Jr Bourne has kindly agreed to an interview over the delight that is the 'Internet', with me providing him a list of questions that can only be described as the Spanish Inquisition! I wore my costume this time but he didn't get to see it! Well, you would have to agree that it is a trifle difficult when the interviewer is in the UK and the interviewee is in Canada!

Being the sport that he is, Jr has charismatically and openly answered all the questions, providing us with this opportunity to delve deeper into the man we all lovingly refer to as a Tok'ra teabag. So sit back, find your obligatory Jaffa Cakes, put your slippers on and relax as you read our interview with Jr Bourne...

But first of all, let's establish a little history of the bright blue eyed, (or are they ice green, as someone has recently described? I say blue!) whiter than white smile actor. He is usually cast as the bad guy in his career despite his boyish good looks... Sure it's more fun to play a bad guy and my goodness he is totally believable as a bad guy, but who would have him pegged that way with that fresh look and killer smile? I think killer may just be the operative word here. ;-) Word to the wise, watch out for those 'killer' smiles from anyone near you!

A native of Canada, born in Toronto on April 8th 1970, he was christened David Bourne Jr. Or is he? Someone said to me that he told them he wasn't. I think a little more delving is in order! He also prefers Jr being spelt Jr and not JR as well. He has two sisters and has a best friend called Scooby, yup that's his dog!
We best know him as Martouf on Stargate SG-1, but Jr started his career early in life, at the age of eight, when he starred in the television series Parent Puzzle.
He quit, worked on his schooling and graduated from high school. Never satisfied with the study of business, a friend finally showed him the light… and so he walked that way and into Ryerson Theatre School. At the end of his first year he already had work. Well why not?

Family Passions was the name of the game he found himself involved in, filmed in Toronto, it was conveniently close to where he was studying at the Ryerson. Family Passions was an intertwined saga revolving around two families united by blood and business but separated by hate, love affairs and lots of typical daytime soap opera drama. Now, just what Jr's role is in Family Passions is, is really difficult to find as there isn't much information around on the Canadian soap.

After finishing Theatre school, Jr moved to Vancouver to find work. He found it on the 1993 series, Madison as the guest character 'Elliot' in the episodes, 'Go Your Own Way', 'Kiss of Life', 'Stepping into Starlight' and 'With a Bullet'.
Interestingly enough, Peter Stebbings, the Tok'ra Malek, from Stargate SG-1 season six episodes 'Allegiance' and 'Cure', was a series regular on Madison along with Don S Davis, our friendly General Hammond, who also wandered into this series as a guest star. Perhaps it is where Jr and Peter met as friends? We asked him just that…

Did you meet Peter Stebbings on the set of Madison? Are you good friends?

Yes, Pete and I first met while doing Madison, and are very good friends!! He's living here with his beautiful girlfriend obviously doing his show (Jeremiah) and we'd love to do a movie together SOON!!!

Also during this time, Jr starred in a short entitled Porcaria (1994); again this is 'short' on the details, unless you believe that it is about carved pigs… I think not.
Two features followed Jungleground and The Final Goal in 1995. This was the start of a trend… Jr was cast as the really bad guy with a shocking hair colour in Jungleground, as Odin, a particularly nasty drug lord.
It's set in the future, and is akin to such films as Escape from New York and Road Warrior (Mad Max). His character hunts an undercover cop, who infiltrated his gang and tried to… he was a really bad guy, get the picture? Pure evil would be the way I would describe how Jr portrayed Odin. You can just about see the shocking hair colour in the pic of Jungleground!
In The Final Goal, Jr plays Joseph; it's a movie about crime and corruption within professional football (soccer to you guys across the pond). Unfortunately, the low down on the role that Jr played in this film is not readily obtainable, I guess when you see it you will see. Currently the film is only available in the US. I asked Jr about it to see if I could get more information, I think he wanted to forget it or maybe my research is lying to me!

What was your role in Final Goal?

What? Final...what?

