," appearing in 172 episodes over that show's seven seasons. Picardo, however, has been embarrassingly prolific, never having a fallow period since his professional screen acting career began in the late 1970s. His first credit came in a 1977 episode of "Kojak," and his first movie was playing a vicious werewolf in Joe Dante's 1981 horror flick "The Howling." He has since become a lucky charm for Dante, appearing in most of the director's films. Some might recognize him as the coach on "The Wonder Years," from his role as Tim Taylor's neighbor on "Home Improvement," or one of the main cast members of the 1988 series "China Beach." 

It's no big mystery why Robert Picardo would appear on "Stargate SG-1," as he is constantly looking for work and is reliable enough to be offered a lot of high-paying, high-profile gigs. "Stargate" was a another opportunity of many, and Picardo merely took it. In a 2006 interview with the "Stargate" fan website "Gateworld," however, Picardo elaborated on his association with the sci-fi series and why he decided to do it. After "Voyager," he said, he knew he had a sci-fi imprimatur, and let the showrunners lean into his "Star Trek" connections. 

Picardo was frank about his landing of the "Stargate" gig, saying that the main reason he played Richard Woolsey was because the show's producers called him up and asked him. Picardo works so much, it would be interesting to find out if he has said "no" to anything. But he knew the way sci-fi shows like to plunder each other's ranks for guest stars, noting that "Stargate" liked to lean on "Star Trek" in particular. Indeed, Armin Shimerman, who played Quark on "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine," appeared in a 1997 episode of "Stargate SG-1" called "The Nox." Likewise, DS9's Rene Auberjonois, Colm Meany, and Nicole DeBoer had small roles. Marina Sirtis from "Star Trek: The Next Generation" appeared in an episodes of "SG-1," as did John Billingsley, Connor Trinneer, and Jolene Blalock from "Star Trek: Enterprise."

Picardo noted the hiring pattern, saying:  

"The 'Stargate' producers very much like having actors who are identifiable to their predominantly science fiction audience so, understandably, they've made offers to other 'Star Trek' actors in the past. I read the first script and I seemed like, kind of, a bad guy ... but he seemed to be at least an honorably-intentioned bad guy. He meant well. [...] It would've been a drag to have to come in and perform, except that the members of that cast were so welcoming to me and so happy to have me on the show. [T]hey didn't confuse my character with me, the person."

He said that everyone was gracious when he came to the set, and that he had a great time doing "Stargate." Also, Picardo said that he was mutual fans with "Stargate" producers Joe Mallozzi and Paul Mullie, so there was warmth all around. And naturally, it helped that Richard Woolsey became a series regular after a while, allowing the show's writers to give him more depth and texture.