Canadian actress and former model Tricia Helfer is one of Hollywood's rising acting talents, best known for her portrayal of humanoid Cylon Number Six on Syfy's critically acclaimed Battlestar Galactica. More recently, Helfer has starred in e.g. Andrew Paquin’s Open House and can currently be seen as Alex Clark on NBC's The Firm. Helfer is also an active benefactor of animal and environmental causes.
Tricia and best friend Katee Sackhoff's charity initiative, The Acting Outlaws.
Tricia Helfer Continues Crusade For Gulf Restoration
IRVINE, Calif. — Sci-fi fans best know Tricia Helfer for her role as “Number Six” in the SyFy series Battlestar Galactica, and now as she promotes a new outdoors awareness campaign, the talented actress is continuing her green campaign for Gulf restoration.
“Being from Alberta, I know first hand the incredible beauty that is there for the opportunities for those people who are free spirits and travelers who like to get out and experience things like horseback riding, canoeing, and hiking,” Tricia told AccessHollywood.com while taking a breather from a virtual heli-yoga session in Irvine, Calif. to help promote tourism and herald the untouched beauty of the Canadian province.
“It’s raw and open. You can go up there on a hike and not see another person,” the actress continued while speaking from the Travel Alberta event. “You get in tune with nature. The amount of wildlife you can see and the amount of activities you can do, people just don’t know about it down here.”
Tricia has also become an activist for raising restoration awareness and funds following 2010’s Gulf Coast disaster that resulted in millions of gallons of crude oil released into and beyond the waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
In response to the crisis, she and fellow Battlestar Galactica alum Katee Sackhoff formed the Acting Outlaws to further their personal crusade to help restore the Gulf. With the one-year mark of the environmental catastrophe this week, Tricia is still persevering to keep this issue an issue in peoples’ minds.
“I just got an email form the Gulf Restoration Network, which was the charity we partnered with, about where we are a year later after the spill. It’s shocking how much is still left to be done yet,” she explained.
Sackhoff, Helfer rev up awareness with Acting Outlaws charity ride
On Battlestar Galactica, Tricia Helfer and Katee Sackhoff played characters on opposite sides in a war, with Helfer starring as the seductive Cylon “Number Six” and Sackhoff playing fighter pilot Kara “Starbuck” Thrace. Each character evolved and became more complex during the run of the 2004-2009 series.
Off-screen, Helfer and Sackhoff’s friendship also evolved, and they’re now biker buddies with a purpose. The two formed Acting Outlaws, a ride-for-charity initiative. They recently completed a Los Angeles-to-New Orleans road trip to raise money for and awareness of the cleanup from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
“When the oil spill happened, we were really looking for a way to help as much as possible,” Sackhoff said during a phone interview that took place during a Dallas stop. “We knew … that as soon as the cap went on, people were going to forget what was going on. Ninety-eight percent of the news coverage during the oil spill was dedicated to the oil spill, and now it’s about 2 percent.” Sackhoff says that the oil is still there, it’s just on the Gulf floor now. “The ramifications are there, they’re going to be there so long, and we don’t know what they’re going to be.”
The duo is aware, and people have pointed out to them, that by driving motorcycles halfway across the country, they’re consuming fuel themselves, although they averaged a good 46 miles per gallon on their BMW R1200GS bikes. And they acknowledge that they both currently drive cars that aren’t environmentally friendly. But one of their goals is change, in themselves and in others. They add, however, that immediate change isn’t always a good thing.
“It actually hurts the environment more to just get rid of a gas-guzzling car and buy a hybrid,” Sackhoff says. “You need to drive the car you have as long as you can.”
Adds Helfer: “Just to jump on a bandwagon and throw out a car to get a new car doesn’t really help. Our next cars will be hybrids, more than likely.”
On Sunday, Aaron Viles of the Gulf Restoration Network hosted a press conference backstage at the Voodoo Experience 2010 in City Park. Among the attendees were numerous musicians that have been active in dealing with community issues -– Craig Klein, Paul Sanchez, Big Sam Williams and John Michael Rouchell- – who had just returned from a visit to a fishing community affected by the BP oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico this summer. Particularly incensed was Dr. John, who began his comments by asking, “Do they think we’re stupid?”
