When Battlestar Galactica burst onto the scene in 2004, it was an immediate hit and launched the careers of the mostly unknown younger cast, including Katee Sackhoff, Jamie Bamber, and Tricia Helfer. Included among them was Grace Park, but she nearly didn’t make it through auditions, and thought, after losing the part of Starbuck, that Boomer was a minor role given as a consolation prize. While Park would eventually become a star for her portrayal of the Viper pilot, she started the series hating the character.

Who’s Boomer?

In interviews, Grace Park has been open about how she was “pissed” after being offered the role of Boomer. Initially, she went for a different Battlestar Galactica role, and then, it was down to just her and Sackhoff for the role of Starbuck, which was, incidentally, the position as the face of the series. Park’s reaction to being offered Boomer was mixed with disappointment, and she described it as “I did not like that. I was like, ‘Who the eff is Boomer?’”

More Important Than Anyone Knew

At first, Grace Park didn’t know how important Sharon “Boomer” Valeri would become to Battlestar Galactica, as it wasn’t until she got to the end of the script for the third episode in the mini-series that launched the show that she realized “Boomer” was a Number Eight Cylon, and she then embraced the complicated role. Her reasoning was that she lost on the big role, but she was still part of something amazing, and in an important way that no one would see coming.

Twice The Grace Park

If Boomer’s role as a deep-cover Cylon was all there was to the character, it would still be one of the best in the series, but like the other Cylon performers, Grace Park ended up playing multiple characters. In the first episode, “33,” there’s a major scene change when we’re shown Karl “Helo” Agathon (Tahmoh Penikett) surviving on Caprica when he comes across a Cylon impersonating Boomer, later named Athena. Park thoroughly enjoyed playing two very different characters that came into deadly conflict with one another.

Two Very Different Characters

On the one hand, Boomer wound up betraying the Colonial Fleet and attempted to assassinate Admiral Adama (Edward James Olmos), but on the other, Athena became a trusted confidant of his, saving the fleet on more than one occasion. Grace Park mentioned in interviews that Battlestar Galactica Season 2 was her favorite to film, thanks to her dual roles. Just as she fell in love with Boomer and Athena, so did the fans, making Park one of the biggest names to come out at the other end of the series.

Life After Battlestar Galactica

Following the cancelation of Battlestar Galactica, Grace Park joined the cast of another revival series, Hawaii 5-0, alongside Lost star Daniel Dae Kim, Scott Caan, and Alex O’Loughlin. Park stayed with the show for seven years, which is a great run on a network procedural, but her character, Kono Kalakaua, was often shoved to the background, and she didn’t get to flex the acting chops Boomer and Athena asked of her. A Million Little Things, a network drama that ended last year, was a better showcase for the sci-fi star, even if she didn’t fight another version of herself.

Fans Are Glad She Stuck With It

Grace Park’s experience on Battlestar Galactica epitomizes “when life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” Losing out on Starbuck, begrudgingly accepting a minor role, and becoming one of the most important and memorable parts of a hit sci-fi show is typically not how Hollywood careers go, but we, and most BSG fans, are happy she decided to tough it out.