“Stargate SG-1” ran for 10 impressive seasons from 1997 to 2007, and during this time, the casting changed a little. Ben Browder joined the 9th season, playing at Lieutenant-Colonel Cameron Mitchell and although he stayed with the show until his cancellation, it seems that the first concerns concerning his similarity with the longtime star Michael Shanks have prompted the latter to grow the hair.
Dr. Daniel Jackson’s actor spoke to Gateworld in 2005 and was questioned directly on his beard of season 9, laughing initially when the subject was submitted. He then explained the need for his facial hair. “It was my idea,” said the actor, adding that it was a way to differentiate him from Browder, who bore a temporary resemblance to Shanks at the time. “They obviously wanted to have an initial difference between Ben [Browder] And me, “said Shanks, who added that he thought the concern emerged from” pure paranoia “.” He continued: “But there are so many different things with our fans on the association of Ben and I as similar, that we look at each other and we ride our eyes a little.”
Before playing Colonel Mitchell, Browder played the capricious astronaut John Crichton on “Farscape” and drew the attention of “SG-1” producers for his performance. Browder was almost interpreted as two different characters from “Stargate Atlantis” before the producers finally find a house for him on “Stargate SG-1”. After “SG-1” in a way dodged the cancellation at the end of season 8 and said goodbye to the character of Colonel de Richard Dean Anderson, Jack O’Neill, the character of Browder made his debut in season 9 of the science fiction series, taking over as commander of the SG-1 crew and remaining with the program until his 10th and last season, before In Two “Stargate”. For any reason, producers were concerned that his initial introduction could confuse fans and that prompted the team to start ideas of brainstorming before Shanks suggests not to shave for a while
Did Michael Shanks’s facial hair really help fans distinguish him from Ben Browder?
In his interview Gateworld, Michael Shanks – who previously left “Stargate SG -1” for a season – admitted that he and Ben Browder could be difficult to distinguish in certain shots, even if he has remained incredulous with regard to confusion otherwise. “We are a few whites 6 feet high with blue eyes and brown hair,” he said. “From a very wide camera which can be a little misleading.” To cope with this potential problem, there were suggestions that the Shanks push his hair, but as the actor noted, “it can take a little”. In the end, given that the character of Browder was considered “the type of cleanest soldier” and that the Shanks could “run away with much more”, it was decided that Dr. Daniel Jackson would become not shaved for a few episodes. “I Really Don’t like shaving every day, “said the actor.” So I said: “Well, why I don’t keep the beard a little and we’ll see what’s going on.” And it was: “Yeah, let’s see how it works”. And they really liked. “”
The actor then explained how him and the producers planned to remove the beard after a few episodes, once the public had the chance to see that Dr. Jackson and Colonel Mitchell were completely different characters. However, Shanks has remained somewhat skeptical about the idea that viewers would have problems. As he said Gateworld, “I said to Brad [Wright, executive producer]’They know that I will be the one with the glassesRIGHT?'”
Although it was a very late addition to the distribution, Browder was one of the most essential “SG-1” episodes and has become a beloved part of the “SG-1” trip. That Shanks’ facial hair has something to do with the help of the Colonel Mitchell’s creation as such is uncertain, but it is nevertheless a little story behind the scenes.
