Vancouver thesp Grace Park will go from humanoid robot to U.S. Homeland Security agent when she joins the cast of the CBC series The Border.

Executive producer Peter Raymont tells Playback Daily that Park, best known for her role on the hit sci-fi series Battlestar Galactica, was one of the top candidates for the part of agent Liz Carver.

‘We were looking for someone with name recognition who is a good actor and has that energy and excitement about her to play the Homeland Security agent,’ says Raymont, who produces through his White Pine Pictures shingle.

Park is represented by Tyman Stewart of Vancouver-based Characters Talent Agency.

The Border is currently midway through shooting its second season in Toronto, and Park is expected to join the cast on Saturday for the start of episode seven. Park’s character Carver, described as edgy and ambitious, takes over as the series’ Homeland Security official from Bianca LeGarda, played by Sofia Milos.

Raymont insists Milos’ character has been ‘temporarily re-assigned’ and may return.

‘Sofia’s played that role for the first four episodes [of season two], and we thought it would be good to shake things up a bit and have some new energy come into the picture,’ he says, adding, ‘You never know when Sofia will return to haunt us.’

Producers hope Park’s addition to The Border will attract some of the fan base she’s garnered from her four-year stint on Battlestar Galactica, but Raymont points out they also want to lure younger viewers.

‘One of the big challenges of The Border for CBC is to attract a younger audience, so part of our strategy having Grace join the cast is to appeal to that younger demographic without losing our core audience that we’ve already established,’ Raymont notes.

In addition to BSG, Park also stars alongside Benjamin Bratt in the A&E series The Cleaner. She’s worked on sci-fi series including The Outer Limits, Stargate SG-1 and Andromeda.

The Border has sold to multiple international territories including France, Belgium and England. Season two of the series premieres Monday, Sept. 29 on CBC.