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Actor profiles - The people who bring Farscape's aliens and astronauts to life.
Ben Browder
The acting powerhouse behind Farscape's lead, John Crichton.
Handsome and dedicated, Browder is the human centre of Farscape. Hailing from the US, he trained at the London School of Speech and Drama. He clearly relishes the challenges that the show throws at him, pointing out that "there are actors who go through their entire careers and never have the opportunities that I was given in season two alone."
Before Farscape, Browder was best known for his role as Sam Brody in US drama series Party of Five, and he had also appeared on numerous other TV shows such as Melrose Place and Murder She Wrote. Film roles have included parts in Memphis Belle and Boogie Boy.
Browder's talents don't end at acting. He's written two episodes of Farscape - season three's Green-Eyed Monster and an upcoming season four episode. Other interests include NASCAR racing - his family own a racecar, and surfing, so the move to Australia hasn't been all bad for him.
He's married, (sorry ladies!) to Francesca Buller, also an actor. Mixing work with pleasure, she's appeared in Farscape several times, as M'Lee in Bone to Be Wild, ro-NA in the Look at the Princess trilogy, and Raxil in Scratch 'n' Sniff.
Read our character profile of John Crichton.
Claudia Black
The actress behind Aeryn's ice and fire.
The beautiful Ms Black is one of Farscape�s core cast, having joined the series right at the start. An Australian born and bred, even before Farscape she was well known as an actress in her native country.
Her previous TV appearances have included two long-running parts in soaps A Country Practice, (1994) and City Life (1996). She has also been a guest actor on Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Xena: Warrior Princess and BeastMaster.
British audiences will know her best from her two high-profile film roles - as ill-fated Shazza Montgomery in sci-fi survival horror Pitch Black, and Pandora in vamp flick Queen of the Damned.
Claudia�s exact age is a mystery, with guesses ranging from 1971 to 1974. She herself will only specify her birthday - October 11. She is best friends with Gigi Edgley (Chiana), the two of them even going on holiday together during a break from filming Farscape.
Read our character profile of Aeryn Sun.
Anthony Simcoe
The man under the D'Argo make-up
Australian Anthony Simcoe is one of the original Farscape crew, having played the part of D�Argo since the first episode. It�s clear that he�s put a lot of himself into the character, including inventing the rumbling D�Argo voice.
A graduate of Sydney�s National Institute of Dramatic Arts (NIDA), Simcoe holds a specialised qualification in Actor Training, and lectures regularly for the NIDA. He has acted and directed extensively for theatre.
Before Farscape he appeared in various films and television shows, including Aussie comedy hit The Castle, about a Sydney family prepared to fight to protect their beloved house. Other films credits include Mr Reliable and Chameleon, and he�s appeared in such TV series as Water Rats, BeastMaster and that Australian standard Home and Away.
He�s very tall indeed, measuring 6�6".
Read our character profile of Ka D'Argo.
Jonathan Hardy
The big voice behind little Rygel.
Classically trained New Zealand actor Jonathan Hardy has been the voice behind Rygel from the start of the programme. He has appeared in numerous films and TV series from the early seventies on, including playing alongside Anthony Simcoe in Mr Reliable.
As well as his acting work, he is an accomplished playwright and screenwriter. His screenplay for Breaker Morant, a 1980 film about three Australian officers during the Boer War was Oscar nominated. As if that wasn�t enough, he also lists operatic singing, directing and poetry amongst his skills.
Since the start of season two, he�s added puppetry to his CV - as well as voicing Rygel he controls his lips and mouth. Alert viewers may have spotted his one Farscape foray in front of the cameras - playing the Kahaynu in the Look at the Princess trilogy.
Strangely, Hardy, like Rygel, has very bushy eyebrows.
Read our character profile of Rygel XVIII.
Gigi Edgley
The colourful character beneath Chiana�s grey.
Gigi Edgley came onto Farscape in the first season, in a role that could very easily have been for one episode only. Fortunately for her, the producers decided differently, and the bullet that was originally to have killed Chiana merely grazed her.
Farscape is Gigi Edgley�s first big role � not surprising considering she�d only just come out of drama college when she got it. A first casting on Australian miniseries Day of the Roses led to an audition, and five-hour makeup test, for Farscape.
She has strong opinions on how her character should develop, and for season four has requested of Farscape�s producers that Chiana return to the mannerisms and style of the first season.
Outside the show, she has had guest appearances on TV shows such as BeastMaster and The Lost World. She is great friends with Claudia Black.
Read our character profile of Chiana.
Lani Tupu
Shouty Bialar Crais, and the calm, calm voice of Pilot.
Classically trained New Zealand actor Lani Tupu originally auditioned for the role of D�Argo.
The natty goatee he sported at the time, grown for another project, may have helped their decision to cast him as Captain Crais, but he certainly proved them right over the first three years of the programme.
After getting the part of Crais, Tupu then auditioned, and was cast, as the voice of Pilot � a world away from his passionate on-screen character. Playing two characters at the opposite ends of the emotional spectrum is a challenge Tupu has often said he relishes.
An experienced theatre actor and a teacher in screen skills for actors, Tupu appeared in TV shows such as Water Rats and Time Trax before Farscape. He also founded an Australian theatre group, called Walkers and Talkers, now sadly defunct.
Outside Farscape, his most recent screen role was in the critically acclaimed relationship drama Lantata.
Tupu has Polynesian ancestry, and his name is Samoan in origin. His hobbies include painting and movie watching, and he has been active on the convention circuit recently.
