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asher553Via various blogs at the Technorati "science fiction" tag, I've just learned the sad news that Andreas Katsulas has died of lung cancer, at age 59.
Katsulas was known to Babylon 5 fans as Ambassador G'Kar, the tough but thoughtful ambassador of the Narn people. It was the genius of the B5 series that alien characters could at once represent their respective cultures and yet remain wholly individual; so it was with G'Kar, whose mystical bent was in sharp contrast to the unsentimental style of his aide N'toth. It was Katsulas' genius that he could so wholly and elegantly inhabit his character, even beneath the heavy sci-fi makeup.
For me, the characters of G'Kar and Londo, mortal enemies, were the highlight of the show. Katsulas, playing opposite the equally splendid Peter Jurasik, brought a rare combination of power and grace to his role. (Jurasik, for his part, somehow managed to combine ruthlessness, humanity, and humor in his tragic character.)
The universe is diminished with Andreas Katsulas' passing.
Links:
Babylon 5
http://www.midwinter.com/lurk/lurker.html
UPI news item
http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/view.php?StoryID=20060215-042321-5854r
Katsulas was known to Babylon 5 fans as Ambassador G'Kar, the tough but thoughtful ambassador of the Narn people. It was the genius of the B5 series that alien characters could at once represent their respective cultures and yet remain wholly individual; so it was with G'Kar, whose mystical bent was in sharp contrast to the unsentimental style of his aide N'toth. It was Katsulas' genius that he could so wholly and elegantly inhabit his character, even beneath the heavy sci-fi makeup.
For me, the characters of G'Kar and Londo, mortal enemies, were the highlight of the show. Katsulas, playing opposite the equally splendid Peter Jurasik, brought a rare combination of power and grace to his role. (Jurasik, for his part, somehow managed to combine ruthlessness, humanity, and humor in his tragic character.)
The universe is diminished with Andreas Katsulas' passing.
Links:
Babylon 5
http://www.midwinter.com/lurk/lurker.html
UPI news item
http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/view.php?StoryID=20060215-042321-5854r
