Characters

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  Commander Adama

  Edward James Olmos

  Actor, producer, director and community activist Edward James Olmos was born and raised in East Los Angeles. A veteran of the theater, he earned a Tony nomination for his mesmerizing performance in the 1978 drama/musical Zoot Suit. He reprised the role for a feature film in 1981, and went on that year to star in Wolfen. He followed these performances with pivotal roles in Ridley Scott's landmark Blade Runner and Robert M. Young's acclaimed The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez.

   

  Olmos' feature film credits also include Selena, Mi Familia/My Family and American Me, which he also directed. His extensive television work includes HBO's The Burning Season, Showtime's In the Time of Butterflies, the ABC miniseries Dead Man's Walk and the documentary The Unfinished Journey, directed by Steven Spielberg. Most recently, Olmos starred in the acclaimed PBS series American Family.

   

  Throughout his extensive career, Olmos has received numerous accolades, including an LA Drama Circle Award, an Emmy (in addition to three nominations) and two Golden Globe Awards. In 1988, he received an Academy Award nomination for his portrayal of Jaime Escalante, the dedicated, real-life math teacher in Stand and Deliver, which he also produced. Most recently, he was awarded the PASS award from the National Council on Crime and Delinquency for producing the domestic-violence documentary It Ain't Love. Olmos is currently a United States Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF. He is also a national spokesperson for the following organizations: Southwest Voter Registration Project, where he helps the Latino Community in its pursuit of citizenship and voter registration; the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation; and the AIDS Awareness Foundation. He also serves on the boards of Recruiting New Teachers, the Twentieth Century Fund, UCLA School of Film and Theater, UCLA Mentoring Program, Miami Children's Hospital, Los Angeles Children's Hospital, National Council on Adoption, Children's Action Network Hollywood Supports and OneNetNow.com.

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  Apollo

  Jamie Bamber

  Jamie St. John Bamber Griffith was born in London to an American father, Ralph, and a Northern Irish mother, Liz. He got his first paid acting work as a child in Paris, dubbing a French film into English. When he returned to the U.K. at the age of seven, he appeared in a few TV commercials. Deciding to make acting his career, Bamber attended the famed London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. While still at LAMDA, he was cast in his first professional role, playing Archie Kennedy in A&E's Horatio Hornblower miniseries. His recent credits include the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers from Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks, and Daniel Deronda for the BBC. Jamie was a series regular on the ITV shows Peak Practice and Ultimate Force, and most recently portrayed the role of Prince Hal in Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2 at the Bristol Old Vic.

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  Laura Roslin

  Mary Mcdonnell

  Two-time Oscar and Golden Globe-nominated actress Mary McDonnell has transformed both period and present day screen roles into dynamic character portrayals. Among McDonnell's film credits are Richard Kelley's Donnie Darko, Lawrence Kasdan's Grand Canyon and Mumford, John Sayles' Matewan and Passion Fish with Alfre Woodard, Kevin Costner's Dances With Wolves, Sneakers with Robert Redford, Blue Chips, Independence Day with Bill Pullman and Will Smith, and yet-to-be-released films Nola and Goose Creek Story.

   

  For television, McDonnell most recently completed The Locket for Hallmark with Vanessa Redgrave. She received a 2002 Emmy Nomination for her work as Eleanor Carter on ER. Some of her television credits include: High Society with Jean Smart, Replacing Dad, For All Time, Behind the Mask - all for CBS, Arthur Miller's American Clock for TNT and O Pioneers! for PBS with her husband, director Randle Mell.

   

  Equally at home in film, television, and theater, McDonnell starred on Broadway in the title role of Wendy Wasserstein's Pulitzer-Prize-winning play The Heidi Chronicles. Other New York credits include: Summer and Smoke (Miss Alma), Execution of Justice (Maryanne White on Broadway), Buried Child, Three Ways Home, Savage in Limbo, A Weekend Near Madison, Letters Home, Black Angel, The Vagina Monologues and Still Life (Obie Award) - off Broadway. McDonnell recently appeared on stage in Los Angeles as "Troy" in the play James and The Handless Maiden, directed by Mell. She is also in the process of adapting the renowned Irish columnist and novelist Nuala O' Faolain's Are You Somebody into a one-woman show for the stage.

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  Number Six

  Tricia Helfer

  Former Victoria's Secret model Tricia Helfer was born in Donalda, Alberta, Canada. The 1992 Ford Supermodel of the World winner and former Elite model has graced the covers of magazines such as Elle, Amica Italia and Cosmopolitan UK, and has walked the runways for Christian Dior, Givenchy, Claude Montana, Emanuel Ungaro and other top fashion designers. She has appeared in advertisements for clients including Giorgio Armani, Oil of Olay and Saks Fifth Avenue.

   

  After doing correspondent work for the Canadian style/fashion TV-magazine series Ooh La La, Helfer gained attention as an actress, playing the lead female role in the series premiere of Showtime's Jeremiah. She memorably played a teen model that tries to cut off her own face in an episode of the hit series C.S.I.: Crime Scene Investigation. She can also be seen in the comedy short, Eventual Wife, airing on HBO/Cinemax and on the AtomFilms Web site. Helfer lives in Manhattan.