All language subtitles for The.Center.Seat.55.Years.Of.Star.Trek.S01E10.Trek.Stars.720p.WEB-DL.DDP2.0.H.264-squalor[eztv.re]

[Psychedelic music playing]

[Shatner] Space,
the final frontier.

[Gates] For well over 50 years,

a fearless crew of pioneers
have faced the unknown...

- Out there.
- On an endless quest

looking for stars.

Thataway.

But not up there in space.

More, that direction.

Down here in sectors 001,

otherwise known as Hollywood.

Where you'll find every
species in the galaxy.

You see, I'm an actor.

Every actor in town
worked on those shows.

And this is the story,
not of the captains...

Hi captain.

Or the ships they commanded,

- but of the first officers...
- Fire.

Crew...

It was a great
part to get to play.

The occasional doctor...

That's odd.

Actually, that's me.

And of course, there
were many, many aliens.

[Screaming]

From the original series.

[Indistinct] [Laughing]

To the movies and
every TV series since.

Engage.

Yes.

It was one of those
great actor moments.

It was horrifying.

"Star Trek" means
so much to so many.

You Brad Pitt me

and they all want
a piece of you.

You get trekkies
from birth to death.

And be at the big
bucks, or sag minimum.

The co-workers
were a pain in the ass.

It's the actors who
bring "Star Trek" to life.

I fake for a living.
That's what I do.

[Squawking]

From the series regulars...

I was hired to play this
character on the pilot,

and that was it.

Big parts, guest spots...

Guest stars.

And I played rain Robinson
in "Star Trek voyager" in 1997.

[Clapper board clicks]

So, beam aboard
and hold on tight,

as we boldly meet the
actors of "Star Trek."

And you can see it all from
here in "the center seat."

During star date 1950s

mankind had long been
looking up at the stars.

[Screaming]

And quickly backed down
again toward movie screens...

That is correct, sir.

Fascinated by an
unknown fictional universe,

out of reach from science,

but well within the
grasp of our imaginations.

We have come to visit you
in peace and with goodwill.

So, for a young actor back then,

making it big sometimes
meant shooting for the stars.

I can't get it. It's jammed.

I was always interested
in science fiction

and I had worked
in science fiction

all the way back to 1950

when I, when I acted
in a wonderful project,

which I thought was gonna
send me into stardom.

Almost, falling a
little short of stardom.

I thought, "this
is it. I made it."

Leonard nimoy landed
in the stratosphere,

starring in...

"Zombies of the stratosphere."

How about the others?

I think they're all dead.

And his career might well
have suffered the same fate.

Didn't quite work out.

[Laughing]

[Ship rumbling and exploding]

Instead of plummeting
through the stratosphere

and back to earth, with a thud,

Leonard nimoy was destined
for far greater heights,

but not for 12 more years.

This fledgling Sci-Fi icon

cut his teeth on Hollywood's
most prolific TV series...

- How old are you?
- Eighteen.

- What's your name?
- Julius carver.

In the 50s and 60s.

I was, I was working
pretty good at the time.

My career was, was
moving along nicely.

So when an ex world
war two fighter pilot

turned airline pilot

turned LAPD officer
named gene roddenberry

turned his hand
to scriptwriting,

well, Leonard nimoy's
ears didn't exactly prick up.

He is going to produce a pilot,

you might be cast
in it, it might be sold,

and it might go on the air.

You know, it was
all those maybes.

And if it was going to happen,
they'd probably need a...

- Captain.
- Yes, sir.

Shatner, I think the
one big film that he got

was "judgment at nuremberg"

and everything, his
career pointed right to him

becoming, you know,
the next movie star.

Okay, judge.

I would have kept him
away from television

if I were his agent.

But as it turns out,

look at his long,
long, long career...

And warp factor 1.

Kirk was my childhood hero.

He made me want to be that man,

he made me want
to act like that.

He, he was smart,
he was courageous,

he had all these women.

And shatner just embodies that.

And there's just a magnetism
to him and his portrayal

that I think is really key
to the success of the show.

But they could not do it alone.

Regarding the casting,
the easiest place to go

was people that we
were both familiar with,

that we had both
used in "the lieutenant."

My first television thing I did,

[yelling]

The producer director
was gene roddenberry.

I was just like,
"hey, let's go."

And boldly go they did.

It was an interracial show

of equal people
doing equal things.

Transmission has been cut out.

I was the first
African-American actress

in a, in a leading
role on television.

But in Hollywood

opportunities to play an
iconic character like this

are few and far between.

So, it's the luck of the
draw for freelance actors.

You never know what's
coming down the pike.

This business is
so extraordinary

in terms of the serendipity,
in terms of the coincidence.

I know this saying. It
was invented in Russia.

Three years before "Star Trek"

I was brought in to read for
a role of a Russian student

who was defecting.

It was a show
called "Mr. Novak."

"You, Americans, live
in a world of dreams."

I remember that was
the one of the lines.

Three years later, I
get a call for "Star Trek."

It makes me homesick.

Just like Russia.

More like the garden
of Eden, ensign.

Of course, doctor.

The garden of Eden
was just outside Moscow.

Now, he looked like a
beetle, but that was okay.

Be it the original series
or today, actors need gigs.

And "Star Trek" had plenty.

As an agent, I thought

that "Star Trek" was
a great starting point

for a lot of people

and often it would be
their first television job.

I always thought
that I would come to la

and be on a great cop
show like "NYPD blue."

But then I started
booking "Star Trek."

That was my first gig.

The same was true
for Sarah silverman.

You know, I was
taking it really seriously

and I took a... I went
to an acting coach.

Go back down the
hall, take a left at Mars,

right at halley's comet.

I got to say really
serious lines like...

What the hell?

And, "say hello
to saturn for me."

Not just the shows. Movies too.

"Star Trek" was my
first job as an actor.

What?

In was the most
integral part of my career,

because it not only
put my foot in the door,

it shoved me through the door.

Thank you, sir.

It was "Star Trek."

Once you get in,
you never get out.

I was so happy to have a job.

It's a very unstable industry
and when you get on a show,

you never know if it's gonna go.

"Star Trek" is a very
unique animal in that way.

Because this is like
the one rare occurrence

where you know

that if you're signing
a seven-year contract,

you're probably
going seven years.

Holy cow!

I don't know if I'm going
to be alive in seven years.

It's a nice income
coming in for seven years,

and that's what I wanted to
do at that time in my career.

Suddenly I'm looking
at these houses

that I've passed every
day for years and years

and going, "I'll
get one of those."

Always the optimist.

Mercedes came down the road.

"Might drive one of those."

But before you can live
long in a prosperous fashion,

you need to get cast,

and the gatekeeper in
the "Star Trek" universe

well, no, it wasn't
gene roddenberry.

It's this guy.

I was casting director
on "Star Trek" for 15 years

throughout most of the
four different TV series

and three movies.

"The next generation,"
"deep space nine,"

"voyager," "enterprise,"
"generations,"

"first contact"
and "insurrection."

My job was to cast
every speaking role

in each episode.

We would probably see
10 to 15 actors for each roll.

And sometimes that didn't work.

And so the next day we'd
see another five to ten.

And once in a while, you'd
see another five to ten.

No small feat,

when you consider how
many roles he had to fill.

And every year

there were four, 500
actors cast on the shows.

But before you try to
calculate just how many faces

Ron surma must have
seen over those years...

[Scoffs]

he did cheat a little.

Once you kind
of get in the door,

you're in that world,
you're on the radar.

I've done more
different characters

in the "Star Trek" franchise
than any other actor.

In fact, somebody told me

it was in any episodic
franchise in television.

That's right,

Vaughn Armstrong was clearly
one of Ron surma's favorites,

portraying 12
different characters

in 27 episodes of
four different series.

So he may have
been Ron's favorite.

But he wasn't exactly
his number one.

Make it so, number one.

The first thing I auditioned
for was riker in that show,

and they had been maybe
three times to read for him.

Didn't get him.

Nope, this guy did.

I'm here. [Laughing]

Jonathan frakes,
portrayal of riker,

though some said a
little stiff in the beginning.

And I am trying not to smile.

Soon became a relaxed
and beloved member

of "the next generation" crew.

But perhaps even more beloved
than the character himself...

Was riker's beard.

Beard is an ancient
and proud tradition.

Hmm.

After the first season's over,

I had a scraggy beard,
and roddenberry said,

"what I'll do is,
is I'll shape it,

and then it will be decorative,
we will make it part of riker."

My beard is not an affectation.

And the beard would
never be cut off again.

The black version of
what I'm still carrying.

Beard or otherwise,

"the next generation" was
a phenomenal success.

It was a whole other thing.
Our lives were changed.

