Getting Razor Sharp with Stephanie Jacobson About Her Role in Battlestar Galactica

"Fundamentally, I would just say her complexity. I mean, what she was for me was I guess just almost sterile. As an actor when part of playing a role is to follow your instincts about revealing human emotions, to sort of go against all of those instincts, pull the emotions right back and cover them up was an enormous challenge for me and it was actually very, very fulfilling."

Stephanie Jacobsen is talking about her role as Major Kendra Shaw in Razor, the latest exciting new chapter to the SCI FI Channel's hit series, Battlestar Galactica.

Razor, which will air as a special two-hour made for television movie on The SCI FI Channel Saturday, November 24th at 9:00 pm EST, will serve as a backdrop for the events of the upcoming season four of Battlestar Galactica and tells the story of Lee Adama's first mission as the commander of the Battlestar Pegasus - and the harrowing tale of that ship's desperate fight for survival in the immediate aftermath of the Cylon's genocidal siege of the Twelve Colonies.

Stephanie Jacobsen takes on the role of Lee Adama's new XO, Major Kendra Shaw. Press releases from SCI FI describe the character of Kendra Shaw as plagued by memories of her service and sacrifices under Admiral Helena Cain, who was able to save her ship during the Cylon attack by making Shaw and her fellow officers rationalize suicidal battle tactics and brutal war crimes against their own people.

It was in this crushing aspect of being at war that Kenda Shaw was forced to have her hesitation and doubts burned away, until all that remains of her was a human weapon that was something akin to the honed edge a blade, what Colonial veterans call "a razor." However like any finely honed edged weapon, it can cut two ways -carving an enemy to pieces or shredding the very soul of person that weapon once was.

In a recent teleconference with reporters, Jacobsen discusses taking on these aspects of her character and about coming into and being a part of the mystique of such a successful scifi series as Battlestar Galactica.