The fourth season of The 4400 began last month, with Billy Campbell returning as one of the series regulars. However, the 48-year-old actor apparently has been hoping to land a role in another television series in a different cable network.
Late last month, USA Network and SCI FI Channel President Bonnie Hammer told reporters that Campbell approached her in May, pleading for a role in the last season of the popular sci-fi series, Battlestar Galactica.
“He literally assaulted me, trying to do whatever he possibly could to bribe me to have me bribe [executive producers] Ron [Moore] and David [Eick] to create a character arc inside Battlestar Galactica,” Hammer said in a press conference during SCI FI Channel’s digital press tour in Vancouver, Canada. “That is the only show he ever wanted to be in. That is the only show he would do for free. Billy Campbell, literally, saying, ‘Give me an arc, any kind of arc, in Battlestar Galactica, please.’ And it was very hard to get away from.”
She added, “I had witnesses, too.”
Campbell’s pleas were not made in vain, as SCI FI Channel’s Executive Vice President of Original Programming Mark Stern announced at the same conference that the producers are trying to find ways to include The 4400 star into the show.
“Actually, I think we’re trying to figure that out,” Stern said. “And the free part was really great. Although I don’t know if his agent really liked that. But we were like, ‘OK, we can do that.’”
The highly-followed sci-fi series is presently filming its fourth and final season, which will premiere in November and continue on until next year.
With regards to The 4400, wherein Billy Campbell plays a messianic abduction survivor named Jordan Collier, the series is currently on its fourth run on the USA Network. The sixth episode, “The Marked,” will air this Sunday at 9pm ET/ PT.
-Lisa Claustro, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
Source: SCI FI Channel, SyFy Portal
(Image Courtesy of the USA Network)
Staff Columnist, BuddyTV