Very witty :-)
Then followed many guest spots on the TV shows, Viper, Strange Luck, Side Effects, The Sentinel, Two, Millennium, The Crow: Stairway to Heaven.
Features such as The Right Connections, Past Perfect, The Inspectors and Futuresport, followed as word got around that Jr is just so good as a nasty guy.
Interestingly, in Futuresport, Jr played Bythe, an evil piece of work who was a terrorist leader complete with an elaborate tattoo. He got to play with none other than Dean 'Superman' Cain and Wesley Snipes in this movie. The movie's plot is about two warring states and how Dean Cain's character was trying to get the state he played for to allow the winner of the game, to be the winner of the war, thus saving lives of the soldiers. So, with the two warring states playing each other in an extremely violent game which is rather like a cross between rollerball, hoverboard (like a skateboard but hovers!), ice hockey and Rugby/American football… confusing I know but that's really the only way to describe it. Wouldn't it be good if the outcome of wars were decided on a game?
Jr's character was the terrorist trying to stop the game by sabotaging the players. Futuristic and predictable, but good fun watching Jr get to fight, even though he gets his rear end kicked! That tattoo was what intrigued me, I remember at one of the conventions, Jr saying that he slept in it and ruined his pillow with all the make up… time for a question about that…

How long did it take to put on the tattoo in Futuresport?

Two hours each day

It was in the feature The Inspectors, where he played nasty Dwayne, that Jr first worked with Brad Turner, director, who asked him to audition for the part of Kordesh, the traitor Tok'ra, in the second season episodes The Tok'ra: Part I and The Tok'ra: Part II for Stargate SG-1 all because Brad was impressed with his portrayl of bad guys.
After viewing the audition tape, Richard Dean Anderson, Executive producer and Star (Col Jack O'Neill) decided that Jr should play the part of the Tok'ra Martouf/Lantash, which is, for those of you unaware, a being with symbiotic relationship between a 'human host' (Martouf) and the 'Tok'ra symbiote' (Lantash).
His decision played out perfectly, as the character of Martouf/Lantash, which has been played in such a believable and enigmatic way by Jr, was to eventually become one of the most loved reoccurring characters throughout the series. And the rest as they say is history. I asked him about his brief but notable Stargate life…

On to the obligatory Stargate questions, well we are a Stargate site and we had to slip them in somewhere...
What was your most memorable moment in Stargate?

The day I realized I was on a sci-fi show...pretending to be in a space ship flying to another planet way out there in the Universe! (The episode where we went to hell to save Carmen Argenziano)

That was in the third season episodes Jolinars Memories and Devil You Know involving the Goa'uld Sokar, who had captured and imprisoned Jacob Carter/Selmak (Carmen Argenziano) on Netu (Hell).
For the benefit of those of you unfamiliar with the episodes, it was Martouf, who came to Earth with a rescue mission for SG-1. There are some great scenes between Martouf and Sam Carter, as she is forced to recall the way that Jolinar (Martouf/Lantash's mate) escaped from Netu, so that they may escape when the time came.
One could see the rapport that Jr and Amanda had together, and I particularly liked the way that the writers explored Jack's protectiveness over Sam, as Martouf pushed for an answer. More notably, you could see the how deep Jr had to go with Martouf's torture scene. Splendid. Read on later to find out how these type of scenes impact on Jr himself.
Do watch Jolinars Memories and Devil You Know; they are one of the best two part specials in all of the seasons. However, it was in these episodes that Jr got to wear the SGC garb instead of the Tok'ra costume, with that in mind I asked him…

Which costume was more comfortable, the Tok'ra or the SGC?

SGC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I think one can safely assume that the BDU's that the rest of the SGC get to wear are WAY more comfortable than the Tok'ra costume. Makes you want to wear them eh? I forgot to ask if he managed to keep a pair of trousers (pants) because I am sure there will be a huge amount of people wanting to buy them for charity.

If you could play any character in Stargate, who would it be and why?

Martouf...knowing that I'd be in every episode, and hence have an opportunity to see where he goes...a chance to develop him with the writers and everyone else involved.

Martouf was 'killed' in the fourth season episode Divide and Conquer, when Jr read the script, he was saddened by Martouf's demise and approached Michael Greenburg, who cryptically said, 'No one ever dies in Sci-fi'.

In Divide and Conquer, which dealt with the dynamic between Sam and Jack, there was a rumour that members of the SGC had been deliberately tampered with (they were called Zatarcs) and made to assassinate either the President or the head of the Tok'ra during a treaty signing between the Earth and the Tok'ra.
Unfortunately it wasn't Sam or Jack, whom the episode eluded to, but was Martouf. Sam had to kill Martouf, when it was discovered it was he who was implanted with an assassination programme. Sad ending… He was shot many times...

Let's take the Tok'ra teabag moment in Divide and Conquer, where you were shot many times, we have queries as to whether that hurt!

