Our Man Zelenka: Stargate Atlantis's David Nykl (Full Interview)

STARGATE ATLANTIS not only had a stellar regular cast, but the city of the Ancients was loaded with supporting players who brought the show to life. One fan favorite is the Czech scientist Dr. Radek Zelenka, portrayed by David Nykl.
GateWorld caught up with David at Gatecon: The Celebration in 2022 to revisit the role with him. In this conversation he talks about his original casting (and how the role was rewritten for him), developing a "Mutt and Jeff" routine with his co-star David Hewlett, and some of the work he has done since Atlantis ended in 2009. He also reveals which other Atlantis character he auditioned for first.
Special thanks to David and to our friends at Gatecon!
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[@poslednisoud]

It was so weird to see a fellow Czech in Stargate and weirder still to hear him speak the language. He introduces so much of our swear words to the world :D

[@FiliusFidelis]

Zelenka was actually one of my favourite "side characters"

[@esotericfaeryy]

I like how you put side characters in brackets. He is as good as the others, and can play a main character.

[@paulbrickler]

He was literally the wind beneath McKay's wings. But really so well acted and likeable as a character.

[@chrismartin3959]

I know it I really loved him as well

[@Svensk7119]

The one guy who could rein in Rodney! I miss the Mackay-Zelenka hour!

[@esotericfaeryy]

Non-Czech Stargate fans also have Zelenka as our favourite character. He's just that cool.

[@VonSpud]

If Stargate returns I hope they include Zelenka (David Nykl)

[@TaurielWoW]

doubt they will bring anyone from SGA/1 Back most are now also to old and got trashed by amazon so I very much doubt most would return due to them.

[@VonSpud]

@@TaurielWoW probably accurate assumption.

[@chuuzu]

Zelenka was easily one of my favorite characters on the show. Very cool! 😄

[@CNC-Time-Lapse]

If there is ever a new Stargate show, I do hope to see Zelenka again... I love his character so much.

[@Keitek]

I really wish Amazon would give the go ahead for more Stargate, especially after seeing Jason Momoa and Joe Flanigan reunite to do a Guiness commercial. Continuation or closure of the Atlantis story would be so great.

[@shady8479]

Im with you on this, he was a great character and needed more air time. I recommend you read the Legacy books that begin where the series ended with Atlantis being on Earth, Zelenka is in those books, they are very well written and they stay true to the series, first book is called Homecoming

[@sdivin67]

Zelenka was my favorite scientist on stargate!! I Just love this guy!

[@erikkarlsson9192]

Probably the most likable character in the show. He did a great job playing Zelenka.

[@cuentasagregadas845]

How I loved his character! I just feel that everything was perfect, there is nothing that could improve it.

[@kick8472]

Loved Zelenka! Great character in Atlantis! Thanks for sharing the interview!

[@ErtaiCZ]

Funny thing - I was watching SG1 on TV, but I never even heard of Atlantis. When the crossover episode appeared in 10th season I was puzzed - who were those guys? What was happening? But I thought maybe I missed some episode where it was explained. Much later, when in college a friend showed me Atlantis and I knew I would love it, it was Stargate after all... but then, suddenly a Czech character appeared and I knew I would love it. And I did. And I still think it is the best SG show.

[@jimmurdoch7745]

5 minutes and 32 seconds in,... and now I'm going to watch Stargate Atlantis again,... on catch-up..... Thank you David. 🤣

[@chrisspellman5952]

I always loved when Zelenka would walk off rambling stuff in Czech. There's just something about someone reverting back to their mother language to blow off steam that's always fun to see.

[@midoribushittv]

Love Zelenka! David Hewlett & David Nykl had great chemistry and loved their scenes together, made me chuckle. David, thank you, for such an awesome side-character! We need Amazon to get their heads outta their asses and make some Stargate! Also, he was great as a baddie on Arrow.

[@simonjack9699]

Omg ❤❤❤ favorite Atlantis genius Rodney's greatest nemesis 😂

[@fastingtrucker1776]

Zelenka was part of what made Atlantis so good. David Nykl did a great job.

[@DomyTheMad420]

I actually liked the idea of SG:A having a cast of international actors i was beyond delighted to see a scientist from a country i hardly ever heard of good to hear he's also got fond memories :)

[@noticiasinmundicias]

It was one of the best things, although snowflakes today would whine about 'forced diversity' and such.

[@pavelcuba9260]

My favorite character! Love from Czech!