Joining them were actresses Katee Sackhoff (Battlestar Galactica, 24, Nip/Tuck, The Big Bang Theory) and Tricia Helfer (Battlestar Galactica, Dark Blue, Burn Notice, Two and a Half Men) who under the name “Acting Outlaws” have been riding motorcycles from Los Angeles to New Orleans, raising awareness about Gulf Coast wetlands issues on the way.
To start the conference, Viles announced that a letter had been sent to the White House requesting continued attention for those affected by the oil disaster, greater accountability for those responsible, and measure be taken to prevent future, similar events. This letter was signed by more than 50 musicians and bands including Pearl Jam, My Morning Jacket, Down, R.E.M., Trent Reznor and many of the local and touring bands playing at Voodoo. “The BP disaster is on-going and will have lasting impacts,” the letter reads. “There are still tens of millions of gallons of oil in the Gulf and much more dispersed oil – and chemical dispersant itself – below the surface. The BP drilling disaster was at least 15 times bigger than the Exxon Valdez spill, and we know from Alaska that the ripple effects of the disaster will be felt for decades. It will be a long road to restoration, and the Federal government needs to stay focused on the disaster and environmental impacts that are just beginning to play out.”
At last, it’s here; Tricia and Katee’s feature for Self.com from the ongoing Acting Outlaws “LA La Ride”:
On Friday, October 22nd, actresses Katee Sackhoff and Tricia Helfer kicked off a motorcycle ride from Los Angeles, CA to New Orleans, LA to raise funds and awareness for the Gulf area. [...] Sackhoff and Helfer explained in a press release that the intent of their ride is “to do our part to maintain the worldwide awareness of a natural disaster which has significant environmental and economic effects that will last for decades.”
The two actresses, who formerly starred together on Battlestar Galactica, will ride approximately 340 miles a day for eight days to promote the text to donate campaign, Gulf Future, a collaboration between the Gulf Restoration Network and the Gulf Coast Fund, that is committed to cleaning up and restoring the Gulf, ensuring coastal communities have the resources they need to fight for their future, and making sure we learn the lessons of the BP drilling disaster to keep this from happening again. Text to donate: “FUTURE” to 85944 to donate $10 to the Gulf Future campaign for Gulf Coast recovery.
“This ride is going to be a challenge, but is nothing compared to what the people and animals in the Gulf are experiencing. It’s the least we can do to continue to bring awareness to this manmade disaster,” Helfer said.
As we suspected, the project Tricia Helfer was talking about on Twitter a little while ago is indeed ABC’s new legal drama The Whole Truth. Tricia recently confirmed her guest appearance on the show in an interview with TV Fanatic (which she gave before filming her stint):
I’m also about to start working on The Whole Truth on ABC, which is another Jerry Bruckheimer show. My character is a trophy wife who’s a little bit off her rocker. She has a loud personality and wears very short skirts.
Not much in the way of news today, but a Toronto Life article from the TIFF A Beginner’s Guide to Endings premiere after party last Friday makes this interesting little mention of Tricia Helfer:
The TIFF party scene was winding down by Friday night, but that didn’t keep the makers of A Beginner’s Guide to Endings from having a blast at their post-screening fête. Held at Urban Amish, a furniture store at the completely torn-up corner of King and Parliament (making it the first east-end movie party we’ve seen this season), the shindig attracted all the stars of the flick. Tricia Helfer, Jason Jones, Paulo Costanzo and Harvey Keitel all showed and, uncharacteristically, stayed. [...] When we spoke with Helfer, we learned she had recently auditioned for a part in the upcoming film A Game of Thrones, a fantasy flick sure to get fan boys from her Battlestar Galactica days excited, but lost the role to Elizabeth Banks. Asked if she’d tried her eponymous TIFF cocktail, the Sweet Tart Tricia, she complained to us, “I just landed and I’m flying back to L.A. tomorrow. I didn’t even get a chance to try my own drink!”