Read our character profiles of Pilot and Bialar Crais.
Virginia Hey
Zhaan with the blue off, and hair on
Tall and lovely Virginia Hey was one of the original Farscape line-up. She has lived in both the UK and Australia and originally studied art, but worked as a successful fashion model for some time after being discovered at a bus stop.
Her first big part was playing a warrior woman in post-apocalyptic road madness classic Mad Max II. She�s also been a Bond girl, playing Rubavitch in The Living Daylights. More down to earth TV roles included recurring parts in Neighbours and Prisoner Cell Block H.
The role of Zhaan interested her from the start, as she has strong personal interests in eastern-style spirituality and natural medicine. What the producers neglected to mention to her at initial auditions though, was that her character would be blue all over, and bald.
A desire to re-grow hair and eyebrows was behind her decision to leave the show. Since then she�s been very active on the convention circuit.
Read our character profile of Pa'u Zotoh Zhaan.
Wayne Pygram
The man who puts the sparkle in Scorpy�s eye.
Wayne Pygram, the man under Scorpius� leather helmet, Wayne Pygram is an experienced Australian actor, with a background in theatre and screen. His vivid portrayal of the half-Scarran scientist had a lot to do with the fact Scorpy�s still around - originally he was meant to appear in just four episodes.
Before taking on the role of Scorpius at the end of the first season of Farscape, Wayne was known to Australian audiences for his appearances in TV shows such as Time Trax, Water Rats and The Lost World. He�s also had roles in feature films such as Farewell to the King and Risk.
Closer to Harvey than Scorpius, Wayne is a bit of a cheeky chappie in real life. He�s also a professional rock drummer, despite listing Spinal Tap as his favourite ever film. Doesn�t he know the fate that awaits him?
Read our character profile of Scorpius.
Paul Goddard
The actor who puts the spark into Stark.
Paul Goddard got the part of Stark after originally auditioning for Scorpius. Since then he�s turned in a masterfully unhinged performance as the erratic Banik, based on actors from One Flew Over the Cuckoo�s nest and Twelve Monkeys.
It obviously appealed to Farscape�s producers, as Stark became a semi-regular instead of the two-episode character he was first meant to be.
An experienced actor in film and theatre, Paul Goddard has appeared in blockbusters such as The Matrix, as Agent Brown, Babe, Holy Smoke and The Mighty Morphin� Power Rangers. He�s also done a lot of TV work, including a stint in �95-�96 on Coronation Street as "Stephen".
Read our character profile of Stark.
Tammy MacIntosh
The cheery actor behind the screaming Jool.
Tammy MacIntosh started her screen career in Australian children�s television, as a presenter of the show C�mon Kids. Before that she had a ten-year career as a dancer - a skill she was able to show off with her cartwheeling floor show in Scratch �n� Sniff.
Roles outside Farscape have included parts in TV shows The Flying Doctors, Police Rescue, and in films including Better than Sex and McLeod�s Daughter. She joined Farscape, her first science fiction role, at the start of season three.
Read our character profile of Jool.
David Franklin
Braca when the Peacekeeper leathers come off.
Australian actor David Franklin joined the Farscape cast at the end of season one, first appearing as Braca in The Hidden Memory. It�s the second time he�s played a recurring role in a cult series � he appeared as Brutus in several episodes of Xena: Warrior Princess.
He�s also played parts in a number of movies, most lately Crocodile Dundee in LA and the Steve Irwin Crocodile Hunter film. Moving away from crocodiles, he's played Elvis in a musical called Are You Lonesome Tonight? Like many of Farscape�s cast, he has extensive theatre experience.
Read our character profile of Braca.
Raelee Hill
New girl Sikozu.
Raelee Hill originally auditioned for the very different role of Utu-Noranti Pralatong. When that went to Melissa Jaffer, Farscape�s producers decided to create a role especially for her because she'd impressed them so much.
This Australian actress has had a swift rise to fame in her own country, with a number of recurring parts on Oz�s top programmes, including playing Serendipity Gottlieb in Neighbours, and Constable Tayler Johnson in Water Rats. She also appeared in a Baywatch spoof, Shark Bay, and lists Audrey Hepburn as one of her favourite actresses.
Read our character profile of Sikozu.
Melissa Jaffer
The veteran actor under Noranti�s wrinkles.
The wrinkly, inscrutable Noranti isn�t Melissa Jaffer�s first appearance on Farscape - she had parts in the season two episodes The Way We Weren�t, voicing Moya�s first Pilot, and Vitas Mortis as the old Nilam.
A veteran actor on the Australian scene, Melissa has appeared in many films and TV series from the seventies onwards, including cult horror flick The Cars that Ate Paris. Her most recent roles before Farscape included the part of Amanda Villiers in start-up grant saga Head Start and Helen Cooper in mini-series The Farm.
Read our character profile of Noranti.
Rebecca Riggs
The lady beneath Commandant Grayza's seductive steeliness.
Rebecca Riggs is an Australian actress with a strong theatre background who has appeared in TV shows such as Blue Heelers and Day of the Roses. She's also had parts in such movies as Jerry Maguire and Raw Nerve.
She's not entirely new to science fiction, having played Ms Vansen in the pilot episode of Space: Above and Beyond. A big fan of the genre, her portrayal of Grayza draws a lot from her enthusiasm for British sci-fi series Blakes' Seven. Now, who'd have guessed that.
Read our character profile of Grayza.