Michael Hogan as Saul Tigh
Colonel Saul Tigh is played by Michael Hogan on the Sci-Fi Channel’s hit series,
Battlestar Galactica. Sharing the name of his viper pilot father and Presidential advisor grandfather, Saul used to be a Colonial Viper pilot who has been addicted to alcohol for most of his life. The roots of his alcoholism can be traced back to the time of the First Cylon War and his removal from the fleet. He is known for his tough exterior, and his ill temper has made him rather disagreeable to others, especially with Captain Kara “Starbuck” Thrace. He has also expressed his great dislike for both Dr. Gaius Baltar and Tom Zarek, but has shown reverence towards his subordinate Felix Gaeta.
During the First Cylon War, Saul, a mere teenager, was aboard the Brenik fulfilling his military services when it was infiltrated by Cylon Centurions. After he survived the brutal combat, he came to the realization that the Cylons truly detested the whole of humanity. Following the war, he was removed from the service and gained employment as a civilian freighter. Several years into the job, he fought against his shipmates in a bar and subsequently became acquainted with William Adama. Saul and William became good friends, and when Adama remarried, he was able to get Saul reinstated.
With his return to the fleet came several tests to both his professional and personal life. He and his wife Ellen once separated after he discovered about Ellen’s extramarital affair. As an executive officer, he managed to save the Galactica ship when the Cylon’s launched a nuclear missile attack, but in the process, 87 crewmembers perished. When he became the interim commander when William was shot by Sharon Valerii, he found it difficult to handle the civilian population, and later on, even declared martial law and dissolved the Quorum of Twelve. Eventually, Saul returned to being William’s right hand man, and did not bear any grudges when William decided to reconcile with President Roslin.
Ironically, despite harboring great disdain for the Cylon community, especially after he was forced to poison Ellen after she collaborated with the Cylons, he later found out that he himself was a humanoid Cylon. He (along with Samuel T. Anders, Galen Tyrol and Tory Foster) discovered the truth about his identity through the hallucinatory music only he (and the other three officers) could hear.
(Photo courtesy of Sci Fi)