Luke Pasqualino

Luke Pasqualino
PerformerBAC
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Portrays:	William Adama c. 42 BCH (58YR)
Date of Birth:	February 19, 1990
Date of Death:	Missing required parameter 1=month! ,
Age:	35
Nationality:	UK
Related Media
		@ BW Media
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IMDb profile

Luca Giuseppe Pasqualino (born 19 February 1990 in Peterborough, England, UK) is a British actor who portrays William "Husker" Adama in Blood and Chrome.

Pasqualino is the fourth actor to play William Adama, and the second actor to have played him during a story that depicts the First Cylon War, his predecessor being Nico Cortez. Pasqualino's other notable role is as Freddie Mclair in the UK television series Skins.

Career

Casting and Preparation for Blood & Chrome

Pasqualino was cast as William Adama in January 2011 after an extensive audition process. Unlike his co-star Ben Cotton, Pasqualino came to the project without prior familiarity with the Battlestar Galactica franchise. He explained: "I sort of fell into it from the opposite way, I didn't audition from America, I was sent the script and I wasn't a fan of Battlestar before. But I was familiar with the franchise and how big it was, I knew how well received it was though."

The casting process culminated in a screen test in Los Angeles where Pasqualino met Ben Cotton. Cotton recalled their immediate chemistry: "We were actually cast together. When we did our screen tests, we did it together. We got to go in the room and read opposite each other." Cotton praised Pasqualino's performance, noting that "Adama needed to have two things to him, among others I guess, but he needed to have a certain cockiness to him, and a certain vulnerability to him. There's a depth to that character that a lot of 21-year-old's might not be able to pull off."

Preparation and Research

Despite his lack of prior BSG knowledge, Pasqualino undertook extensive preparation for the role. Producer David Eick assigned him to watch Caprica as homework: "Mr. David Eick made that a priority. It was homework for me, and I loved it."

Pasqualino deliberately avoided extensive contact with Edward James Olmos, who portrayed the older William Adama in the Re-imagined Series. While he was given Olmos's email address and they exchanged messages, Pasqualino explained: "none of it was really about the work, in terms of material or performances. It was more about what's expected. I didn't want anything that Eddie did to influence my interpretation of the material because it was two very different stages of his life, so I tried to steer away from watching any of his stuff."

Working with Ben Cotton and Director Jonas Pate

Pasqualino developed a strong working relationship with co-star Ben Cotton, which proved essential for their on-screen chemistry as Adama and Coker Fasjovik. Cotton praised their collaboration: "Right from the get-go, we just had a great time... we could throw the proverbial ball back and forth to each other in any way, performance-wise."

Regarding their character development process, Pasqualino explained: "I think a lot of it was on the page, and a lot of it comes from rehearsals, and we worked very closely with Jonas which was a great team effort to take these characters from the page and put those relationships together. For me it came from me and Ben, because we were close friends." He emphasized the freedom director Jonas Pate gave them: "If I needed to shout at him, I could shout at him, if I needed to laugh at him, I could laugh at him. I could have screamed in his face. It all really came from the confidence of working together, and Jonas gave us a lot of free range to take it wherever we wanted."

Technical Challenges and Green Screen Work

Working on Blood & Chrome presented unique technical challenges, particularly with the extensive use of green screen technology. Pasqualino described his initial reaction: "I was a little bit, daunted by the entire thing. When I first came onto the set and I saw this huge sound studio full of green, I thought I was in some kind of field somewhere."

He elaborated on the specific acting challenges: "The hardest difficulties, acting-wise, is to judge those points where things are supposed to be. That's tough. I think the hardest part for me personally was where the stuff was supposed to be inside our spaceship. Or you know, when things are supposed to be flying over our heads and we don't have anything to place it but this ball on the end of a stick."

Despite the challenges, Pasqualino appreciated the creative possibilities: "With a virtual environment like what Gary Hutzel and the rest of the special effects team created on BSG, you can take it anywhere. There's not such thing as a location anymore. Everyday of our shoot was in one studio, by doing that, that's how you achieve what you want."

American Accent and Dialect Work

One of Pasqualino's notable achievements in Blood & Chrome was his American accent, which he worked on extensively with the help of his co-star Ben Cotton. Cotton served as an informal dialect coach, with Pasqualino explaining: "I made it quite clear to him before we started shooting that if I said something wrong, he needed to tell me straight away. It got worked out well with my costar/dialect coach."

Approach to the Character

Reflecting on stepping into the iconic role of William Adama, Pasqualino expressed both enthusiasm and confidence: "It was more fun than I could probably describe in a phone call. I had such a great time making it, and I was never really phased by the bar that Eddie had set. I just went in with my own interpretation of the material, and get in there and really push those limits as far as they could go."

Online Release Format

Pasqualino expressed enthusiasm for the innovative online release format of Blood & Chrome: "I think being able to watch it online first is brilliant, especially for us over here in England where there is no SyFy over in the UK, for people to be able to watch it online first is fantastic."

Future Hopes

When asked about the possibility of Blood & Chrome continuing as a series in 2013, Pasqualino remained optimistic: "I think hopeful is the best word to use. It's entirely out of our hands now, to see how well it's received when it airs. I mean we are very hopeful. I think we'd both love to continue working on the show. All we can do now is sit with our fingers crossed and hope for the best."

Personal Life

Pasqualino was born on 19 February 1990 in Peterborough, England. He has expressed gratitude for his role in the Battlestar Galactica universe, stating: "To be part of the Battlestar franchise now, and to be welcomed on board as this young William Adama character, it's truly an honor, and I'm very grateful for the opportunity."

References

External Links

• Luke Pasqualino's Official Twitter