Sanctuary's Amanda Tapping Reveals Her Charity's Inspiration and New Episode Secrets

April 11, 2011 - PRLog -- In an exclusive interview with Next Generation Nepal (NGN), "Sanctuary" star and NGN supporter Amanda Tapping reveals the inspiration for the Sanctuary for Kids charity, what sci-fi fans and humanitarians have in common, secrets of new "Sanctuary" episodes, the future of Magnus’s love life and the very special sci-fi guest star she’s hoping to land.

In "Sanctuary," Tapping portrays the mysterious Dr. Helen Magnus, a 158-year-old scientist who tracks Abnormals—humans and creatures with special powers—allowing them to live in the protected environment of the Sanctuary in exchange for studying them. Tapping, who also serves as an executive producer and a director for the popular Syfy Channel series, co-founded Sanctuary for Kids (S4K) with "Sanctuary" creator and executive producer Damien Kindler and teacher and social worker Jill Bodie. S4K raises funds through online auctions of Sanctuary props and set tours as well as personal appearances and then distributes funds to small nonprofits and charities, including Next Generation Nepal, in amounts that will have a significant impact.

New episodes of "Sanctuary" premiere April 15 at 10 p.m. ET on Syfy.

Highlights from Tapping’s interview with Next Generation Nepal include:

What sci-fi fans and humanitarians have in common: Passion

"They absolutely have something in common and it’s passion. Sci-fi fans are passionate not only for the sci-fi genre and the shows and the actors they love but also for the causes and interests of the actors. My fans have always supported me. Present them with a really good argument and they just pick it up and run with it. The same is true of humanitarians. They look at this world and say there has got to be something we can do to make it better from our little corner of the globe. When Jill and I were in Nepal, we kept saying that the problems were so insurmountable and we felt like little drops in a bucket, but our belief is, 'From little drops big ripples emanate.' And I think that’s what all humanitarians have to believe—that even helping one child is moving things forward."

On the future of Magnus’s love life: “I don’t care if it’s a male or a female!”

"We’re just breaking stories for our fourth season and I was on a conference call with all the writers and everyone was wrapping up and I said, 'Hey, wait a second. Can we please give Helen a lover this season? I don’t care whether it’s a male or a female. Just something. We need to show that she actually is a sexy vivacious woman and not just this rigid-pole-up-her-bum running the Sanctuary with an iron fist—a huge heart but an iron fist. Can we show the feminine side of her character? Let her kiss someone!' And they all went, 'Oh, yeah, that’s a good idea.' "

On the very special sci-fi guest star she’s hoping to land: William Shatner

"We already have the character we want him to play. We were talking about the possibility and someone said, 'Wouldn’t it be great if we open the door and there he is?' So, really, it’s just a matter of the two of us being in the same room together and me buying him a few drinks and getting him to sign something that says he’ll do the show."

Read the full interview on Next Generation Nepal’s website at:

http://www.nextgenerationnepal.org/Amanda_Tapping

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Next Generation Nepal is a nonprofit that rebuilds family connections torn apart by child trafficking and helps rural communities become stronger, healthier places to raise their children.