Advertisement

Tapping into Perth's sci-fi fans

Amanda Tapping. Picture: Supplied

She is often referred to as the Grand Empress of Sci-fi after nabbing starring roles in TV series such as Sanctuary, Supernatural and, most significantly, the Stargate franchise.

But before her appearance at Oz ComicCon this weekend, Canadian actress and director *Amanda Tapping *will just be a normal mum taking her family on a quick holiday around *Perth *.

On her first visit to *WA *, Tapping flew in a few days early with husband *Alan Kovacs *and nine-year-old daughter *Olivia * to experience some of the State's best sights before the madness of the event takes over tomorrow at the *Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre *.

"We are going to explore," the star tells _AAA _. "We are going to take the train into *Fremantle * and wander around there."

Despite her fame from playing Samantha Carter in Stargate SG-1 and Atlantis for more than 10 years, Tapping was initially nervous at the thought of appearing at her first fan convention several years ago.

But she was soon enchanted with the idea of people coming together from all around the world based on a mutual love for the sci-fi genre.

"The fandom is so socially connected and socially aware and that blows my mind," Tapping says. "I love going to England and seeing people who have come from Egypt to meet their friend from New Jersey."

Her dedicated support base around the world has also proved a platform for Tapping to spread messages about her charity Sanctuary for Kids, which aims to help children in crises including an orphanage in Nepal, a school in Haiti and homeless teens in her home town of Vancouver.

"The fans have taken up the mantle of this charity beyond my wildest dreams," the 48-year-old says. "It's crazy, fantastic and very humbling what people have done for us."

As soon as she returns to Canada, Tapping will jump into filming a comedy sitcom and will then direct several episodes for what she calls the "next big sci-fi extravaganza", Olympus. And though she admits her work on Stargate is now in the past, she would "never say never" to the right follow-up.

"There is still an opportunity for a cool Stargate movie that pools together all the series from the franchise," Tapping says.

'We are

going to explore. We are going to take the train into Fremantle and wander around there.'