Spader plays Daniel Jackson, an archaeologist and linguist who finds the keys to open the Stargate portal.
Most of the movie involves Jack, Daniel, and their crew trying to find a way back home and fighting the alien Ra (Jaye Davidson).
In the film, Americans open a portal to another planet inhabited by humans and an alien who took over a human body.
Daniel is intellectual but he’s also a bit of an oddball, which makes him a fun character, especially when paired with the more serious Jack character.