A lot of squibs like that in a specific death scene, it's fun.

But was that really to be all we would ever see of Martouf/Lantash?
The fifth season episodes Summit and Last Stand they originally wrote in the character of Martouf/Lantash, hoping that Jr would be able to reprise the role. Sadly, Jr was unable to due to other acting commitments, and the 'host' Martouf was written out of the fifth season episodes. In his place, his 'snake', sorry 'symbiote', Lantash continued to be written in and another actor 'hosted' the symbiote.
There are many 'pitches' around on the net as to how to bring him back! Despite being in only six episodes in the six seasons of Stargate, Jr and his character Martouf/Lantash remain one of the most loved guest characters in Stargate SG-1. I know for a fact that everyone else would love to see Martouf back. I personally hope Jr gets to explore Martouf again…

If asked would you do more Stargate?

Most definitely.

How did filming Stargate compare with other sci-fi shows such as Jeremiah or the Outer limits?

No comparison...LOVE being on, and being apart of Stargate...just more of a story and history involved in all aspects.

What do you enjoy most about attending the conventions and why?

The guests...the love and support from everyone!

Jr certainly threw himself into enjoying the conventions, he has spent a lot of time talking to fans and is always smiling… Yes, believe it or not, not all guests at conventions are as gracious with their time and energy.

What's the strangest thing someone has asked you to autograph?

I haven't really had anything too strange...I signed on someone's skin at one of the conventions, but it wasn't anywhere too obtrusive.

Beyond the call of duty there! I couldn't let it go without asking him the most common question…cheeky? I know…but he did answer, albeit, most diplomatically.

A question from the ladies… Which do you prefer, Boxers or Briefs? My apologies, I bet you just knew we'd slip that one in there. :-)

It depends on the weather…

Getting off the Stargate subject (and what kind of underwear, stop drooling girls!), Jr has had many other roles, in Features and TV both during and since his reoccurring role in Stargate SG-1... In Aftershock, he plays a guy who with the help of a young aspiring public defender, managed to convincingly enough get her and the jury to believe that he was innocent of his wife's murder (which by the end we know to be a miscarriage of justice). Freed, he stalks the lawyer by being conveniently in the right place at the right time. They along with other survivors were trapped on the underground when the earthquake hit New York.
Gradually his characters facade drops under the pressure of finding a way out and accompanied by those wonderful evil looks, akin to the Martouf the Zatarc moment for those that can recall, led to the eventual attempt on the lawyers life by his character. The writing in the made for TV film a little corny in places and unfortunately he dies, death by falling!

What stunts have you had to perform yourself?

All harnessed up and letting myself slip and fall while climbing a ladder to safety, probably 100ft or so, but only fell maybe 10ft in Aftershock...jumping off a small ladder onto my rear end to finish the real jump my stunt guy did from a two story building...and lots more... it's fun

In Return to the Cabin By the Lake, which starred Judd Nelson, JR plays JC Reddick, an obnoxious, drug taking film executive, who was murdered by Stanley, played by Judd. Jr spent an evening in the water being tied up by Judd Nelson, rather him than me! I was cringing at the hysterical laughter of JR in the character of JC, deliberately played OTT (over the top) to reduce the sympathy for the character at the beginning of a killing spree by Stanley. Death by boat... still a trend this dying in a role thing!

Jr has also been in the series Big Sound, playing the role Bobby Talisman, he worked with Colin 'Major Davis' Cunningham and Gary 'Chevron guy' Jones (who was one of the writers). When I recently interviewed Gary, he was surprised by the response of the fans to Jr on the stage of SG5 convention in England.
His thoughts about Jr was hilarious… I start thinking to myself 'Oh my God, they're not gonna know me', I'm gonna walk up there… you know JR walks up there…and they are 'YEAHHHHH JR' He's been killed twice, he's not even on the show and they're like 'YEAHHHHHH JR' and I am like, oh my God this is going to be so embarrassing. I walk out and they go 'YAAA…who's that guy?!'
When I told Jr about what he had said… his reply was…

Who's Gary Jones again? KIDDING…he's one of my favorite people!! His humor is a gift!!

Jr met up with another one of his Stargate friends, in a short entitled Stuck, he gets to spend a great deal of time in a lift (elevator) with the delightful Amanda 'Major Sam Carter' Tapping. Apparently, both Jr and Amanda enjoyed the experience of being in a lift together and there were some racy scenes... watch out for that! I think Jr is still watching out for Amanda's hubby!