According to the newly launched website for Tricia Helfer and Katee Sackhoff’s new charity organization, Acting Outlaws, Tricia and best friend Katee will be embarking on a road trip from Los Angeles, California to New Orleans, Louisiana, beginning October 22, to benefit and raise awareness for the Gulf Coast BP oil spill disaster and various related causes and charities. The full press release via ActingOutlaws.org:
Beginning Friday, October 22nd, Katee Sackhoff (Battlestar Galactica, 24, Nip/Tuck) and Tricia Helfer (Battlestar Galactica, Burn Notice, Dark Blue) will ride from Los Angeles, CA to New Orleans, LA to raise funds and awareness for the continuous conflict and enduring environmental impact that the Gulf Oil Disaster has caused to this region.
Says Sackhoff and Helfer, “On a quest to do our part to protect the earth and all its inhabitants, we sought a way to marry our love of the open road with our love of humanity. Welcome the Acting Outlaws.”
Sackhoff and Helfer will ride approximately 340 miles per day for 8 days on BMW R1200GS motorcycle bikes. They will be joined by Josh Manning (http://www.joshmanning.net) who will be filming the duration of the ride. Real time videos will be posted on the Acting Outlaws website (http://www.actingoutlaws.org) to share the experience.
Sackhoff explains that the intent of the ride is “to do our part to maintain the worldwide awareness of a natural disaster which has significant environmental and economic effects that will last for decades.”
Another Dark Blueinterview from THR Back Stage, in which stars Tricia Helfer and Dylan McDermott discuss their respective careers and work on the TNT undercover cop drama. Full article under the cut.
The Black and White of Dark Blue
They make interesting pairs—the colleagues and the characters they play on the TNT series Dark Blue. A veteran of the long-running legal procedural The Practice, Dylan McDermott is now playing an LAPD lieutenant who heads a highly covert team. This season he is joined by Tricia Helfer, veteran of the sci-fi drama Battlestar Galactica, who plays his new superior on a joint task force between the police and the FBI. Sparks will fly on the series, but here the two actors congenially discuss their early struggles, work on the show, and thoughts on day jobs.
Back Stage: Tell us how you broke into the business.
Tricia Helfer: I didn’t grow up wanting to be an actor. I thought you had to be kind of wild and crazy to do that and didn’t realize there was a whole other side to it. I started modeling. I was discovered, as they say. And toward the end of my modeling career, I was thinking, “Okay, this isn’t really doing it for me anymore.” I got into acting classes strictly to help with commercial auditions. And I fell in love with it from the first class. It terrified me, and I found it a huge challenge. I was living in New York City at the time. I started studying at Penny Templeton Studio and doing night classes while I was still working. About a year and a half later, I quit modeling and moved out to L.A. That was January 2002. I came out with representation. I was with a commercial agency in New York, Innovative Artists. I had my commercial agent come to one of the showcases my class did. They took me on theatrically from that. I got CSI that year, just a guest role, [through] auditioning.
Check out this insightful, if long, behind-the-scenes write-up from the Dark Blue On-Set Blog, on the new character on the TNT cop drama, FBI Agent Alex Rice, as portrayed by Tricia Helfer. Full article under the cut.
Who’s The New Girl? (Season 2, Episode 1) By Betsy Rosenbloom
Hello Dark Blue fans and welcome back to the blog! We’ve been gone for a while, and it’s fantastic to be back – and better than ever! – bringing you 10 superb hours of all the action and adrenaline from our crew of street-savvy, badass undercover cops. Everything you loved last season – Carter’s cool composure, scary bad guys with big guns, workplace sex, questionably-legal but well-intentioned police tactics, the LA skyline, Ty’s biceps, kilos of drugs, plot twists!, this Blog – it’s all back for season 2, though with one major difference…
Her name is FBI Agent Alex Rice, played by the talented and beautiful Tricia Helfer, and she puts a new spin on the whole show. She will be a regular character on the series this is year, and without spoiling too much, I’ll tell you her presence impacts every case, every character arc and every creative storytelling choice the writers make. She’s a complicated character and a very interesting woman, and I’m excited for you to get to know Alex as I have. Over the course of the season you’ll learn more and more about her, as we all did, until by the end of the season she feels as essential a part of the Dark Blue universe as Carter, Dean, Ty or Jaimie.
