When Battlestar Galactica returned to television in 2003, executive producers Ronald D. Moore and David Eick had something far more ambitious in mind than a modernized version of Glen A. Larson’s 1978 original. Their reimagining would take the basic premise of humanity struggling to survive a devastating Cylon attack and explore it through characters forced to confront impossible choices, personal demons and the increasingly blurred lines between right and wrong. It was science fiction, certainly, but grounded in a reality that made its conflicts and characters feel all too familiar.
One of the most important of those characters was Commander William Adama, captain of the aging battlestar that suddenly finds itself responsible for protecting what remains of the human race. Adama was a complicated man, capable of inspiring loyalty and commanding respect, but also burdened by his own failures, doubts and strained relationships. Bringing him to life required an actor who could convey tremendous authority while allowing audiences to see the vulnerability beneath it.
That actor was Edward James Olmos, whose work in Miami Vice, Blade Runner and Stand and Deliver had already demonstrated his ability to bring remarkable depth to his characters. As Adama, he would become one of the defining elements of the new Battlestar Galactica, both on screen and behind the scenes.
In fact, one of the show's most enduring moments grew out of something Olmos did while filming the original miniseries. What began as three simple words in the script — "So say we all" — took on an entirely different life when the actor delivered them before a gathering of cast members and extras. The result was an unexpectedly powerful moment that not only helped establish Adama's character, but gave Battlestar Galactica a rallying cry that would resonate throughout the series and with its fans long after the cameras stopped rolling.
RONALD D. MOORE (co-creator): “The first thing I’ve got to say about Eddie is that he was the one who came up with ‘So say we all!’ in the final scene of the miniseries. I had written it into the script as just a line, but in the moment on the set, when Eddie said ‘So say we all’ to the cast, he thought they didn’t give him very much back. So he said it again. You can see it in the take; they all kind of glance at each other and go, ‘So say we all.’ And then he insists. He says it louder and just pushed them and pushed them until it became this big thing on the soundstage. It was just something Eddie came up with on his own in the moment, and then it became a signature line in the series after that.”
MICHAEL HOGAN (actor, “Colonel Saul Tigh”): “If you remember, that was a gigantic scene with hundreds of extras, and Adama gives his speech… and it took forever. We set up for hours, of course, and it was the beginning of Battlestar Galactica’s long dolly shots, Steadicam, shaky cam. It was blocked and Eddie was up at the podium, and then as we were rolling, Eddie walks down and you could see the director of photography and people going, ‘What the frak is happening here?’ We weren’t saying ‘frak’ steadily yet.”
(courtesy the Everett Collection)
DAVID EICK (co-creator): “[Director] Michael Rymer and I had a different reaction to that scene being shot initially. Eddie says his speech, which ends in the script with ‘So say we all,’ but he says it in a solemn way, and everyone else says it in a solemn way. But Eddie, in the moment, didn’t like it. He just didn’t like it. He thought their performance could be better, so he said it louder and it becomes kind of like a football game of ‘I can’t hear you!’ Michael Rymer is about to cut because he figures Eddie doesn’t like the performance, and I’m going, ‘No, no, no, no.’ Because I can see this is all going to build in real time.” “That was all improvised and driven by his need to get them into it. It really is a metaphor about Eddie leading the spirit of the show in a way that says, ‘Hey, I’m up here doing this, and I love it, and I’m giving it everything I’ve got, so don’t you guys fail me.’ And they didn’t.”
MICHAEL RYMER (director): “It was written that everyone’s very downtrodden, and so he inspires everybody, right? But Eddie went into a rage and started shouting and attacking, and we’re all, on the day, going, ‘Oh my God, what’s he doing?’ And as soon as he did it, all the cast and extras burst into spontaneous applause at the end. That happened spontaneously as a result of Eddie, the actor in the room, taking a group of people to a place emotionally for real.” “That’s challenging and exciting stuff to be on set with as a director. That’s what you want. You’ve got a great script. You just want to take it up those extra notches and find the friction and intensity and capture that in a bottle.”
EDWARD JAMES OLMOS (actor, “Commander William Adama”): “You’ve got to remember that was the very first time we all were together. It was frightening. It was very intense and it caught everybody by surprise, because no one knew that I was going to repeat it. When we broke off that scene, I remember David Eick talking to me about it, and I saw him shaking, because it was incredible. We all felt it. We all went there. That was, to me, probably the most penetrating moment, because it really set the whole tone for the rest of the five years.”
MICHAEL HOGAN: “You can watch the scene; you can see people looking around, going, ‘What the?… Oh!’ So we were all on the same page by the end of that. You hear ‘Cut!’ and you’re like, ‘We are in for quite a ride here.’ And that certainly came true.”
(courtesy the Everett Collection)
MARY MCDONNELL (actor, “President Laura Roslin”): “I want to comment on that moment. First, I found out that my character was dying, and then it’s ‘So say we all,’ and I was, as Laura Roslin, going, ‘This is the man trying to save the rest of the human race? Oh my God.’ Such an interesting revelation as to what that was going to be about. Learning his power. Learning his rage. It’s like, ‘Where have I landed? This paramilitary nightmare.’ Yet it was extraordinary.”
ANGELA MANCUSO (former President of Universal Cable Entertainment): “Eddie brought a seriousness to the part that it needed. We didn’t want to make a joke. The first Battlestar Galactica was a knee-jerk response to Star Wars. That’s all it was. When we hired Ron, we knew we were going to get something more believable. Eddie represents that, and we all agreed on him right off the bat. Everybody wanted him.”
TAHMOH PENIKETT (actor, “Captain Karl ‘Helo’ Agathon”): “He’s one of the first people that ever made me want to act. I remember my father taking me to Blade Runner when I was five or six and being absolutely captivated by his character onscreen. I was always attracted to Edward James Olmos’ projects. To ultimately work on a project with the man, and to call him a dear friend and mentor—I can’t express how much that means to me. He’s family. His work ethic, his loyalty, his character never cease to amaze me.”