Katee Sackhoff, who currently stars as Bo-Katan Kryze in The Mandalorian, has become a familiar face of the sci-fi genre. The former athlete could have been competing in the Olympics had it not been for her career-threatening injury. While Sackhoff’s dream of becoming a professional swimmer drowned with her knee injury, she found herself rising to prominence with her role as Lieutenant Kara “Starbuck” Thrace on Battlestar Galactica.
Katee Sacoff’s Knee Injury Drowned Her Olympics Dream
In a Live Q&A session, Another Life star Katee Sackhoff revealed that she initially wanted to become a swimmer and compete in the Olympic Games. Sadly, she couldn’t pursue her dream after the actress dislocated her knees at the age of 16. She had to give up swimming following the career-threatening injury, and had to “pivot and reinvent herself”.
The former athlete, who stars as Bo-Katan Kryze in The Mandalorian, also expressed the same in a previous interview. The actress, who voiced Kryze in Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels, revealed that her life revolved around swimming. She said:
“I was swimming, and I just assumed that I was going to swim in college and that was the path my life was going to take. But a knee injury ended my swimming career. I had to find something else I could do. It was a really weird moment in my life because my life revolved around swimming.”
After this, Sackhoff, who grew up in Portland, began acting at 16 and mentioned that she knew she would try her luck in Hollywood. She left home at 18 with a “U-haul filled with furniture”. As for her parents, it was really hard in the beginning, but they believed in her despite their fears and the pain that their daughter couldn’t pursue her dream career.
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Katee Sacoff Tasted Success After Three Failed Series
Katee Sackhoff didn’t know if choosing acting was a good backup option. But, a then-young Katee still took her chances, and following a suggestion by her mother, tried out to be a body double for Kirsten Dunst for the 1998 movie Fifteen and Pregnant. Even though she didn’t fit into the role, the production team asked her to come back.
What came as Sackhoff’s first acting credit, also introduced her to the manager, whom she’s had her whole career. After almost three failed series, Katee Sackhoff began auditioning for “Starbuck” on Battlestar Galactica. The character of Lieutenant Kara “Starbuck” (2004-2009) came as a breakthrough role, and since then, she has remained a star face on television, especially in “sci-fi space”.
Katee’s stars finally got aligned. The actress has become a TV mainstay, also making guest appearances on hit shows like CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and The Flash. From playing Niko Breckenridge on Netflix’s Another Life to Victoria “Vic” Moretti on Longmire, she has only tasted success.
Her longtime character, Bo-Katan Kryze, is perhaps her most popular role, establishing herself as a leading face in the Star Wars galaxy. She is presently reprising the role on The Mandalorian, which also stars renowned actor, Pedro Pascal in the titular role. She may have given up her swimming career, but Katte Stockhoff did overcome her fear of playing tough roles on screen!
The Mandalorian is available for streaming on Disney+
Source: ShowbizCheatSheet