So it's no wonder that getting
an audition for "Star Trek"

could be the biggest moment
of some actors careers.

Going into read for a part on
a huge show like "Star Trek"

is nerve-racking.

Most of the time you
go in and pre read

and there are a dozen
girls in the room with...

You know, in the waiting room.

I was quite nervous.

Walk in the door,

and there are five
or six other guys

that kind of look just like you.

And he's more famous
and a bit better looking.

As I waited outside,
this minivan pulled up

and the doors slid open

and out came this leg.

And in full seven
of nine regalia

it was Jerry Ryan.

And I thought in that moment,
"that's what they want."

I mean, "who am I kidding?
I'm not gonna get this part."

Leaving all insecurities
in the waiting room,

we actors stand

before a collection
of producers,

directors and casting agents.

You would know
in the first minute

if they had a chance
of getting the part or not.

With not long to impress

some actors bent over
backwards for the job.

At the very last minute,

I decided... There
was a chair there.

So I got in the chair, I
turned around upside down.

I threw my legs over and I
did the audition upside down.

So I went in and I'm
doing the audition like this,

you know, with a bit
of an English accent,

you know, kind of cockney-ish.

One of the producers
comes over to me

and says to me with
a very stern face.

He goes, "there are no
accents in "Star Trek."

You're not from this
province are you?

And neither are you.

I feel like by the time
I got to that audition,

I was just in a groove
of auditioning and...

And whatever happens,
it's up to them and god.

And I just left it there.

I went in very wide
awake, fully prepared

and I cranked it
up as far as I could

because I thought there's...

I'm not leaving
anything on the table...

[Chuckles] When
I walk out of here,

because I really wanted
to, I really wanted to get it.

Don't worry. He did.

Yes, sir.

Sometimes it's a grind.

So I had a couple of auditions.

Which I think I
came in four times.

It was another
audition among many.

You're brought in
for like six auditions.

I auditioned seven
times over six weeks.

And now you
want to try it again?

You have to make

an immediate impact in the room.

And sometimes
you need a little luck.

I guess so.

I went in there.

Avery says, "you
were the only person

that gave me a
hug in the audition."

You know, you said, "dad,"
and you gave me a hug.

[Laughs]

And that was a smart
move as the young cirroc.

And then sometimes
you just have to wing it.

I had never seen the series.

So I went, "hi, I'm
gates," you know,

"is there a part you want
me to, to audition for?"

And they said, "well,
there's three women's parts.

Just pick whichever
one you want to do."

And I picked the one that
I thought was the funniest.

And it was about
the last funny scene

I ever saw for the character.

These aren't the remains
of the ambassador.

But it's not just the
main characters.

A big part of "Star Trek"
is the supporting cast.

All that water.

When I went into read,

the producers would say,
"no, we want him to be meaner."

[Groans]

I kept telling them,
"I don't agree."

It's a shame.

I remember thinking in my mind,

"oh man, I'm either
going to get this job

or I'm never going to work
in this town again." [Laughs]

[Exploding]

Some of the best auditions
you get, you'll, you'll ever do,

don't go anywhere,

and some of the ones
you don't think twice about

suddenly the next
thing you know...

[Speaking denobulan]

John billingsley,

who played Dr. Phlox
on the series "enterprise"

between 2001 and 2005

made an interesting
actor's choice

for his audition.

I punctuated the scenes
with occasional squawks

I thought perhaps in
moments of rapture,

joyous transport he
would... [Squawks]

And I auditioned and
they seemed to like it.

And they brought me
back and I squawked,

and they brought me
back again and I squawked,

and we had the first
table read and I squawked

and all the time I'm thinking,
"am I a bird, I don't know.

They're not making
me look like a bird."

[Squawks]

I happened to be there

when he was going
to shoot his first scene,

which was the scene
he'd auditioned with.

And he went... [Squawking]

And you just heard this

and bear in mind, he's done this

through all the
auditions that he's had.

[Squawks]

And you just
heard this, "cut! Cut!

God...

Are you [bleep] me?" [Laughs]

Or as John himself remembers it?

"John, quit [bleep] around!"

Just so I knew I wasn't a bird.

There were so many guys
that were really worthy enough

to have their own shows and
their own "Star Trek" series

because they were that good.

If you didn't have a
strong, interesting character

opposite to the crew,
why do we care?

We always had to have something

that was interesting about them.

And that's something interesting

was more often than
not, but they were aliens.

Initially, I was up
for the role of odo.

I did audition for a part
in... on "deep space nine,"

I guess the character was odo.

And neither of them got it.

How soon can you be ready?

René auberjonois did.

I'm ready now.

And then they called me back

and then they wanted
to audition me for garik.

And I was... that pissed me off.

And I said, "no,
I'm not coming in."

You couldn't even begin to
fathom what I'm capable of.

And Irene, my wife told me,
"don't be idiot," you know,

"we still have rent to pay.
And what's the big deal?"

So I went in, and I'm
really glad that I did.

I do appreciate making
new friends whenever I can.

And once you do get cast,

you're hoping your character
becomes a series regular.

And I called my agent,
and the producer said,

"look, we want to see him
for the part of a klingon."

[Bell dings]

"Because we're going to
put a klingon on the bridge."

And I went, "huh,
what a great idea."

I'm worf, son of mogh. I
have come to help you escape.

Beginning as a
guest starring role...

Do not approach me unannounced,

especially when I'm eating.

Worf became a series
regular and an integral part

of "the next generation" crew.

[Roaring]

That is how the
klingon lures a mate.

And it worked out so
well for Michael dorn,

that he later became
a series regular

on "deep space nine" as well.

Because when they
call you... [Phone rings]

they want you

and it gives you a
position of power...

Yes.

That we don't have as
actors 99% of the time.

Every "Star Trek"
actor has their story.

I have been a "Star Trek"
fan as long as I can remember.

And often with a personal
connection to the show.

When I was growing up,

and my brother and I
watched the original.

And it really did speak to us

because it was dealing
with a lot of great stuff

and a lot of wonderful
actors and they took chances.

I'll tell you I had a boyfriend
who was such a trekkie

that I was only allowed to
call him during commercials.

Who's sorry now.

But I would watch the show

so that I could be
in touch with him.

Before "ds nine," I
actually was not a trekkie.

Um, my husband was.

I'm watching my husband
watch a "Star Trek" movie,

because the
excitement on his face

or the little boy in him,

where he's glued to the screen.

There's this visual,
and it's exciting to watch.

One of the main
reasons I loved it

is because I was in love
with this guy named Bob.

And every week when
the TV show was on,

I got to go to Bob's house

and make out with
him on the sofa

without his mother objecting

while we were
watching "Star Trek."

I actually grew up in the
house behind William shatner.

So it seems like it
was always meant to be

a part of my life on some level.

My godfather was on an episode
called "Plato's stepchildren."

I am losing Patience, captain.

And then I kind of got a sense

of there's a continuation
of history going on here

and I need to
sort of honor that.

Movie star whoopi goldberg
had her reasons too.

Before nichelle Nichols

we didn't exist anywhere
in science fiction.

So I want to carry
that female woman...

Of course, female
woman... Crazy.

Carry that woman thing forward.

So some little girl
looks up and sees me

and says, "oh!" [Laughs]

We add a few molecules off
and poof, it's all gone. All of it.

Be it destiny or
a lifelong dream.

As a matter of fact,
in 1977 in high school,

my friends and I did

a reel to reel
video of "Star Trek."

When the other kids
wanted to play "star wars"

or "a team" or "knight rider,"

I was like, "can
we play 'Star Trek'?

I want to be Mr. Spock."

Interesting.

With such a storied history,

you'd think actors
would be clamoring

to board this world
famous franchise.

I don't watch the show.

My actor friends would say

"yeah, I'm going to audition
for "deep space nine."

What the hell is that?

Another one you know,
"next generation."..

I was totally confused.

It is obvious that we
are in a situation here

which needs resolving.

I didn't know anything about
it. I just knew the role was great.

Because it was
like a lot of lines.

And it was also about whales.
And so I wanted the role.

I mean, it just clicked in
and I became possessive

and went for it.

Your friend was
messing up my tanks

and messing up my whales.

They like you very much,

but they are not
the hell your whales.

Right.

It didn't know any
of the references

like a transformer or
what are they called

any of those things that were
in like in the restaurant scene,

where I go, "what is that?"

And he pulls out his thing.

[Beeping]

What is it?

I thought I told you
never to call me.

"Beam, beam me
up." What is that?

What do I play here?
What does it feel like?

And they looked at each
other and went, "it tingles."

[Screaming]

[Screaming continues]

She is not the only one
that came onto "Star Trek,"

totally ignorant. [Laughing]

Oh, no, there were others.

Yes, exhilarating, isn't it?

