Katee Sackhoff

When the directors of Sci-Fi Channel's re-imagined "Battlestar Galactica" held an open casting call for the role of Lt. Kara "Starbuck" Thrace, they were looking for a mid-30s actress with a tough military demeanor. But it was Katee Sackhoff, then in her early 20s, who won the part with her high heels and persistence. "Everyone scoffed at the idea of Starbuck in high heels," Sackhoff said, looking back on the role, originally for a 2003 miniseries that became a series in January 2005.

Some of this summer's biggest movies feature motorcycles in supporting roles. There's a Harley-Davidson in "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," an MV Agusta in "The Dark Knight," and multiple customs in the late-summer biker flick "Hell Ride," presented by Quentin Tarantino. While the two-wheel vehicles are all different, the riders are mostly the same. They're men. One in 10 motorcyclists is a woman, but that statistic is rarely reflected on screens big or small.

Over the summer, Katee Sackhoff, who plays Kara "Starbuck" Thrace on "Battlestar Galactica," received a nerve-racking phone call from Ronald D. Moore and David Eick, the show's executive producers. "David and Ron said, 'We want to start this phone call out by saying that we love you,' " Sackhoff recalled last week. Sackhoff knew she might not like what came next. And she didn't. "They said, 'You're not really gonna die -- but we're gonna blow you up.'