Ben Browder Almost Played 2 Different Stargate Roles Before Joining SG-1

Things changed quite a bit across Stargate SG-1’s decade-long run, most notably with the addition of former Farscape star Ben Browder as Cam Mitchell, the leader of the flagship SG-1 team in the show’s final few seasons.

But did you know that before Browder was Cam Mitchell, he was almost two other characters in the Stargate universe? More specifically, characters on the spinoff series Stargate Atlantis?

While writing on his blog, series producer Joseph Mallozzi looked back at the franchise legacy and the behind the scenes aspects of what eventually brought Browder around to the world of Stargate.

Ben Browder’s Stargate roles explained

The first role? Not too surprisingly, Browder was on the short list to actually star in Stargate Atlantis as John Sheppard. The role eventually went to Joe Flanigan, though, as Browder was busy at the time filming the Farscape miniseries The Peacekeeper Wars and unavailable for the pilot and early filming schedule. Mallozzi said (via Gateworld) that Browder “would have made the perfect John Sheppard as originally envisioned in the Atlantis pilot – a Southern cowboy with swagger,” though thankfully Flanigan more than fit the bill in the end.

After he missed out on launching Atlantis, the creators tried to get Browder involved later in the series’ run when they introduced a new military leader into the mix when Atlantis is able to reestablish communication with Earth. That character was Colonel Dillion Everett, who butts heads with Atlantis’ existing leadership structure when he leads a team to the city to help fend off a Wraith attack.

Sadly, Browder’s schedule also failed to match up with that arc, and the role eventually went to Clayton Landey. Without Browder in the role, the storyline for Everett was short-lived, with the character injured and returned to Earth fairly quickly. But if Browder had landed the gig, Mallozzi teased “the character’s arc would have been significantly different” and likely expanded to make Everett a larger presence in the mix.

Though it’s a shame Browder never joined the Atlantis cast, it all worked out in the end, as he eventually took a co-starring role in SG-1 as Mitchell and had the opportunity to lead the flagship team in their battle with the Ori (not to mention the direct-to-DVD sequel films that followed the end of SG-1’s run).

If you’re looking to revisit more of Browder’s early career, you can catch SYFY’s Farscape streaming in full on Peacock.