And if you'd asked
me why they picked me

I have no idea.

Chris Lloyd, a terrific
actor. He's like a chameleon.

What you want him
to do, he'll do it for you.

So I really was not acquainted

with what a klingon was even.

Yeah. I saw pictures
and I got the idea.

Give me Genesis!

First of all, I should
probably watch the show once

before I sign away three
years of my life to do it.

Yeah, I was clueless.
I was clueless.

The only thing I thought
when I got the job

was, "I'm Scotty.
I'm the engineer."

I pretty much built this engine.

I had roommates

and every afternoon
at four o'clock,

they would sit down and
watch the original series reruns

and I would walk
through the living room

just making fun
of them like crazy.

Because I just thought

it looked like a bunch of guys
in ski pajamas on a cheesy set.

And I just was
totally not interested.

And of course, those guys
got the last laugh on me.

Well, "Star Trek" was
sort of like Batman for me.

And I sort of didn't get
it when I was young.

Aside from always having
had a crush on Spock.

There's no need

to be embarrassed
about it, Mr. Spock.

It happens to the
birds and the bees.

But birds and the bees
are not vulcans, captain.

Spock's my guy.

Why don't you tell me I'm
an attractive young lady.

[Loud kissing]

[Laughs]

I had no idea.

I really had no idea
what the big deal was.

Don't you think that
you could possibly be

just a little
confused right now?

But I'm actually glad I
didn't know anything,

because I kind of liked
the quality I achieved.

Just feminine and curious.

It's a prison camp and
worf comes to find...

Is it worf?

[Yells]

So with a cast of
confused actors...

You know what you're saying?

Even if you knew who you were,

you might not
know what you were.

I'm a klingon.

The trill is a fascinating race.

I am an El-aurian.

I got the phone call.

They're like, "yeah, so they
want you to play a ferengi."

And I'm like,
"what's a ferengi?"

Ferengi, as a species

would start in "next generation"

and I was fortunate enough
to be one of the four actors

who played that original...
Those original four ferengi.

We will accuse the "humahns"
are preparing to ambush us.

Ah!

I had no idea what
a cardassian was.

I could... you know,

if you told me it was a
form of pastrami sandwich

I you know, I would have said

"oh, okay, I'm playing
pastrami sandwich."

So how do you play an alien?

I'm still asking
myself to this day,

"how do you play a vulcan?"

Is it burlesque? Do
you go over the top of it?

Are they really weird, you know?

Do you do a voice?

Can you be funny?

All they really had to
do was look in a mirror.

I don't have to play alien.

I am an alien.

Because no amount
of acting talent

can turn this
face... Into this one.

Such as the power of makeup...

- Makeup?
- That's right.

Special effects, makeup.

I looked in the
mirror and I thought,

"oh my god, this
is extraordinary."

And I immediately
got the character

and what to do with it.

You know... you're,
you're a work of art.

You're, you're
made into something.

You don't have to
practically do anything.

It's all done.

It kind of makes the character.

You know, you look the way
you imagined yourself looking.

It works.

And the man who made it
work is Michael Westmore.

I was a makeup
supervisor and designer

on "Star Trek,"
"next generation,"

"deep space nine,"

"voyager,"

"enterprise,"

for the movies.

Anything that
"Star Trek" touched

over the 18 years I was there.

He was, he's a huge part
of the success of our show.

Having won nine emmys
and an academy award,

Michael Westmore was integral

to many actors' "Star
Trek" experience.

I mean, Wes
Moore did, did it all.

And I don't think there's
anything he can't do

when it comes to makeup.

Every week he had
come up with something.

Some alien race that
nobody had ever seen before

and, and create magic
and that's what he did.

But the real magic happens
when there's a collaboration

between the makeup
artists and the actor.

So I get this
lovely role of qatai.

Go down to the Westmore
habitat on Paramount.

And on the makeup shelf,

were a series of
masks, faces and heads.

I look up and I
see... The lion's face.

Slightly damaged.

"I love that."

And he went,
"okay, let's try that."

And looked in the mirror

and I began immediately
to resonate with the mask.

Now I'm here to tell
you my word of honor,

you don't have
to act after that.

While they're putting it on,

I'd be sitting there
looking in the mirror

going, "well, why did this
character evolve this way?

The cardassians have
this big neck thing?"

And I'd look at that and think,

"man, these guys must
have been really uptight

for some millennium

and it finally getting
these things in their neck

just from straining

from how much
they hate everybody,

you know, for so long."

But this wasn't a shortcut
to finding your inner alien.

It was, it was horrifying.

So horrifying, in fact,
that many actors said,

"no."

"I will not do it."

There were often times

where I would get an
appointment for a client.

And they would refuse to go in

because they knew that
it did involve makeup.

While "Star Trek" is known

for its imaginative
special effects makeup...

[Groaning]

there can sometimes
be a downside.

There were often times

where I would get an
appointment for a client.

And they would refuse to go in

because they knew that
it did involve makeup.

It took like two hours
to get all the makeup on.

And also to get it off. [Laughs]

I had a 3:30 am call for
a seven something set.

And I thought, "oh, I
could never do this."

My call time in
the makeup trailer

was 1 am.

And we all assembled
on the set at 7 am

to begin work.

It's a lot to get used to.

Tell me about it.

There's a certain amount
of sleep that you lose

that you're... You
might as well be drunk.

And if that isn't tiring enough,
there are other problems too.

So we had to make
molds of my ears.

And I'm a little
bit claustrophobic.

I just... There's
something about it.

I'm very claustrophobic.

If you have
claustrophobia problems,

think twice before taking
a job on "Star Trek."

I think I had three
calls prior to shooting

with prosthetics
and with makeup.

And by this time, I was
starting to get a little...

Starting to get a little
nervous about what I was in for.

Well, perhaps with good reason.

The initial, uh, mold,

you're completely, um, isolated.

And the only way
you can breathe,

the only way you can breathe
is through two tiny straws

that are stuck
up in your nostrils

which stick out of
the plaster of Paris.

As it settles, you can feel
it constricting your face.

And you can feel

that you're becoming
dependent on these two straws.

It continued to dry and shrink

over the course
of a 10 hour day.

And I can feel it
pulling my skin tighter

and tighter and tighter
as the day wore on.

And I started to
go kind of nuts.

I'd wanted to
claw it off my face.

I just thought, "I can't wait
to get this stuff off of me.

It's absolutely miserable."

When they first put it onto
me, I thought I was gonna die.

I'm claustrophobic

and so I had, I had
a bit of a panic attack.

Anytime I put full makeup on,

I got horrible panic
attacks from claustrophobia.

It's just awful.

And I was like... [Screams]

and they're putting
the stuff on and i'm...

[Screams]

I'm just like going crazy.

And the one guy is standing
next to me holding me,

you know, said,
"it's okay, it's okay."

I still find gold in my,
you know, various pores.

Even a great vulcan himself

raised an eyebrow
when it came to makeup.

The process, makeup
process, did not get easier.

It became more
difficult actually.

Not only the ears, the eyebrows
were very complicated, too.

Because I shaved the outer
half of my own eyebrows

and Freddie put on
hair by hair every day.

You know, two in the
morning, I'm tearing my nose off.

But I've got... [Chuckles]

I've got marks from
that first year or so

when I didn't want to
take the 20 minutes.

So I learned very
quickly to, to not...

Not quickly enough to
avoid damage to my nose.

And if that wasn't
enough skin off your nose,

there are even
worse things to face.

People who didn't drink
water would, would seize up

in the sense that they

would get harder and harder
to keep lines in your head,

because you'd be dehydrated.

I remember we filmed a scene

and they said,
"okay, that's perfect.

We're just gonna
bump in a little bit closer

and we're gonna do it again."

And I said, "what are we doing?"

This exact same scene you've got

and I said, "oh, you're gonna
have to give me the script."

I had no idea where we
were, what we were doing.

And the one of the
associate producers,

I think Steven Livingston
stepped in and said,

"we got to get
him out of that suit.

We got to get him out
here. He's unraveling."

See, you're locked into
this, this rubber mask.

At one point, they say,
"what's going on there?"

There's something

and I have had a
collection of sweat so bad,

it's pulled and push
the latex out back here.

So they, they lanced it.

[Laughs]

And this...

Just wash of warm
water goes down my back.

And it's just one of the
joys of show business.

These dedicated actors

are either suffering
for their art,

or talking out of their...

Butt.

But in Matt Malloy's
case, both are true.

They show me the thing,

this foam thing that
they mount on your head,

I said, "it looks
like a baby's ass."

And they said, "oh,
your original had been

a dip of a baby's ass."

[Baby crying]

[Speaking ferengi]

I mean, it really did
look like a butt, you know.

I mean, a talking butt.

