Another Life star Katee Sackhoff: ‘I really loved that struggle’

Katee Sackhoff toplines Netflix’s new drama Another Life, and spoke to Hidden Remote about returning to sci-fi and what she learned as a producer.

Katee Sackhoff is heading back into space as the star of Netflix‘s newest original series Another Life, and it’s an adventure that’s both similar and different. She plays Niko Breckinridge, who after an alien artifact appears on Earth, takes the risk of leading a mission to find out where it came from—and who’s behind it. Niko is willing to do whatever she has to in order to protect her planet, but at what cost?

Hidden Remote spoke to Katee about the similarities she sees between this show and Battlestar Galactica, her process as a producer on the series, and if her previous genre experience served her well on this latest project. Learn more about Another Life in our Katee Sackhoff interview below, then stream the entire first season now!

More from Netflix

• Bridgerton season 3: All the details to know about Penelope and Colin’s love story
• It’s a slow week on Netflix with only three new releases (Nov. 20)
• Exploding Kittens: From card game to Netflix animated series starring Tom Ellis
• The Crown and more Netflix shows and movies to stream this week (November 13)
• Escaping Twin Flames and more harrowing love-centered documentaries to watch on Netflix

Hidden Remote: How did you initially become involved with Another Life? Because it’s not the typical process of an actor joining a show.

Katee Sackhoff: I was brought in before there were any scripts. I am a producer on this, so I was in the room when we pitched Netflix, which is one of the coolest things ever. So I’ve been on board since this was an outline and a pitch. To work with Netflix again, I worked with them on Longmire and they’re just amazing. I was a big fan of [series creator] Aaron Martin.

And what I loved about this show—coming off of Battlestar Galactica, I was like I can never do sci-fi again, because this show is so well-received and people love it so much that anything I do after this, they’re going to hate it. I really took a long time to come back.

What I loved about this was, at the core of BSG and the core of Another Life, it is a drama about relationships and family and survival, and how far you will go to protect the ones you love. That is something that anyone can relate to. It really moved me that this woman who is petrified to do something again does it because it’s the only way to protect her family. I really loved that struggle.

HR: Did any of that past experience help you in working on Another Life?

KS: Everything. (laughs) There were two things that when we were in the creating stage that I fell in love with and pitched so hard. One was some sort of AI because this was a very young crew, and selfishly when I’m on set [for] hours and hours on end, I wanted somebody that was my age. I needed someone that I could relate to and someone that my character could relate to. That was why Samuel [Anderson] was brought in. Samuel and that character [William], the reason for creating that character was giving Miko, and me as an actor, somebody that I could relate to.

Another thing was the somasleep, which is our version of cryosleep. That was really important to me. This was always meant to be a skeleton crew, and when you have a small crew in a show like this, you need to protect yourself to potentially have other people come in. And the only way to do that is to have people already have been there. The only way to do that when you’re in deep space is to have them be on the ship.

If this is the mission for us to go out and save humanity, they wouldn’t just send nine or eleven people. They would send multiple backups for every single person on this ship. In case someone dies, there’s a new person there. It also raises the stakes for so many reasons for the audience. No one’s safe. I’m not safe, because there’s more cast asleep in somasleep.

HR: Since you were involved as a producer, did you have more information about where Another Life was going plot-wise? Did that change the way you approached Niko as an actor?

KS: I did know where things were going to go. I’ve always liked to have as much information about my characters as possible. It allows me as an actress to plant easter eggs along the way for audience members. But at the same time, it also frees me up, because I know there’s a beginning, middle and an end.

So I love knowing everything. It was very interesting to talk to other people about it, though, because I knew what was going to happen with everyone’s character before they did.

HR: Niko Breckinridge is in a different place in her life than Starbuck in Battlestar Galactica. She has a husband, a family, and a command. What was it like to play a character who’s a bit further along in her life and career?

KS: I think it’s a natural evolution of an actress, that you get to that point. Maybe not the wife and mother part, but eventually I was going to be a commander of a ship. We all knew it was going to happen. What I love about Niko is that, to me, there is no comparison to Starbuck.

If you’re looking for Starbuck, you look for Elizabeth Ludlow’s character, because she’s very much Starbuck and she probably does it better than I did. My character, she’s so analytical and so trained and she is so careful, and that is the opposite of who Kara was for sure.

HR: How rewarding is having that sort of command role on Another Life? Not just being the commander on-screen, but being a producer off-screen, you really are leading this journey.

KS: It’s pretty awesome. I’m glad that I had done this at this point in my career and not earlier because I don’t think I would have been ready for the responsibility on camera and off camera. I’m really excited.

HR: What do you love most about Another Life? And how do you follow it?

KS: I’m so excited for people to see some of these new faces they may not be familiar with, because they do such a really good job. This show is the fastest-paced show I’ve been a part of and that I’ve ever watched. It’s a non-stop thrill ride from the very beginning and that, to me, is really awesome.

It never loses its heart and humanity and that’s what I love about it. Selma [Blair]’s performance is amazing. You’re going to see some aliens which you’ve never seen before, which is a hard thing to do, so I would be on the lookout for some really great special effects and some really beautiful storylines.

For me personally, I’m launching my own YouTube series on Aug. 6 so I’m really excited about that. With social media I’ve sort of allowed people into my life already, and I have a career because of the fans that have followed me over the years. I’ve asked them very specifically what they wanted from me, and their answer was pretty direct and specific, so that’s what the channel is. A look into my life, but you also go along with me on a search for wellness, wholeness and how to live your best life. It’s a fun journey.

Another Life is streaming on Netflix now. For more on Another Life and other Netflix series, see the Netflix category at Hidden Remote.