More press coverage! Here’s another article and interview with Tricia Helfer from Access DirecTV magazine’s August 2010 issue. The two-page feature comes with a brand new outtake from Tricia’s last year’s Maximphotoshoot with Grace Park. Full article under the cut.
Breaking necks and riding hogs with Tricia Helfer — you up for it?
Spend your days trying to wipe out the human race, as Tricia Helfer did as the murderous Number Six on Battlestar Galactica, and you’re likely to take a few lumps yourself. Helfer’s penchant for doing her own stunts as BSG‘s sexiest Cylon led to two busted ribs — in a battle royale with Lucy Lawless, no less — and one severely jacked-up spine. “I had four discs replaced with artificial ones, two in my neck and two in my lumbar,” she says. “I had them done at the same time, which they normally don’t do because it’s such a difficult surgery. [Former NFL player] Brian Bosworth did both locations at once too.”
After four years on BSG, and a role as a knife-wielding home buyer in the upcoming film Open House, Helfer is now on the side of the righteous, as FBI special agent Alex Rice on the series Dark Blue. “Playing a villain is fun, but I’ve always wanted to play FBI or police,” says the Alberta, Canada, native. “I still get to kill people, but now it’s part of my job.”
Tricia Helfer may have played it all, but she sure hasn’t told it all — until now!
Canadian actress and former model, Tricia Helfer, already has an impressive resume — including her role as Number Six on Battlestar Galactica, her role as Carla on the popular USA show Burn Notice, and being host to season one of Canada’s Next Top Model. What’s next for this beautiful blonde? She’ll be playing FBI Special Agent Alex Rice on TNT’s drama series Dark Blue, which premieres TONIGHT, August 4 at 10pm/9pm CT! The series, which was new to TNT last season, is based in L.A. and centers on an undercover unit solving crime.
Check out these six things you never knew about Tricia Helfer!
1. I know how to weld. Not good, mind you, but I know how.
2.I have 4 artificial discs in my back.
3. I have never skied or snowboarded. I know, shocking for someone who grew up near the Canadian Rockies!
4. When I get home from set after a night shoot, I have a bourbon before going to bed.
5. After a good day’s ride on my motorbike, I absolutely crave and must have … chips and salsa.
Yet another recent interview with Tricia Helfer from UGO.com. In this one, Tricia talks about a lot of miscellaneous things, among other things Dark Blue, wanting to appear on Sons of Anarchy, the many poor Sci-Fi roles she’s been offered post-Battlestar Galactica, her favorite TV guest appearance and the craziest fan question she’s ever been asked. Full article under the cut.
Tricia Helfer joins Dark Blue, and we talked about leaving Battlestar Galactica behind, whether she’ll show up on Sons of Anarchy, and more.
Getting It On The Regular
“I’ve done recurring appearances on Burn Notice and some guest roles, but this is the first series regular since [Battlestar Galactica]… I was certainly looking before that and have done a pilot or two before that, but to me, Dark Blue was kind of a no-brainer. It’s got an amazing producer line up with Jerry Bruckheimer, and there’s Warner Horizon. I think cable is where it’s at with drama, so I was certainly excited to be joining a cable network and TNT. It was an easy decision to be part of it once I was offered the role. And, I always wanted to play a cop or FBI agent. It was a great opportunity.”
Coming In On Season 2
“It’s definitely hard coming in the second season as a season regular because the cast and crew are already part of a team. Everybody knows everyone’s quirks and everything all works in a way. So when you come in, and you often come in as a role that is an equal, or you have the final say, coming in as an FBI role dealing with LAPD. It’s like okay, how am I going to fit in? But everyone was great and it takes awhile to get to know everyone, obviously. It’s a really good group of actors.”
Episode 1.17 - "Chapter Seventeen" Airs Saturday, May 19 at 9/8c on NBC
Mitch (Josh Lucas) represents a young woman charged with solicitation but he soon discovers she has a much more dangerous secret. Abby (Molly Parker) and Claire (Natasha Calis) take a trip to Kentucky to visit Abby's parents, but is reconciliation possible after all these years? Tricia Helfer guest stars.