And doing scenes, I'm thinking,
"how can I take this seriously?"

But yet, it was
absolutely compelling.

The characters who were alien,

really looked like they could
have occurred in nature.

I mean, you could be like,
six inches from this guy,

and you couldn't tell.

The makeup department
was phenomenal.

You could stand in the room

with other people
in alien suits,

and not be able to recognize

if there was a human
under there at all.

It just felt like
being among aliens.

It was really funny at
the craft service table.

That was part of why
you watched "Star Trek."

It was like,

"who are they going
to meet on this planet?

What kind of outlandish,
you know, eccentric,

are they going to
bump up against?"

He's right, "Star Trek"
wouldn't be "Star Trek"

without the fascinating
alien species

encountered every week.

And while audiences
ate it up, for the actors...

I couldn't eat solid food

because it would really
mess up the makeup a lot.

But the thing is
that in craft service,

they had my favorite
lay's potato chips.

Well, little did I know

that the grease
on the potato chips

would break down the silicone
on my fingers and my lips.

So by the end of the first day,

my fingers were like... [Laughs]

this

and my lips were like...
And the makeup guy was like,

"what's going on
with your lips?"

[Mumbling]

And I was like, "nothing."

Apart from crinkled chip lips,
there's virtually no downside

to pigging out on
whatever you want.

In the eight day shoot I lost...

I think it was 18
and a half pounds.

More than that it was, um...

Going to the
bathroom was an issue.

Bathroom breaks didn't happen

unless we got almost
completely undressed.

That was the, the
only way that occurred.

And there were enough of us

that slowed things down
every once in a while.

We had to kind of take
a good 15, 20 minutes,

so everybody could get undone.

They could head out and back in,

get hooked back up again

and go back to work. [Laughing]

Well, I had a bathroom buddy...

Bathroom buddy, bathroom, buddy.

Please meet tosk
in the men's room.

And he would be on
his knees in front of me,

in front of my crotch
UN-hooking my suit

with me in this
lizard mask. [Zipping]

For some all this

was understandably
just too much.

Wash.

As was the case for one actor.

At one point while
he was about to shoot,

and he stood up,
he took his wig off,

he walked out to the
front gate of Paramount,

threw the wig in
the garbage can...

He just left.

They found one the ears

in a trash bin
outside the stage.

With so many actors hidden
under thick layers of latex,

you'd think the
actors that weren't

would have nothing
to complain about.

[Music playing]

Just ask the guys
from "enterprise."

Snowball fight.

The ev suits would take
all the fun out of that.

We had to wear these ev suits

that were just not
ergonomically right for us.

They were awful.

[Archer] Might be
faster without the suits.

That helmet was
18 pounds I think,

just supported by
your neck originally.

If I had to wear this
helmet for one more minute

I swear it would
have fused to my skull.

The backpack was 45, 50 pounds,

just pulling you backwards.

I like to find the
designer of this suit

and make him wear
it for three days.

God, what I wouldn't give

to be in a nice tailored
suit in a legal show.

[Sighs]

Dominic's fuse is a little
quick when he gets frustrated.

This is ridiculous.

He bitched every day. [Laughs]

This isn't a bloody
pleasure cruise.

[Mumbling]

I beg your pardon?

You haven't heard anyone swear

until you've heard an
English person swear.

I apologize if I've been rude.

You're getting well paid,

you're making a living in
television for god's sake.

[Laughing] Suck it up, dom.

Now, speaking of language,

getting into character
on "Star Trek"

isn't always easy.

And if the horrors
of the makeup chair

or the ill-fitting
costumes aren't enough,

wait until you
actually have to speak.

I'm at home, just
running it, running it,

running and just
saying it out loud

over and over, and over again,

while washing dishes, cooking,
doing something like that,

just so that when we
finally get there to shoot it,

that as Shakespeare would
say, runs trippingly off the tongue.

Well, it's tough,

and you only have a
couple of shots at it.

And you've got long
speeches and what have you,

you have to give the impression

that you're having a good time.

And oftentimes it's not,

you're not really
having a good time.

I mean, you're...
There's a lot of pressure

and you just get it out.

We were under so much pressure

to deliver 26 episodes in
a very short period of time.

We would receive the
episode the new episode

the night before.

So that if you had
a six o'clock call,

that means you were
studying your scenes,

maybe into two, three
o'clock in the morning.

Well, we all had
different techniques.

My words, my words, my words,
[Bleeped, bleeped], my lines.

I didn't really need to
read the whole script.

And I knew exactly
what Reed was doing

in his set scenes.

I didn't read them.

No, I read them. I
actually did read them.

I can see myself sitting in bed

after two o'clock
in the morning,

I would say it ten times.

And if I made a mistake,
that was the game,

I had to go to the start.

And if it was a
seven page scene,

if I made a mistake
on the last page,

I'd have to go back to the
start and start all over again

until I got it
perfectly each time.

And then sometimes you'd show up

and the scene that
you were working

on that same night
had been rewritten.

And we're not talking

your average run of
the mill dialogue rewrites.

Not everyone is fluent in
the language of "Star Trek."

"Star Trek" seemed
to consistently call

for theater actors,

shakespearean
actors in particular,

because the language
is... not comfortable.

And had to be
kind of highfalutin,

and standalone straighter
and all that sort of stuff

in order to do it.

In had to do with having
a theatre background.

So it seemed.

Yeah, because we were
used to the language.

However, unlike
the bard's rich prose,

the words of trek

are sometimes a
little less meaningful.

They were just
gobbledygook to me.

I want you to install a bypass

being the main phased
array in secondary generators.

I also want to run the
main deflector pathway

through the warp power grid,

and the auxiliary conduits
to the lateral relays.

In some ways, it's
almost like verse

in that there is,
there is a lot of...

Yes, technical... what, uh...

Technobabble.

Vent a couple of
ln2 exhaust conduits

along the dorsal emitters.

I could not get in on the day.

Make it look like
we're in serious trouble.

It's the only line
that I remember.

Vent a couple of
ln2 exhaust conduits

around the dorsal emitters.

[Trip] Understood.

There's another
actress on that show

who just... she was just lost.

She would say her
line and then be like...

"I have no idea what
I'm talking about."

I'm confused enough as it is.

It was challenging
to meet, you know,

this strange language,
technobabble.

Don't ask my opinion next time.

[Beeping]

It was one of the
banes of my existence,

was writing some
of the technology

and the tech talk of the show.

The language of "Star
Trek" is something

that you have to make
relatable to everybody

so that everybody
understands it.

But you yourself kind of have
no idea what you're saying.

There were just
too many arguments

in the writers room,
yelling at each other

about what a [bleep] warp
drive could and could not do.

A tetryon beam is
approaching, captain.

We'll have to infuse
it with a class four...

Uh, whatever, you know.

Uh, transporters
didn't operate that way.

And, you know, the
tachyon beams couldn't cut...

It uses trionic initiators
in the warp coil.

You know, we always put
the word tech in the script

when we didn't know
what the scientific term was

and someone would
help us fill it out later.

Meson and lepton activity
is definitely increasing.

There would be pages of dialogue

where picard would say,
you know, "Mr. Laforge,

what if we tech the tech
of the main deflector..."

And jordi would
say, "well, captain,

if you tech the tech, the
tech is going to overload

and then the tech
will, you know,

will have a backup
down on deck 42."

And then data
chimes in and says,

"but, captain,
there is a theory.

If we do, if we do tech the tech

and we use Dr. Franken burner's,

you know, special tech overdrive

then perhaps the tech
won't tech anymore."

Technically, the person
who supplied the tech

was this science
consultant and show writer.

Yes, you need a certain
amount of technical language

to come out of the
mouths of the characters

who were the scientists
and the engineers,

in order for the
audience to believe

that those characters know
what they're talking about,

with all of these
advanced technologies.

And some of that language

was invented
specifically for "Star Trek"

in the original series.

You know, phasers
and transporter beams

and the warp drive,
the dilithium crystals.

So there's all this sort
of unique language

which we lovingly
call technobabble.

It's a mouthful.

It's almost as bad as
doing something like er,

because, you know, in
er, you have to get your lips

around medical terms.

Subdermal implants.

They depolarize
triburnium alloys.

And I've got to say something
about the... I don't know...

The cumulus or the
whatever the hell.

It's all that static
discharging gas.

I kept screwing up my lines.

May I speak, sir?

I was doing this elevator scene,

and every time I'd
walk out of the elevator,

right before it went open,

bill would go like,
"line, line, line, line."

Now, I'm going
to go... I'm like...

[Screams] Deer in headlights.

You're bothered.

And I was ready to cry.

And I kept coming out,
I kept blowing the line

and then he goes, "alright.
This time you're going to do it.

