Alice Krige Describes Her Borg Transformation

Alice Krige originally had no idea the role of the Borg Queen in 'Star Trek: First Contact' required prosthetics, but once clad in full makeup, the actress says couldn't have imagined doing it any other way.

"Once I'd been cast the makeup department needed to do a live mask of me," Krige told TV Zone's Steve Eramo. "Now in the script it said, 'She is Borg but has a haunting beauty.' I thought, 'Oh, I can handle that. It should be interesting.' There was no mention, though, of prosthetics. After they made the mask I asked, 'Why are we doing this?' [Makeup designer] Michael Westmore explained to me, 'For the prosthetics.' I said, 'Oh, I'm wearing prosthetics.'"

Her eventual transformation into the slinky cybernetic seductress managed to make everyone's hair stand up on end. "We walked over to the main make-up trailer and they called [producer] Rick Berman to come down," Krige recalled. "While we were waiting I put in the contact lenses. They were mirrored which allowed me to see out but no one could see in. With that done I glanced up into a mirror and as I did I heard a collective gasp from everyone standing behind me. I realized, 'Oh, my God, they're frightened. They created her and they are scared.'"

The costume and makeup enabled the actress to nail the character perfectly. "All of a sudden I got this incredible rush of power," Krige said. "It was the wildest sensation. I feel that the costume and the mask were extraordinary gifts to me in that when I got into them it was like going through the looking glass. It was no longer me but the Borg Queen."

To read the full interview with Krige, pick up TV Zone Special No. 44, on newsstands now. Alternatively, further extracts can be found here. Thanks to TrekWeb for this!

Discuss this news item at Trek BBS!
 Add TrekToday RSS feed to your news reader or My Yahoo!
Also a CSI: Crime Scene Investigation fan? Then visit CSIFiles.com!