20 Things You Didn’t Know About Galaxy Quest
16. Sam Rockwell Is The Greatest
There’s not a single dead weight in this cast, but Sam Rockwell as Guy is the film’s secret weapon.
The character was named after Guy Vardaman, who had played several unnamed characters in Star Trek: The Next Generation and worked as a stand-in for some of the main cast.
As a 'redshirt', a bit part actor who had appeared in one episode of the show only to be killed off, Guy is paranoid that he's not on the same level as the rest of the cast (having made a living since the show introducing them at conventions) and also that he's going to die first. This trope was lampshaded and then subverted by the film when Guy is the only one not to be killed or injured.
Rockwell had an offer to play the lead in an independent film and nearly turned down the part, but was persuaded to stay on by Kevin Spacey, who essentially told him to follow his instincts.
He ended up being one of the best things in the movie, basing the unnerved terror he exhibits on Bill Paxton's character Hudson in Aliens - which makes it ironic that, when Guy first arrives on the ship and screams, Aliens veteran Sigourney Weaver is the one that practically jumps out of her skin. Her reaction is genuine: Rockwell's horrified scream of terror wasn't scripted.