Line, line, line, line."
Oh, I want to kill him.

- It's a test of character.
- And then Nick took me aside.

He goes, "if you get it,
good, if you don't, you don't."

Of course I got it.

Who's been holding
up the damn elevator?

I think it was Garrett
wang that told me...

He said, "be glad your
character is not in engineering

because they get hammered
with the technobabble."

Can I help you?

Unless you can reroute
the plasma regulator

to silo off the relay
junction, then no.

And then the very next
script that came out,

I'm asking chakotay

for an assignment in engineering

I was like [laughs]
god, here we go.

But if you thought...

It's based on an
ftl nano processor

with 25 bilateral kelilactirals,

with 20 of those being slaved

into the primary
heisenfram terminal.

Now, you do know what
a bilateral kelilactiral is?

Would be hard to memorize...

And of course, you
have to learn klingon.

And it's... [Clicks tongue]

It's written out
and then they have

the phonetic pronunciations
underneath it as well.

So fortunately, that grad
school phonetics class

came in handy, quite a bit.

[Speaking klingon]

It was incredible.

They made up
this entire language

that worked.

I had one word and it
seemed to be very important.

And it was...

[Speaking klingon]

Which I think means, "let's
get the hell out of here,"

or something like that.

Somebody sent me a
hardbound edition of Hamlet

that had been
translated into klingon,

which was astonishing, you know.

Just the idea of translating
Hamlet into French

makes my head explode.

So, it's one of my
prized possessions.

It's just, it's really,
really something.

I had to sing a song
in klingon, klingonese.

[Singing in klingon]

Yeah, the klingon national
anthem as we call it

was totally inspired by the
beat in the "hunt for red October"

where the Russian sailors
on the sub... all just start...

One guy starts singing the
Russian national anthem,

Soviet national anthem,

and they all start
singing it together.

[Singing in Russian]

I so wanted to do
that with the klingons,

'cause that felt like something

they just probably do
every time they leave port.

These guys are those
guys. They're the vikings.

They're the samurai.
They sing together.

[Singing in klingon]

I cannot remember
it. So don't ask me.

[Singing in klingon]

- [Man] Awesome.
- [Michael laughs]

Let's go kick some
ass. [Laughing]

Be it klingon,
technobabble or...

Dabo?

I have no idea
what "dabo" means?

[Cheering]

Dabo!

We said it like every,
every episode practically.

It's a game we got.

I'll teach it to you.

Actually for the actors

it's their lines that
they need to learn.

No matter the alien race,
from andorian to xindi,

all "Star Trek" actors
must master the script.

Whatever the language.

You got to know every line.

Verbatim.

They don't want you to
change an "and" or an "or" or...

Dabo?

You got to know it cold.

You're in pain,
seven. I can help you.

But surely there was
a little improvisation?

No, no, no, no,

you can't improvise
with the text.

You don't, you don't paraphrase

on "Star Trek." [Laughing]

[Indistinct]

No, I'm kidding.

Say the wrong thing, torg!

[Shooting and screaming]

It seemed that
the real overlords

of the "Star Trek" universe
weren't the klingons,

the borg, or q.

Moi?

Well, is he really a baddie?

Did you ever watch a show?

At our first meeting
you seize my vessel.

You condemn all
humans as savages.

Good point. It's the writers.

Basically, it's...

This is how it's written, this
is what we want delivered.

"Star Trek" is the only show
I've ever worked on, where...

If you used a
synonym for a word,

they would cut,

the script guy would
come over and say,

"you said 'cat', and
the line is 'kitty'."

Some actors

had absolutely no issue
with the writers whatsoever.

Probably the most
vivid thing I remember

about the whole thing

is that the first day,

I was on the set
for a half hour,

and I was in bed
with Deanna troi.

I rather like that I'm
more difficult to read

than your other men.

I don't know who
put that together.

[Laughing] But it worked for me.

Some things worked
well again and again.

And that wasn't lost on the crew

who'd spent years
sitting uncomfortably...

In dark corners,

you know, on hard
wooden apple boxes.

And be at the set of
"enterprise," "voyager"

or the original series.

It's the crew who most noticed
the writers repeat themselves.

He says, "yeah, every
character gets killed

and then they bring them back."

He's brain dead.

Commander.

I said, "really? I
didn't know that.

What else can you tell me?"

Well, you're gonna do

is I'm sure you're
going to do an episode

where your age a lot and
then they bring you back."

Commander chakotay is
suffering bone decalcification,

tissue necrosis,
decreased visual acuity,

all classic signs of aging.

"And there will
probably be an episode

where you fall in
love with an alien."

- Despite the...
- Apple boxes.

The crew were also
quite comfortable...

[Screaming]

in letting an actor know

when the writers had
put the writing on the wall.

"So sorry to hear about what's
happening to your character."

I said, "what's happening
to my character?"

And he said, "oh, maybe
I better not tell you."

And I went into Ron,
I said, "Ron, do I die?"

[Vaughn] Yeah.

And he says,

"oh, I just didn't have
the heart to tell you.

Who told you that?"

"Doesn't matter.
Doesn't matter."

And if your character does die,

think twice about
taking a memento home

because as they say,
you can't take it with you.

You cannot take
anything off the set.

You would be in major trouble.

Any of their brand, any
of their "Star Trek" brand,

they're protected.

They had a checklist

that came back
for your wardrobe.

Well, a few things
slipped through.

There they are. Look at those.

Look at those dusty
old pair of boots.

With props and costumes

going for thousands
on the collector market...

I did keep one other
thing. Then I sold it.

I had a friend that got

a good hunk of the
console years ago.

And he... I think he
got about 40 grand for it.

The producers had to crack down

on the bit parts, taking bits.

When I was doing these
things i, I never thought of asking

"can you take any
of these things?"

Well, Mark rolston did.

And so I asked.

And got the most resounding,

like, "don't you dare!"

Richard herd dared.

Very difficult learning

how to chat away
with klingon teeth.

Which I saved

and sometimes I chased my
wife Patricia around the bedroom

with my klingon teeth.

[Laughing]

And Scott McDonald dared.

This is a prop

from the set of "enterprise"

when I played commander dolim.

There was a scene

where the xindi
reptiles were eating mice

as they discussed their
plans to take over the universe.

And the pièce De résistance...

This is an unbelievable
thing to have.

I don't know

that very many
actors have these.

But while some requests
were thoroughly denied...

Don't you dare.

The biggest props go to
show-runner brannon Braga

who was dating...

The borg babe.

That'd be this borg babe.

I'm bored. This isn't been fun.

And thusly, Jerry
Ryan had her dreams

of taking part of
the set home...

- Sweet dreams.
- Fulfilled.

Yeah, I have my alcove.
I figured, you know,

four years of that
makeup and that costume.

The least I can do is get
my alcove to bring home.

Uh...

How hard was it
to get the alcove?

Uh, to my
recollection, not at all.

I was dating brannon Braga,

so got a little
extra pull probably.

He'd need all the
pull he could get.

It was hard to deliver.

It is such a huge thing.

[Alarm blaring]

Be it hours in the makeup chair,

finding ways to make
props from the set

or lifting heavy set pieces

into your girlfriend's
apartment,

only a few actors have
attained the one role

that steals the show.

On any "Star Trek" show,
it's important to know

- who's at the helm.
- Take us in.

We had fine director
so we had directors

really, really well known
directors in television

and seeking to do "Star Trek."

And you know, all actors,

here's what they want to
know about the director.

Is he crazy?

How crazy?

Am I going to live?

Armin shimerman, appearing
as the first ever ferengi...

If he moves kill him.

It sounds like he
had a crazy one.

The director was giving us
all sorts of bizarre directions.

[Growling]

I've got this one!

And in fact, my first
four years as quark

was to try and eradicate
the mistakes I made as letek.

Because I'm a people person.

But perhaps trying to
avoid having a crazy director,

many of the actors themselves
stepped behind the lens.

And the tradition
of "Star Trek" actors

becoming directors

extends all the way back
to the great Spock himself.

People would often say to
me, you should be directing.

[Laughing]

The fact is I was, I
was, I was insulted.

I thought what
people were telling me

was there's something
wrong with my acting.

But it wasn't a bad idea.

Because as of the
end of "Star Trek ii"

Spock was dead.

If you're gonna
kill him, kill him.

Don't do a dry hustle.

Don't do what they
did in "into darkness"

where you kill him in one scene
and comes back on the next.

With Spock gone,

Leonard nimoy would
have to find another way

to be involved in "Star Trek."

So I called Michael eisner
who was running the studio.

He said, "you hate 'Star Trek'.

You insisted on
the Spock character

being killed in 'Star Trek ii'.

I can't have your directing
a "Star Trek" movie."

Thus, this legendary actor
of honor and integrity...