Jr played Stenn in a first season episode of the Sci-fi Jeremiah, which is where his friend Peter Stebbings plays the recurring character of Markus. It's a darker sci-fi and I would recommend you take the time to watch it. Oddly enough, Jeremiah is filmed next door to Stargate SG-1!
Jr auditioned for the role of Stenn, who is a misguided leader of a village hell bent on stopping anyone from touching at all. Stenn and his council stoned a young man to death for touching his girlfriend… well ok, he was doing more than touching! His face is a picture at the end when Jeremiah touches him, so horrified! Priceless...He didn't die though! What a result.

So, there has been a multitude of bad guys that Jr has had to play, I guess it's because he can play them well, though I think that Martouf was a breath of fresh air. We talked about the future parts…

What's next for you professionally? More 'bad guys' or are you getting more 'good guy' roles?

I'm hoping diversity...I don't mind playing bad guys, but I love having the opportunity to play all different types of characters...I'm on the path right now and plan to journey further on it...I finished a comedy at the top of this year called The Truth About Miranda (name may change), the heroin movie I finished the end of last year, I'm currently shooting two pilots right now...one for Fox called Still Life where I play a political aid, and one for Universal/CBS called Century City where I guest star in this pilot playing the lead singer of a boy band...then it's off to Edmonton to shoot a prequel to a movie called Ginger Snaps, which is set in the 1700's where I play a bit of a smarmy little character.

How far have you gone to prepare for a role?

I had to play a junkie, and I don't do any drugs whatsoever, and rarely drink alcohol...and although I have friends that indulge, and I'm more around at the time, none of them are junkies...so I went down to the east side here in Vancouver and spent a fair bit of time amongst the people that live down there...being with them, talking with them, dressing like them, becoming as much a part of their world as I could without doing drugs...and I smoked a LOT of cigarettes to help create some form of addiction in my body.

He hadn't finished his answer though! Methinks, that inside Mr Bourne hides a bit of an O'Neill sense of humour! He answered it in distance terms for preparation, just in case…hehe, Oh and Jr put's smileys in his answers too..

Or the more literal answer...to Montreal, which is on the other side of Canada :)

So funny! If I could stick my tongue out, that's what I'd be doing right now! :P
In fact, I did laugh, at Thir13en Ghosts, where he was reduced to half the man he used to be. Rather spectacularly too! He plays Ben Moss, the lawyer of a rich madman (git more like!) and ends up trying to steal money from him in this strange house they are all trapped in. He gives a great performance in this remake of a 1960's film. Needless to say, he dies… and of all the deaths his characters have had, I categorise this as the most inventive and funny. Jr had to endure a full body cast for this role so that they were able to do his death scene! Believe me when I say he was half the man he used to be, it's true. Watch it for yourself!

Did you get to keep the mould of your body in Thir13en Ghosts and if so, what would you have done with it?

No...I wanted to, so that I could auction it off for CF... :-(

At SG5, Jr said that he would have liked to have had it in his car also, so that he could drive around posing! Jr prefers developing feature film characters than a recurring character in a series, and he got the chance to play the lead in Favourite Game.

Tell me about Favourite Game, and is it coming to the UK or Europe at all?

It's an adaptation of a novel by Leonard Cohen, of the same name... the novel was a loose autobiographical look at his own life...about a poet on a journey through life by means of his writing and his being with women... I hope you all get it out there at some point...but no word yet... it's just starting to open around Canada now.

The man behind the characters he plays is quite different. His mission in life to 'Live in the moment', is one born from the loss of his mother just before the filming of The Tok'ra. In a past interview, he explained how he drew from that, when in difficult scenes. He has had some tricky scenes to film in a lot of his roles, so I asked him about that.

What was the hardest scene to shoot to date?

There's been a few scenes I've done recently on projects that required a difficult place for me to go within myself to be true to the character, but that's what this whole thing about being an actor is about...so you do it...and learn something about yourself in the process.

JR's drive for charity is spurred by the illness of his niece, Madison Faith, who suffers from Cystic Fibrosis.

How is the fundraising for Cystic Fibrosis going?

Wonderful!! Every year we seem to raise more...and I intend to continue that trend!!!!

