“Earl, I think you’re trying to sell a cat to a man who fancies dogs.”
So, today it was announced that Sci Fi is picking up “Stargate:SG-1” for a 10th season, making it the longest running US sci-fi show in history. Kinda amazing for a show based on a movie that BOMBED. Then again, I guess the same could be said for “Buffy: The Vampire Slayer”. Anyways, this development made me think of that movie, which I loved, and specifically, Jaye Davidson.
Jaye Davidson played “Ra” in Stargate, and as far as movie villains go, was the pussy to end all pussies. I mean, I don’t think he even had a line. He just kinda slinked around, being all androgynous. I think their reasoning was that Ra wouldn’t speak English, and the whole “Goau’ld” aspect wasn’t introduced until the TV show. As a result, we’re left with a big old menacing drag queen for a villain. But he was a scary drag queen, I’ll give him that. Not in a RuPaul kind of way, but more like, “this drag queen might cut me if I look at her the wrong way”. And nobody wants to be cut by a drag queen. Imagine having to report that, and having the cops laugh at ya the whole time…
But you see, Jaye didn’t HAVE to act. He’d already proven himself in the indie classic, “The Crying Game”. You see, he was the source of the movie’s BIG REVEAL. In case you haven’t seen it, the chick is a man! And that man-chick was Jaye Davidson. Mofo earned an Oscar nomination for that thing. So, when Stargate came along, he netted a cool million, essentially playing the same character, without all the awkward sex and Boy George soundtrack.
But after Stargate, it was over. He returned to his prior career as in the fashion industry. He only made 3 movies. 3 movies! I’m not saying the guy was Carey Grant, but even Fran Drescher made more than 3 movies (anybody realize she was in “Saturday Night Fever”, and might I mention, HOT?) Apparently, after Stargate, the acting bug’s sting just wore off for Jaye. I guess I can respect that. Instead of lining up for another failure, like “Evolution” or “Battlefield: Earth”, he returned to his home on the runway.
Well, I was on IMDB today, and there were a few Jaye quotes that I honestly found inspirational. I dunno, maybe it’s the drugs, or my current state of mind, but he reached out and touched me with the following:
“Some people are so precious — all this hoo-ha about bad role models and positive images! Of course gay people are murderers, bigamists, drug addicts and nasty people — just as much as heterosexual people are all of these things. What it all boils down to is, we are all people, and we all have the same human desires. It just happens that some desires go this way and some desires go that way. It’s sad when people are oppressed. But it’s a question of rising above it. Personally, mentally and, if you have to, physically. ”
“The most important thing in my life is to live my life and enjoy it–to do what I think is right and what I think is good.”
So, that’s Jaye Davidson. While he may be considered a B-movie actor, today he served as a wise prophet. He might not have survived Stargate, but he’s found a way to survive in this world…
