This New York City-born actor, director, writer, and producer is best known for directing many of the best Stargate: SG1 episodes, and loved for his role as Officer Doug Penall from the 21 Jump Street TV series. SG1 fans can still picture DeLuise wanting the explosions to be "bigger" from hilarious episode "Wormhole X-Treme!" We can laugh, but this member of the DeLuise family has created an amazing career directing and acting in shows such as Sanctuary, Kyle XY, Andromeda, and all of the Stargate shows.
Colleen Bement: You have a filmography of acting and directing that rolls off the page.
Are there any projects in the works that you are allowed to share with your fans?
Peter DeLuise: I've just finished directing an episode of Dark Matter. So I got to work with some Stargate alumni, Joe Mollozzi and Paul Mullie. That was a really fun experience. Doing sci-fi on a spaceship really brought back a lot of memories from my time spent on Stargate. I am currently working on a new series called Chesapeake Shores for the Hallmark Channel. The series is set in the idyllic surroundings of Vancouver Island doubling for Chesapeake. It's a new show for Hallmarkso I'm super excited to be a part of it and to help design it.
DeLuise had fun making Wormhol X-Treme!
CB: The Stargate: SG1 episodes that you directed were my favorites of the series.
What memories of SG1 still stick with you after all these years?
PD: I had a lot of fun on the "Wormhole X-Treme!" Working with my brother was a real treat on that episode. We had a lot of fun making that episode. Early on it was clear to me that we were going to come in short of the running time, so I asked the show runner, Brad Wright, for permission to do bloopers in the style that I've seen my own father in at the end of Smokey and the Bandit and Cannonball Run.
Brad gave me his blessing and we started to shoot additional footage of pretend bloopers. One of my fondest memories of my time at Stargate was being able to work with my father on the episode entitled "Urgo." He was so funny that there were many, many spoiled takes from fellow actors laughing. Also it was just a joy to be his directorif only for a single episode.
I miss him very much so I often think about that time.
CB:What is your favorite comic book series or super hero?
PD: I used to read Conan the Barbarian a lot and I also really enjoyed Heavy Metal for the dark sci-fi stories and fantastic art.
21 Jump Street created big opportunities
CB: How were you drawn into the sci-fi genre of show biz?
PD: As a kid my mother gave me Robert Heinlein books in an attempt to inspire me to read. I quickly became fascinated with science-fiction and the limitless possibilities of where all of those wonderful stories could go. I guess I've always loved science fiction but I didn't deliberately pursue it. It was just dumb luck I guess. Two producers on Stargate, John Smith and Jonathan Glassner, were producers I had worked with on the series 21 Jump Street.
They give me a chance to direct an episode of Stargate toward the end of the second season. I loved working on that show so I was very enthusiastic. I will always be grateful to both of them for giving me a chance. I am especially grateful to Brad Wright for allowing me to become a writer and producer on the show. He taught me almost everything I know about writing and telling stories.
CB: Do you have any “hidden talents” that you can share with your fans?
PD: I don't know if this is a "hidden talent", anyone who knows me knowsI love movies.I love watching movies; I love talking about movies. I guess my not so hidden talent is being able to reference almost everything I've seen in movies. It's very helpful especially when you're trying to develop your own.
I use my "movie recall" all the time when writing, producing, prepping, shot designing, communicating with actors, and editing. Another not so hidden talent is making people laugh. I'll never be as good as my dad at it, but it gives me joy.