More in our gallery of more than 40,000site-exclusive Tricia Helfer photos.
Active & Upcoming Projects
Film: A Beginner's Guide to Endings (2010)
Debuted Sep 2010 at the Toronto IFF. Director: Jonathan Sobol Genre: Comedy, Drama Role: Miranda News | Info | IMDb | Official Site | Photos
Film: Bloodwork (2011)
Coming soon to Region 1 DVD. Director: Eric Wostenberg Genre: Thriller Role: Dr. Wilcox News | Info | IMDb | Official Site | Photos
Film: Open House (2010)
Out on Region 1 DVD & Blu-Ray. Director: Andrew Paquin Genre: Horror, Thriller Role: Lila News | Info | IMDb | Official Site | Photos
Film (TV): Mistletoe Over Manhattan (2011)
Premiered Nov 6 on Hallmark. Director: John Bradshaw Genre: Christmas, Romance Role: Lucy Martel News | Info | IMDb | Official Site | Photos
TV (Pilot): Scent of the Missing (2012)
In post-production. Genre: Drama Network: TNT Role: Allison "Ally" News | Info | IMDb | Official Site | Photos
TV: Criminal Minds (2012)
Season 7 finale airs May 16. Genre: Crime, Drama Network: CBS Role: Izzy Rogers (S7 finale guest) News | Info | IMDb | Official Site | Photos
TV: Dark Blue (2010)
S2 complete; canceled. Genre: Crime, Drama Network: TNT Role: FBI Agent Alex Rice News | Info | IMDb | Official Site | Photos
TV: Franklin & Bash (2011)
Episode 1.10 aired Aug 3. Genre: Comedy, Drama, Legal Network: TNT Role: Brett Caiman (S1E10 guest) News | Info | IMDb | Official Site | Photos
TV: No Ordinary Family (2011)
Episode 1.17 aired Mar 1. Genre: Comedy, Drama, Sci-Fi Network: ABC Role: Sophie (S1E17 guest) News | Info | IMDb | Official Site | Photos
TV: The Firm (2012)
Season 1 Saturdays on NBC. Genre: Drama, Legal, Thriller Network: NBC Role: Alex Clark (S1 recurring guest) News | Info | IMDb | Official Site | Photos
MV: The Black Keys "Howlin' for You" - IMDb
SF: PostHuman - IMDb
TV: Scooby Doo! Mystery Incorporated - IMDb
TV: The Super Hero Squad Show - IMDb
TV: TRON: Uprising - IMDb
VG: Mass Effect 2 - IMDb
VG: Mass Effect 3 - IMDb
VG: StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm - IMDb
VG: StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty - IMDb
Acting Outlaws:
In August 2010, Tricia Helfer and best friend and former Battlestar Galactica co-star Katee Sackhoff founded the charity company The Acting Outlaws. With periodical causes of choice, the purpose of the company is to raise funds and awareness for causes Tricia and Katee find important to them. For details on the company and how to participate in advancing the ladies' causes of choice, please visit www.actingoutlaws.org.
Besides an actress and former model, Tricia is also an avid animal rights supporter and environmentalist. Please visit some of the below websites for more information on Tricia's supported causes and charities.
Tricia Helfer Fan (located at tricia-helfer.org/.net/.com) is an unofficial, non-profit fan-operated website dedicated to actress Tricia Helfer. We are in no way in contact or affiliated with Helfer or her management, nor do we claim such affiliation. This website was created for information and entertainment purposes only. Tricia Helfer Fan is proudly stalkerazzi-free.
Debuted Sep 2010 at the Toronto IFF.
Coming soon to Region 1 DVD.
Out on Region 1 DVD & Blu-Ray.
Premiered Nov 6 on Hallmark.
In post-production.
S2 complete; canceled.
Episode 1.10 aired Aug 3.
Episode 1.17 aired Mar 1.
Season 1 Saturdays on NBC.
Episode 9.01 aired Sep 19.
