Nicholas Rush

Nicholas Rush
Robert Carlyle as Nicholas Rush
First appearance	"Air"
Last appearance	"Gauntlet"
Portrayed by	Robert Carlyle
Information
Occupation	Stargate Command Scientist personnel
Family	Gloria Rush (wife, deceased)

Dr. Nicholas Rush is a fictional character in the Canadian-American Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer-Syfy television series Stargate Universe, a military science fiction serial drama about the adventures of a present-day, multinational exploration team unable to return to Earth after an evacuation to the Ancient spaceship Destiny, which is traveling in a distant corner of the universe. He is portrayed by Scottish actor Robert Carlyle. Carlyle, while at first skeptical towards the show, got an interest in the character of Rush because he felt Rush was a "very interesting" character to portray.

Rush is a machiavellian scientist whose life's work is uncovering the mysteries behind the ninth chevron of the Stargate, which ultimately leads him and personnel from the Icarus Base through the Stargate to a far-away galaxy where they must fight for their own survival. Rush made his first appearance in the pilot episode, "Air", first broadcast in the United States and Canada in 2009.

In "Air", Rush is revealed to have come from a poor background. His father worked at the shipyards in Glasgow, Scotland. He studied at Oxford University whilst working two jobs. As a result, he believes he has earned the right to give orders to others without being questioned. In the episode "Human", Rush is seen in his flashbacks as giving a lecture at a university, and at least two people have characteristic "Cal" clothes, suggesting that he was teaching at University of California, Berkeley.

Rush is an expert in Ancient technology. His research was hindered while he was married to Gloria Rush. Since her death, he has become more dedicated to science. He spearheads the Icarus Project, his main priority being to explore the mystery behind the ninth chevron of the Stargate. Rush was stationed at the Icarus Base in 2009, in order to do research on the ninth chevron. Rush had a hand in selecting the personnel, and notes that Ronald Greer and Matthew Scott were not among those he would have approved.