Billy Campbell Asking For 'Galactica' Role

Billy Campbell, who plays the very popular near-messiah Jordan Collier on the hit USA Network series, has apparently told SciFi Channel studio head Bonnie Hammer that he wants a role on "Battlestar Galactica" that he would work for free.

"He literally assaulted me," Hammer told reporters with a laugh at Tuesday's digital media press tour on the set of "Battlestar Galactica." She said she ran into Campbell at the recent network upfronts where Campbell was pushing "The 4400."

"He was trying to do whatever he could to bribe me, to bribe [executive producers Ronald D. Moore and David Eick] to create a character arc for him on 'Battlestar Galactica,'" Hammer said. "That is the only show he said he ever wanted to be in, and he would do it for free. It's very hard to get away from that."

While the producers of BSG might not take the whole "free" thing seriously, they apparently are exploring ways on how they could include Campbell in the show, which is about five episodes into filming its fourth and final season.

Hammer insisted that despite media reports to the contrary, the decision to end "Battlestar Galactica" after its fourth season rested solely on Eick and Moore, since the network could not guarantee a fifth season until after they see numbers and such from the fourth season. Tahmoh Penikett, who plays Helo in the series, was practically moved to tears while talking about how the show was ending.

"It's going by way too quickly," Penikett said. "We're already going into our fifth episode, and it's been such a momentous growing experience for me. Regardless of what happens to me, I will look at this as one of the highlights of my career, and I'm going to miss it a lot."

Keep reading SyFy Portal all week for all the latest on SciFi Channel's press tour in Vancouver, B.C., highlighting shows such as "Battlestar Galactica," "Stargate: Atlantis," "Eureka," "Flash Gordon" and more.

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