Why Christopher Judge Never Directed An Episode Of Stargate SG-1

Christopher Judge was arguably the most recognizable aspect of “Stargate SG-1.” As a ’90s kid who remembers the show being on-air around the late-90s/early-2000s, I can say that while I knew nothing about the show itself (my only knowledge of the franchise was Roland Emmerich’s 1994 “Stargate” movie ) I vividly recall the image of Judge’s Teal’c and his golden forehead tattoo. The Jaffa warrior and his unique look was just part of the general cultural scenery of the time.

Now, having become more familiar with “SG-1,” it’s become clear just how important to the series Judge’s character was. Judge was a series lead but he also wrote three episodes: season 6’s “The Changeling,” season 7’s “Birthright,” and season 8’s “Sacrifices.” He also reprised the role of Teal’c in two episodes of the sequel series “Stargate Atlantis” and in the direct-to-DVD movies “The Ark of Truth” and “Continuum.” What’s more, Judge tried to spearhead a “Stargate SG-1” spin-off that would have delivered what the actor described as “Stargate’s take on ‘Black Panther.'” That spin-off may not have come to fruition, but the actor clearly felt ready to continue Teal’c’s story and tried to give fans a continuation that they no doubt would have embraced regardless.

With all that in mind, it might surprise you to learn that Judge never directed an episode of “SG-1.” The actor, who since leaving “SG-1” has become known for voicing Kratos in two “God of War” video games, was clearly involved behind-the-scenes of the show. So, you might expect him to have perhaps transitioned from writing episodes to directing, much like Steve Carrell with “The Office” or Kelsey Grammer with “Frasier.” Alas, we never got a Judge-directed installment of SG-1.

Actors directing episodes of their own shows isn’t uncommon. Jason Alexander directed an episode of “Seinfeld,” and David Schwimmer directed an impressive 10 episodes of “Friends.” With Christopher Judge having written three episodes of “Stargate SG-1,” it wouldn’t be all that surprising to learn he directed the odd episode. But it seems the actor never quite felt comfortable in that regard.

In a 2006 interview with IGNa year before the Sci-Fi channel canceled “Stargate SG-1,” Judge spoke about his writing contributions to the series, revealing that he’d started penning scripts back in his college years and felt extremely supported by “SG-1” co-creator Brad Wright, who evidently encouraged him to contribute his writing to the show. Asked whether he’d ever consider directing an episode, however, Judge was much less enthusiastic. Though he admitted he’d like to direct, Judge felt that his relationships with his co-stars would make it difficult. “I don’t think I’d like to direct our cast,” he said. “We know each other so well, and we’ve been doing this for so long, that, I, truthfully, I just wouldn’t want to direct me.”

Elaborating on his aversion to directing, Judge explained that he and the cast also had an “unusual” process on set. “None of us take a whole lot of time to prepare before a scene unless it’s a very emotional scene,” he said. “We like to screw around and joke around ’til after the director says ‘action.'” As Judge saw it, he likely wouldn’t have been able to deal with his colleagues’ pre-shoot shenanigans while simultaneously trying to take his role as director seriously, with the actor noting how the screwball antics could “wear very thin on the patience of our directors.”

While Christopher Judge clearly had reservations around directing, there seems to be a little more to his decision to write for the show. Speaking to Michael Rosenbaum on the “Inside of You” podcast, the actor explained how he originally started writing scripts due to his desire for Teal’c to get more prominent storylines. Judge says he approached Brad Wright about giving his character more prominence: “Brad (…) admitted to me that (production company) MGM wanted to stay away from that (…) he said if you want that you have to write it, so he opened the door to me writing.”

Clearly, then, Judge was compelled to write as a way of helping his character gain more prominence and more interesting storylines. Directing wouldn’t necessarily help in that regard, and so it makes sense that that particular job wasn’t of as much interest to the actor. What’s more, Judge still has yet to make a directorial debut, despite the fact he’s been working fairly consistently since the show ended (though he does have some advice for a potential “SG-1” reboot). It seems directing just isn’t one of Christopher Judge’s main ambitions.