Alonso Oyarzun

Alonso Oyarzun
PerformerRDM
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Portrays:	Specialist Socinus
Date of Birth:	April 17,1976
Date of Death:	Missing required parameter 1=month!
Age:	50
Nationality:	CAN
Related Media
		@ BW Media
[{{{site}}} Official Site]
IMDb profile

Alonso Oyarzun (born April 17, 1976 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada) is a Canadian actor who played Specialist Socinus in the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica. Raised in Edmonton, Alberta, he subsequently relocated to Vancouver, British Columbia, where he has based his acting career.

Career

Oyarzun moved from Edmonton to Vancouver originally to pursue stunt work, but the field proved difficult to enter. A friend persuaded him to try acting classes, and he began building credits through small theater productions and short films while represented by an agent. He booked his first professional television and film role in 1997.

His earlier credits include a guest role as the Punk Leader in the Stargate SG-1 Season 2 episode "Bane" (1998). He went on to appear as a casino dealer in Reindeer Games (2000), directed by John Frankenheimer, and in a small role billed as Alonso in Romeo Must Die (2000), opposite Jet Li.

In 2002 he was cast as Lt. Keel in two episodes of the Sci-Fi Channel miniseries Steven Spielberg Presents Taken, sharing the production with actors who would later join him on Battlestar Galactica, including Erin Karpluk, Michael Soltis, and Connor Widdows. He described Socinus as considerably more relaxed than Keel, noting that Keel was placed in an impossible situation whereas Socinus was a proud crew member of Galactica.

Additional television credits during this period include Da Vinci's Inquest (2000–2004), The L Word (2004), The Dead Zone (2005), and an uncredited appearance in Criminal Minds (2005). He also appeared uncredited as a Security Policeman in the theatrical film The Core (2003).

Battlestar Galactica

Oyarzun had watched the Original Series as a child and was a fan of its science fiction setting. On learning of the remake, he actively sought a part in it. He was cast as Crewman Specialist Socinus, a deckhand assigned to Deck Crew 5 under Chief Galen Tyrol (CPO) aboard the titular battlestar. The character appeared in two episodes of the 2003 Miniseries and in eight episodes of Season 1 (2004–2005). He later reprised the role in Battlestar Galactica: The Plan (2009).

Oyarzun noted in a 2003 interview that an early draft of the Miniseries script had Socinus dying during the story, though the death scene was later cut, enabling the character to return for the weekly series.

Prior to the start of production, the principal cast members were taken to the interior of British Columbia for a three-day military boot camp overseen by technical military advisor Ron Blecker. Oyarzun described the experience as the most memorable part of making the series and credited it with bonding the cast. On set, his scenes with Nicki Clyne (Cally), Michael Eklund (Prosna), and Aaron Douglas (Tyrol) he characterized as those of "the engineering geeks," with the group frequently interrupted by First Assistant Director Peter Dashkewytch. He praised director Michael Rymer as actor-friendly and visually inventive, and spoke favourably of the production design by Richard Hudolin and the costumes by Deborah Everton.

Later career

Following his Battlestar Galactica work, Oyarzun continued in episodic television. His subsequent credits include guest roles in Big Sky (2021), The Good Doctor (2021), and Firefly Lane (2022), the last being his most recent known acting credit per IMDb.

References