- Passion...
- Of course...

- love...
- Sure...

- tenderness.
- That too,

did what most of
the "Star Trek" actors

would do.

Blame it on the writing.

Except this time, the writer
was a bit harder to blame.

I wrote a chapter for this book.

And the chapter was
called, "I'm not Spock."

In another chapter
I said, for example,

I was born in Boston,
Spock was not.

My father was a barber.

Spock's father was not a barber.

I'm the son of two
humans. Spock is not.

I just explained the difference
between myself and Spock.

And build from that an
understanding and a story

about how an actor goes
about building a character.

And I thought it was
an interesting chapter.

I still think it's an
interesting chapter.

But when it came
time to title the book,

I chose that title because I
thought it would be intriguing.

Instead of it was off putting.
It was a very bad idea.

And a lot of "Star Trek"
fans were very angry

and would not read the book.
Wouldn't buy it and read it.

Because they thought,
"oh, he hates Spock,

he doesn't want to be Spock,

doesn't want to be
identified with him."

None of that was true at all.

But that hung over
and actually got

into the administration
building at Paramount

where Michael eisner was
sitting on top of, of this franchise.

And he was, and he
was led to believe it,

somebody told him this story.

So he said, "it's not true?"

I said, "no,
Michael. It's not true.

Hate said, "come here
tomorrow morning."

And Leonard nimoy
was resurrected

as a feature film director.

And while Spock was
experiencing a rebirth...

If you're gonna
kill him, kill him.

As a director, Spock's protege

was experiencing
some labor pains.

Playing saavik in
the second movie,

kirstie alley had assumed

she would reprise
the role in the next film.

I'm aware of my
responsibilities, mister.

So why wasn't she in
"the search for Spock"?

You would have to ask her

why kirstie alley didn't
continue with the role.

Um, she will either
confide in you or not?

- Permission speak candidly, sir.
- Granted.

Okay, so what most
people don't know is that...

Now remember, "Star Trek
ii" is my first and only job

as an actor.

And when I was
offered "Star Trek III,"

they offered me less
money for "Star Trek III"

than "Star Trek ii."

And I done quite a bit of work
in between those two things.

Damn.

So that's what most
people don't know.

It wasn't me just going,

"I'm too good to
be in 'Star Trek III'."

Instead, nimoy directed
a new actress in the role,

Robin Curtis.

I was tickled pink to come
in and take over the role.

Fascinating.

I was as high and
full of adrenaline,

you know, as any
young actress would be.

With ten movies

and over 800
episodes and counting,

there were plenty of
opportunities for actors

to try their hands
at steering a ship.

In all, 15 cast members

directed over 100
episodes and films.

So, I threw my hat
in the ring, obviously,

I had done a bunch of episodes
by then I was really into it.

I was really psyched.
They took a chance.

I thought, "here we go."

And then that movie
was a huge success.

It made a lot of money
and everybody liked it.

I loved him when
he was my first officer

on the enterprise.

Take us out of
orbit, ensign crusher.

And I love him when he
directs me on "Star Trek"

and on leverage
I love, love him,

when I call him

because I needed,
because I need advice.

But not all actors make
great directors at first.

My first day of
shooting was a disaster.

We had this huge set
and the first set up I think

was like took about eight hours.

So the first day I
immediately fell a day behind.

[Grunting]

And berman and
ira hated the episode.

You've never been
right about anything.

Then they took me in the office

and they made me go through
frame, by frame, by frame,

because I was contracted
to direct two more.

And berman said "if you
weren't under contract,

I just wouldn't let you
direct anymore." Essentially.

Step aside

and allow me to finish
this sari business.

It seemed like everybody
had the chance to direct.

Avery directed.

Hmm, I don't know if I
can see him directing

this kind of stuff.

Don't care if the
odds are against us.

Well, I was completely wrong.

He was a wonderful director,
such a great actor's director.

My favorite director
is also my dad.

So Avery Brooks was
my favorite director.

Siddig, rené directed.

Why did you defect?

All the males were
allowed to direct.

Whoever wanted to.

But as for me...

Did I have to campaign
hard to direct an episode?

What do you think? Yeah.

It took until my
seventh year to get it

and they gave me this kind
of scary spooky episode,

which was very UN-
"Star Trek" in a way.

[Ominous music playing]

I was so grateful
that I got that script,

I really was. I had
so much fun with it.

As one of the first
women to direct "Star Trek"

I hope that I had
some small role

in opening the door to
other women directors.

And now hanelle
culpepper is leading the way

with the "Star
Trek picard" series,

becoming the
first female director

to launch a new
"Star Trek" series.

But back in front of the camera,

"Star Trek" has always been

at the forefront of creating
strong women's roles.

You know, I'm omnipotent.

[Laughs]

And when it came to
the series "voyager,"

which ran for 172 episodes
between 1995 and 2001,

that mold was broken again.

Voyager had a female captain.

What can I do for you?

And with Kate mulgrew
commanding the ship,

voyager was on course

for seven more
years of "Star Trek,"

and a whole bunch of
new storylines, right?

You're wrong?

Now, of course,
what does it mean

to be a woman as captain
at the end of the day?

Not, not a whole lot
when you're on duty.

You're the captain.

But it did allow us to
explore certain other things.

And in many cases,
that other thing

was Robert beltran and
his character chakotay.

But by season ii, it was clear.

Is a bad call.

I'll note your
objection in my log.

I don't give a damn
about your log.

Chakotay himself no
longer fancied janeway.

So the captain can do no wrong.

The captain is like...

Is like a non-human character.

She knows everything.
She can fix everything.

She, she even tells everybody
that she knows better.

Dammit, Kathryn.

You're panicking.
He is going to talk.

Where's the drama in all that?

Where's the conflict?

If you know everything,

then you have to make stuff up.

It all comes down

to whether, you know,
what to reroute to what?

We're in this huge crisis
with the shields down to 12%.

And what saves us?

We reroute the toaster

to the microwave.

Bam, great. We're saved.

I was hoping for your
unconditional support.

This is the best I can do.

But the biggest
controversy on "voyager"

was when ratings
started to slip.

The ratings kept
going lower and lower.

And I think, I think if
you talked to the fans,

they would blame
it on the writing.

So, those writers wrote
in a new character.

People were saying
it's a blatant attempt

to up the ratings. Well, yeah,

that's why they added
the new character.

The ratings were lagging.
The show was tanking.

And as they say,

all publicity is good publicity.

There were some
promotional images

of, of her and her outfit

that came out before
the premiere aired.

And in regard to that outfit...

That looked like the simplest,

most comfortable, easy
little unitard in the world.

But it was, it was a
feat of engineering.

It's the most structural
garment I have ever done.

It is technically a miracle,

because it looks like all of
that's been sprayed on her.

The producers were very clear

that they wanted it
to hug every curve.

So to be perfectly blunt,

what they said is they
don't want the breast mound.

They wanted to see the shape,

because it was supposed
to be second skin.

That was the whole excuse
story-wise for this costume.

And we've perfected

the whole corset and
catsuit combination

over the course
of the first season.

Because with the silver
suit, the original silver suit,

when you put it on, it
kind of stretches this way,

obviously, right
because it's a suit, right?

And actually, I wanted
to go under the breasts.

So we devised a
garment that had a corset

that had all of this
surgical tubing on it,

which is very
elastic and flexible.

And that went on

to a, a completely
elastic corset,

so she could bend in any way.

And then that part
that went under her bust

had about something
like 36 hooks

to get her into it

and had to be pulled on.

And then it had all those hooks

had to be hooked underneath it.

And it took her, god bless her,

40 minutes to get into it.

So it pulled the seam,
the bust seam, down lower.

And so then you put it
on a set with lots of lights

and standing over consoles

that are all lit from
underneath as well.

And it looked like my
boob went from here to here

basically in this
suit. [Laughing]

We took a lot of criticism

that we were, you know,
cheapening the show

and we're turning into
"baywatch" in space.

Like we got a lot of crap

from the "deep
space nine" writers

who thought we
were kind of selling out

and bringing a
bimbo onto the ship

and all which was,
frankly, kind of sexist.

And I see the way
your pupils dilate

when you look at my body.

Some of the members
of cast thought

that all the publicity

that this new character
was going to be getting

was sort of do them.

It was a mild shot.

It was a little conflict there.

Captain janeway was
signed on as the star,

seven of nine came on,

their ratings were
boosted by nearly 50%.

You know, I'm really
easy to get along with

most of the time.

And captain janeway,
understandably,

didn't really like that.

But I don't like bullies.
And I don't like threats.

You know and usually
when the cameras go off,

there's some mentoring
either workwise [indistinct]

Or, or just to make
things comfortable.

And I looked at one of
them in between the scenes,

and she's staring
at the board up here.