[@ArabianLady]

Thank you so much for sharing this! I love hearing David share his experiences. 😊

[@paul1153]

Great interview. I was in Vancouver for this convention. Had a great time .Off to Basingstoke soon for their convention as there is a huge Stargate lineup this year. David Nykl will be there as well.

[@bradmullaerialphotography]

Loving these interviews guys thank you for keeping the dream alive

[@vaclavmajer5488]

nejlepsi typek!

[@margeryk000]

Thanks for this great interview. Hopefully there will be more to come...???

[@GateWorldDotNet]

For sure! I have a few more in the hopper that need to be edited.

[@mellchiril]

I'm glad that David became our beloved Zelenka. I'm sure he would've done well as Beckett as well, but he absolutely brings Zelenka to life and makes him the star of every scene he's in. And no, I'm not saying this because I'm Czech and/or biased towards his character, I am in fact Dutch. It's just a fact that you know you're in for a good time when Zelenka shows up on screen.

[@NunyaBidnezzzz]

Couldn't have said it better myself. This, exactly.

[@OrganizeCreateDecorate]

Great interview!~

[@KlausAndersen-u4m]

I miss stargate 😢

[@slambitzeslam1744]

loved his character in arrow aswell

[@DandyNinja]

Did anyone decoded the Czech joke? I am Czech and I did't get it. Should it mean that we have hard to pronounce names for americans?

[@milanmottl8983]

Ty písmenka, které četl, tak doktor mu řekl, že je dobře, že to vidí a že to přečetl a on odpověděl, že jak přečetl, že toho člověka zná. Je to narážka na CZ jména, které jsou pro ostatní lidi těžké přečíst.

[@DandyNinja]

@@milanmottl8983 Hm, ok. Thank you. I guess I would found it more funny if it was Polish joke in stead. I didn't realize Czechs have that difficult names. In Poland they have names like Grzegorz Brzęczyszczykiewicz kzbin.info/www/bejne/d5eui5aigryGZ7c

[@caro.jiejie]

@@milanmottl8983 konečně to chápu

[@brianshea2515]

He has barely aged.

[@Roo0ooD]

thanks for the video

[@StorymasterQ]

"I can't work with these actors." is the best Zelenka line fight me.

[@FastforceRs]

Awesome to see him doing well!

[@HemisphereCinema]

uhoh mckay will be jealous about this one. , its the first time ive seen David Nykl outside stargate not kinda the expectation with the char he played heh but he seem like a cool person :d he kinda reminds me of wolverine actor

[@Grace-sm7cn]

I wish I could see the interview that he did with Nykl 15 years ago!

[@GateWorldDotNet]

Here is our Atlantis interview archive (a mix of audio, video, and text-only): www.gateworld.net/interviews/atlantis/ Between David Read and me we talked with David Nykl every year starting with Season 2!

[@pjcifulleli2655]

It is on Pluto as well!! And free!

[@erpelhomo4686]

I like Zelenka, the european genius

[@evaldo_coutinho]

Zelenka is the best.

[@BrianMaidenO2]

I'd only been to the Czech republic once, but his accent seemed pretty good.

[@Bobby.Kristensen]

Wow, he aged 50 thousand years.

[@TheNinjaMarmot]

First time I heard that Czech Joke. It's a good joke.

[@luketurner314]

10:55 Lateral with Tom Scott also mentioned these two Muppets recently

[@chrisdealemania]

Zelenka was a character that was barely noticed in the background. He grew somehow into the foreground and left quite a likeable impression, but ultimately got to shine too late in the show. (PS I almost didn't recognise the beardy guy)

[@BrianMaidenO2]

"Radek!"

[@udarajayawardena2018]

is that Anatoly ?

[@ewe4283]

Have you interviewed or talked with Jill Wagner about her experience.

[@GateWorldDotNet]

I have not. I wonder if she's on David's list for "Dial the Gate" and might be harder to get ahold of. (Some actors don't want to sit down and talk about work they did so long ago.)

[@ewe4283]

@GateWorldDotNet Well, in my opinion, it surely wouldn't hurt to ask. Her character played a small but unique role. Plus, let's be honest, Shepherds' googly eyes when in front of her is hilarious.

[@roguephoenix]

zelenka should be one of the people to hand off the stargate franchise on to a new cast or maybe even be part of it?

[@jjbinx]

BRING BACK STARGATE ATLANTIS AND UNIVERSE!

[@mal74]

I never get tired of watching SG1 or Atlantis.