JR has been tireless in his work in raising money for this worthwhile cause. In fact, JR's sister, Kim, has written a children's book entitled 'Yummy Yummy Nummy Nummy.' Jr supports this at every appearance and convention he attends, he brought two hundred copies to Gatecon last year, signed them all and every single one of them sold. Kim MacGregor (Madison's mum) has her second book coming out soon. Go and buy them! It helps find a cure. Go on, before you read any further, either go to the Cystic Fibrosis site and donate money or buy the book! Go on, we'll wait for you to get back.
CYSTIC FIBROSIS
I think you get the point to either go there or click on that rather lovely book cover pic and buy it. :-)
It's currently out of print, however, a new book is out soon too. We'll let you know when it does. What are you waiting for??? Go donate...NOW.

Oh, you're back are you? Hope you left a generous donation…
On his NEW official website, Jr Bourne - Offical site, they regularly hold auctions for his time during conventions in different countries. Dinners, lunches, walks with his dog Scooby, auctions of film and TV memorabilia… All in the name of raising money for CF and because he is so high profile on raising money for Cystic Fibrosis, Douglas H Arthurs, who plays Her'ur, is also raising money for them by doing similar things.

He is always gracious to his fans and makes time to leave messages on his Messageboard run by his offical site.
He even went so far as to leave the number of the hotel he was in one weekend, so that his fans could call. I don't know about those of you reading this, but I was pretty surprised by this. I haven't seen ANY actor take time out to talk to his fans this way. This could also be the reason why so many websites have been dedicated to him.
Jr himself directed me to many other sites and there are dozens out there that have lots of info and pics of him.
At the last SG5 convention, there was actually an auction led by Christopher Judge for a stroke of JR's rear end. He raised the most out of the 'cop a feel' auction, £650, even though Chris Judge called him a skinny little runt on account of Jr slimming down for a film role! A term of endearment I think, they were trading insults all weekend. You can see he had some of his thoughtful moments in the pic on the right!

Do you surf the Internet?

What is this 'internet' you speak of?

He really does have a warped sense of humour, eh? Apart from surfing the web and leaving his number on his messageboard, he doesn't know what the internet is… do resist the urge to grin at that statement of his, I dare you!

What do you like to do in your spare time?

Watch movies, hang with the dog, yoga, read...think

Talking of hanging with the dog…Jr's dog Scooby was the cause of Jr being late for Sekh's Party at last year's Gatecon. He had slipped a disc in his back, bless him.

How's Scooby after he slipped a disc?

His slipped disk has repaired but nerve endings were damaged and they're taking a little longer to repair...he's in no pain though and that's the important thing.

Jr is a man of many talents. He is writing a couple of screenplays; one is dealing with the loss of people that are close to you, which is something that he had to deal with himself. He tells me that the writing is coming along slowly, but it's coming. Anyone that writes, know full well the long process of putting pen to paper and how much the work becomes a piece of pride. So, from his comments, I think it will be worth waiting for and I hope he gets it made.

What's the weirdest thing that has ever happened to you?

Truly WAY TOO MANY things to mention...but they all tend to be harmless.

What are your future aspirations?

To be meaningful in everything I do with my time…

Who inspires you?

I find inspiration all around me...inspiration and inspirational people are everywhere... you just have to open your eyes and allow yourself to see them and to see it all.

You only have to sit and talk to Jr or listen to him talk on the stage at conventions, to understand that he is a rare breed among actors. He takes time out for others and lives each day in full. Funny and humorous. So I had to get our site's choccy mascot somewhere into the list of questions…

Have you ever eaten Jaffa Cakes?

No...Yes...I have...Chris's I believe, no Pete's? I think…

He thinks…

Do you have a message to your fans?

Thank you! From the bottom of my heart...thank you! I'm amazed everyday when I think about the generosity and support you all give towards my family's fight to find a cure for CF! I truly look forward every year to seeing everyone at these conventions, knowing that I get a chance to thank you all face to face...the selfless giving that people offer to help me reach my goal each year is an inspiration to me!!! With your help, I know we'll find a cure!

If you liked this interview with Jr, please consider donating money to Cystic Fibrosis or buying the book. It'll make my time spent researching and the effort Jr puts in worth every 'moment'.
You can next meet Jr at Gatecon in Canada and French City Con in Paris.

I'd like to thank Jr and his agent for the time to help us out with these questions, Sekh, for some of the links to CF, Simon Grant, my favourite proof people and most especially Nick.

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