I looked over here,

and she's staring
at the board too.

And I thought,

"well, I probably
shouldn't interrupt them.

They must be, you know,
just staying in a frame of mind

that they need to
come to find out

they could not
stand each other."

You came here hoping to stop me.

You will fail.

Turn this ship around.
That's an order.

Your orders are irrelevant.

I'm no longer under
your command,

Jerry Ryan's
character, seven of nine,

proved to be a fan favorite.

And readings did begin
to climb after her arrival.

Take off your clothes.

However...

Coming into an existing show
midway through is never easy.

It's never going to be easy.

And when the attention shifts,

because there's
somebody new and it's...

The publicity
machine is going crazy

and they're baking
this huge push.

That's not going to
be easy. It's just not.

But yeah, it was, it was
a very difficult four years.

It was very tense.

It was not... I don't...

Unfortunately, I
don't look back.

As many laughs as I had

and as much as I adored
working with all of them,

I don't, I can't look back
on that four year period

with this wonderful
glowing memory

because it was,
it was so difficult.

It was so tense and
difficult. So that's unfortunate.

I'm sorry that I can't look
back on it with better memories.

Set a course...

When "voyager's" last episode...

for home.

Screened may 23, 2001,

the fifth successful series
of the "Star Trek" franchise

was over.

But fans didn't have
to wait long at all.

Because the promos
were already rolling out

for the next one.

"Star Trek enterprise"

was to be the sixth
series in the franchise.

However...

They kind of flooded the market

with the three different
series at the same time

"Star Trek voyager,"
"deep space nine."

You know every time they turn
on the television, there it was.

I have a petition here to
stop the space channel

from showing so
much "Star Trek."

An expression that I heard
that I think was very valid

was franchise fatigue we had.

Which, which today is, is a
joke because I think they have

260 "Star Trek"
shows on the air now.

There came a point

when the audience
I think was tired of...

They've just been served
up 800 episodes of "Star Trek"

- and that point...
- Let's go!

Specifically, was season three

of the series "enterprise."

- Are you sure?
- Damn sure.

The demise of the show

was starting to get
fairly well documented.

The... there was just a sense

that we were not
destined or we were not...

Don't, don't rely on
going seven years.

It really was going
to be a year to year,

month to month
situation right now.

The last "Star Trek enterprise"
episode aired, may 13, 2005.

Should have gone
another couple of years.

The actors were all stunned

because half of them
had bought houses,

expecting to be working
for eight to ten years

on the show.

Mercedes came down the road.

Might drive one of those.

Looks like we really
are on our own.

I remember taking the phone call

about the show ending

and we were going to
have a big class photo

outside the gates at Paramount.

And I'm standing
with brannon Braga,

the chief guy.

And I saw brannon turn
around and he looked at this...

This hairy looking
thing called a tellarite,

standing there with the
son glancing off his nose.

And we all just looked
at it and he just went,

"yeah, it's time."

[Laughing]

Oh... uh...

And with that, for the
first time in 18 years,

there would be no new
"Star Trek" episodes.

So it's like, okay,
let's take a break.

And now 10 years,
10 years later...

It all started again.

And actors, once again,
began looking for work.

When I heard they were
doing a new "Star Trek,"

"Star Trek discovery," I
just begged my agents,

I just said I would love
to meet the producers.

I'd love to see if
there's anything

that I might be right for.

I say, bring it on.

And they said, "how
about Harry mudd?

It's a couple of episodes,
might recur more."

And I was like, "yes."

It was one of those
great actor moments

of like, "oh, this
is delicious."

And I will have my revenge.

Also, I'm going to kill you
as many times as possible.

However, rain Wilson
was in an unusual position

along with some other
new "Star Trek" actors,

in that he was playing a role

that already had a long
history with the series.

I don't believe it.

I went back and watched
the original mudd episodes

and saw what he was doing.

You should refer to
me as mudd the first.

It was very similar to
playing Dwight on "the office,"

where I was inheriting a
role from a previous actor.

So, that's a great
place to be in

because you get to steal
what's, what they do really well.

And then you get to
add your own mojo.

In recent years mojo
is flying everywhere.

Jj Abrams' three
"Star Trek" films

made big bucks at the box office

by recasting characters
from the original series.

Not easy for all those
actors to step into those roles.

Not easy.

It's a treacherous step.

Very flattering to me

that the character
is strong enough

to be carried on by
somebody else successfully.

And he's a very good
actor, very intelligent actor,

so I'm very happy about it.

Oh, I think she's marvelous.

She told me, "I was so
nervous when I got this role."

And I said, "why?
You're so good."

And she said, "I thought
you would hate me."

And I said, "I do. You're
just too damn good."

You know? [Laughing]

We even saw a reprise

of "Star Trek's"
greatest villain.

Khan!

As we know,
originally played by...

Ricardo montalban.

[Laughing]

both in the 60s and 80s.

But in 2013's "into darkness."..

To exploit my savagery.

Benedict cumberbatch
took on the role.

Shall we begin?

And even though his pecs
were nowhere to be seen,

his acting muscles
were on full display.

My name is Khan.

Here's the [bleep]
English accent.

They told me I can't
have one. Look at him.

Well, whether you like
it or not, there is a place

where every "Star
Trek" actor can go

and be praised for their part
in a TV show like no other.

For an actor,

"Star Trek" is the gift
that keeps on giving.

After you've done your
"Star Trek" episodes,

you can do conventions.

And as unique as they are,

"Star Trek" conventions
are not a new thing.

We did a, a convention

almost immediately
that the show was over.

And they are still here
in some kind of, well...

That's the word I'm looking for.

I mean it just generates
again and again and again.

The best fans in
the whole world?

"Star Trek" fans.

And "Star Trek" fans
live for "Star Trek."

You suddenly realize

how much they give a damn.

But in some cases,
"Star Trek" actors live

because of "Star Trek"
fans and the conventions.

It's still a huge
part of my life.

And a big part of
that is the fandom

and going all over the
world and doing conventions.

Like, even though
the show was over,

I was still doing conventions
all this time, you know,

and staying
connected to the fans.

If you were willing to
travel on weekends,

that was always
available to you.

And that's where the
merchandising came in.

Because you would
sign something.

We used to go

for ten grand a weekend,
for crying out loud.

And that was [indistinct]

But you get the other
guys back in the, in the...

In the heyday of these things.

You know, they were going

for like 20, 25 grand a weekend.

And an annuity for us, we
put our kids through college.

But it's not just
an appearance fee

where we "Star Trek"
actors can cash in.

It's really hard for me to
think of selling my autograph.

Reaching into their pockets

to give you 20 bucks
for a picture that you sign.

I was charging $5.

That's a whole new world
that's opened up for me

uh, signing, signing
Harry mudd photos now.

[Camera buzzing]

I have signed so much
[bleep] in this world.

I mean, I, you know, I...
And the fact that anybody

wants another of my signatures,

I just can't believe it.

[Camera buzzing]

Nobody really recognizes
me unless I do this.

Yes, so... [Laughing]

My situation is always
people come up to the table,

and they look at the pictures.

And then they look at me.

And then they
look at the pictures.

And then they look at me.

So I sit there,
kind of dealing in

that sort of uncomfortable stew,

actor ego stuff, I
guess I don't know.

Aw, cheer up, guys.

It was depressing at first,

but they really
want to meet you.

And it's for some of my
part at a point of their life.

It's not difficult to
make somebody's day,

when you're in this
position, it's really nice.

And it's nice to be able
to make somebody smile.

"Star Trek" turns you
into an international name

simply because the show
shows around the world.

So you get a certain amount
of international recognition

as an actor,

and you get to travel
all over the world

because "Star Trek" fans
want to meet you in person.

So you have all
these great perks

of getting to go to all
these wonderful places,

and meet, you know, fans

that have loved the franchise,
long before you joined it.

But the, the thing

that I didn't realize
when I got the job

is how it changes your life

by meeting all of these people

that were inspired
by "Star Trek."

They, they credit you
and they look at you

as sort of part of their
education, bizarrely.

And, and that means

that that exposure to
incredibly cool people

has been the unexpected benefit

of being a "Star Trek" actor.

You cannot be a
part of "Star Trek"

without being a part of
that world, the fan world.

And they're the
most magnificent,

down to earth, wonderful people

one could meet, you know.

Incredibly bright,
self-effacing,

politically aware, generous.

Always the conventions

were on behalf of a
charity of some kind.

They, they enrich me.

I know they think maybe
I bring a little something.

But honestly, they,
they're, they're the gift to me.

I can't tell you how many times
I've showed up to a convention

where they greeted me
at the airport and said,

"hey, we had a klingon
bake sale for your charity."

Or, "hey, we had a car wash.
And here's what we made."

And they will just
so dedicatedly

and passionately support causes.

And this is the
heart of "Star Trek."

I always wanted to know

what made them so
interested in the show.

And the interesting
part to me was,

so many would say, "oh, I
was a little kid when I watched it.

And it influenced
me to be a doctor.

And it influenced me to
go into working for NASA."

[Ship rumbling]

Made their lives
who they are today

by watching this show.

And I thought that
was really cool.

They will come to our
tables and they'll say,

"I want you to know how
much this meant to me

at a crucial point in my life.

And I don't know if I
would have made it

if I didn't have the hope
of tuning into this show,

episode after episode,

and seeing how these
characters get through crisis.

And so can I."

Of course not
everyone's approach

is so altruistic.

The minute you
walk in that hotel

you Brad Pitt me

and they all want
a piece of you.

If you're not careful,

you can wind up thinking
you're Jesus Christ.

[Choir singing]

[Singing distorts and stops]

That was maybe too
enjoyable. [Chuckles]

I'm going to have to
remind myself every day

that we didn't come
out here to play god.

God, I remember
my first convention.

Pushed out to the bathroom door.

And there's two
klingons standing there.

[Laughing]

When they saw
Malcolm Reed walking in,

they were like... [Mumbling]

And I'm like, "all right, lads."

So I nip around
the corner for a pee.

And I can hear them whispering,

presumably about me.

That's obvious, sir.

Because it was
in [bleep] klingon.

[Imitates klingon speech]

Well, as far as the
perks of the show,

some of them I won't go
into, because I'm married now.

No, I'm not talking
about my groupies.

Sort of.

I mean, yeah, I wouldn't
say they don't exist.

Well, you know,
when I was single...

Yes, you could find, uh,

you could have a
nice, charming evening.

I can see the attraction.

Some women find
those necks sexy.

[Laughing]

For all that "Star
Trek" bought us...

The laughs, the
tears, the pointy ears...

There's one thing that all of us

lucky enough to
have been part of it

are the most proud of.

I was pleased with the fact

that we were dealing with issues

that had a socio
political reference,

and relevance.

Gene would set
it all up. He did it.

And this is what
we're going to do.

And you've got this script
and you read the script,

and you go...

We'll start to live the way
the fuhrer meant us to live.

Is he kidding?

They'll never let
him get away with it.

There was an
episode where the guy

was black on one side
and white on the other.

I mean, I mean, you'd have
to be an idiot not to get that.

We were one of the few
shows that could approach

the question of the Vietnam war,

because nobody else could.

Troi, there's nothing good
in war, except it's ending.

We could call it something else

and still have it
be about the war.

And nobody ever
said a word to us.

Spock.

There was so much
happening racially and politically

in the world.

And then we turn on your TV,

and then there's
this, this white fellow,

and this lovely black
woman and they have a kiss.

But not just any kiss.

This was the very first
interracial kiss on television.

So it was a big deal.

It wasn't a big deal
to me. [Laughing]

Jesus.

Let's get on with it.

- Did shatner want to do it?
- Oh, yeah.

You kidding? [Chuckles]

[Applauding and laughing]

Genius.

That's what, that's why for me,

"Star Trek" has
endured for 55 years.

Because everybody
got the message

that we are the same.

It doesn't matter

whether we're
black, white, hispanic,

green, blue, half
black, half white,

we're all the same.

Gene's vision,
he was very clear.

The humans of the 24th century

didn't have war, disease,

poverty, hunger... gone.

Religion too, for that matter.

A secular enlightened society.

For us, in this country,

it's sort of the idealization
of, of American values.

And you know, how
we see ourselves.

People of color and
people all over the world

can see themselves
in the future,

with important parts
and important jobs in life.

And everybody's represented.

It's not just a fun TV show.

And it's not just
a good TV show.

It's just, it's special.

Gene roddenberry
was just amazing.

And I never forgave
him for dying.

It was like...

Someone you depend on,

to keep bringing the
beauty of the world to be.

Hmm.

I really think
that's in large part

what the success of "Star
Trek" as a franchise is.

Saving the galaxy?

It's because it's an
optimistic view of the future.

And I think that's what
people want to grab on to,

I think that we need that.

As long as we as a species
have something to learn,

"Star Trek" will be relevant.

To have created in this culture

something that is
as iconic as the show

that lasts as long as this show,

that involves as
many people as it has,

is quite extraordinary.

So it's a testament
to the adventure

that roddenberry
wanted to create.

"Star Trek" reflects in
its various characters

different portions
of human condition.

And it's the actors

who brought those
characters to life

that we need to
thank most of all.

You are sort of
part of a legacy.

And there are legions of people

that have been on the road
in the journey before you.

Most people are pretty
proud to be in "Star Trek."

You know, of any
other show in the world

that you could have gotten on,

it's a pretty cool
one we've gotten on.

Was awesome, you know,

to be a part of
something that is iconic.

I was a "Star Trek" fan,

who was in the "Star Trek"
series as a series regular.

I had won the lottery.

Being a part of "Star Trek,"
I'm not exaggerating here,

it really did change
my life, it opened up,

I thought what was
going to be one episode

ended up being literally a life,

certainly a career
changing experience.

I've been so fortunate,

the whole energy of the
show, the cast, the fans,

actually, I should be so lucky.

That's kind of trite and
sentimental, but whatever.

- [Man] No, it's good.
- [Gates laughing]

And I love everybody, you know.

I love Dr. Crusher.

My experience
on "Star Trek" is...

It would be hugely
ungrateful of me

to have any kind
of negative thoughts

about it at all.

It's been a great blessing.

I mean, I got a picture
of me with a ray gun

for god's sake, you know.

Those years changed my life,

they continue to define
my life in many ways.

Seven of nine was a gift
as an actor, she really was.

In every way this
character was a...

This gave me a
career. And you couldn't,

I couldn't have asked
for a richer role to play.

"Star Trek" is the
most important thing

I've done in my career.

The best, best part

of having been part of
the "Star Trek" experience

are the people
I've gotten to know.

It was a gift to be able
to be with those people

all those hours every day.

We laughed all the time,

we're still, to a person,
really close friends

all these years later.

They're family.

And that was really
the greatest gift of all.

I'm really proud that I
got to participate in it.

Because you know,
you don't get to say that

with a lot of stuff.

[Music playing]

This is one thing
that, you know,

I always am lit when I think...

[music distorts and stops]
No, that didn't sound right.

Hmm... always
light up... [Laughing]

To be an actor in
the "Star Trek" legacy

is an honor.

And as one of the
8000 and counting actors

who've become
part of Sci-Fi lore,

there's one truth
that can't be ignored.

I wonder sometimes
whether playing quark

was a detraction from my career.

Because "Star Trek,"

although very popular
around the world,

it's not very popular
in Hollywood.

That is a lesser franchise,

in most producers',
studio heads' minds.

A list of actors or actresses
who have won awards,

like emmys or oscars,

from working in a
science fiction project

is a very short
list, very short list.

It is simply not recognized
by members of the academy,

as, as a level of work
that calls for honors,

calls for being
honored that way.

Technical honors, yes.

Wonderful special
effects, wonderful sets,

wonderful music, and so forth.

But not for the actors, actors
who work in science fiction.

And particularly
then in those years,

are seen to be working
in a kind of a sub-genre.

It's something
less than wonderful,

something less than, than
qualifies for, for honors.

And that's why
actors avoided it.

I found a level of
comfort in doing it.

The great Leonard nimoy
passed away in 2015...

I shall simply say, good luck.

Having won neither
an Emmy nor an Oscar

and joining a list
of acting legends

who will live forever on our tvs

whenever we need them,

knowing they were part

of the most wonderful,
celebrated, long-running

and important TV
shows ever made.

You see, I'm an actor.

But for those of us
who love "Star Trek"

in whichever series or timeline,

we owe "Star
Trek's" original actor,

and all those who
came after him a lot.

What I want to do was
make a living as an actor.

And I probably would
have been happy

in a stock company
somewhere in Kansas

doing plays week after week,
playing different characters.

Instead, I was given a role

that took me on a
wonderful, wonderful journey.

From roddenberry's vision

to the writers who gave it life,

to the wizards who
brought this utopian world

onto our TV sets...

The reruns now play every day,

in a way, I reached immortality

for at least another
50 years, maybe.

To the original actors
who showed up on the set

and made history.

And we really never knew

what was going
to be in the future,

whether we had a future.

But this has been

such a momentous
circumstance in my life,

was really profoundly wonderful.

I'm "Star Trek" and
"Star Trek" is me.

Couldn't ask for more.

I imagine you wouldn't trade
your career for any other.

No, thank you. No, thank you.

I'm a very, very lucky guy.