Four Trek Actor Interviews
By ChristianMay 12, 2000 - 12:06 PM
The Trek Galaxy has been updated with an interview with LeVar Burton (Geordi LaForge), which first appeared in the June 2000 issue of the Star Trek Monthly magazine. In it, Burton talks about directing 'Live Fast and Prosper' and other Trek episodes, as well as the other projects he's been involved in. In addition, he was of course also asked about his possible participation in Trek X:
"The latest I've heard is that they are trying to come up with a story for the next film," he responds. "They're working on it. If they're successful at coming up with a story that all the powers that be - the studio, Rick [Berman] and Patrick [Stewart] - are happy with, then I guess we will be shooting it this time next year. I've also heard that they are developing a new series, but I have no information or details on that at all." Burton can anticipate the final question. "Would I be interested in directing a Star Trek: The Next Generation feature or episodes of the new series?" he asks. "Yes. I would be interested in that. Absolutely."
Click here for the full LeVar Burton interview. Also new at the Trek Galaxy is an interview with Ethan Phillips (Neelix), who ironically enough spends a large part of the interview praising LeVar Burton's capabilities as director. He himself, however, has no real ambition to direct:
"I'm an actor," he insists. "I don't want to direct. Directing is a whole other thing. If I'm going to spend my time doing something other than acting, it's not going to be directing. It's going to be hiking or painting. It's going to be going to the movies or reading. I'm not interested in pushing cameras around. I'm not interested in photography. It has absolutely no interest to me at all. If somebody told me that I'd have 16 lives, I might explore directing in one of my lives. But I've only got one life and there's only so much time. That's why I'm not interested in directing."
In the full interview, also from Star Trek Monthly, Phillips talks about his favourite Neelix-episodes, the two independent features he's been involved in, and how he would like to see Neelix end up at the end of Voyager: as a Starfleet Academy teacher.
In the final new interview, Roxann Dawson talks about the character of B'Elanna Torres, and her relationship with Tom Paris:
Relationship territory is not second nature to Trek, which has had painfully few long-term couplings between core characters in the franchise's 30-plus year history. "Relationships are not something that Star Trek has dealt with very well," observes Dawson. "It's actually interesting, because Star Trek has explored so many aspects of interpersonal relationships throughout the more than 30 years it's been in existence. It's explored such tender subjects as racial conflict and political conflict and power conflicts - but one thing they haven't done, really, is explore the intimate relationship between a man and a woman. Star Trek has such a hopeful view of the future; it would be so nice for that hopeful view to enter into interpersonal relationships between men and women as mates, as life partners, and to see where that takes us. I hope that they explore that, because I think that
this is an opportunity to take Star Trek where it has not gone before."
The full interview was conducted by Melissa J. Pereson for the May 2000 issue of Cult Times magazine. It also contains Dawson's thoughts on the end of 'Voyager', as well as her plans for the future.
And finally, the official Jeri Lynn Ryan Homepage has put up transcript of the recent appearance by Jeri Ryan (Seven of Nine) on 'Politically Incorrect', together with ex-Duran Duran member John Taylor, 'The O'Reilly Factor' host Bill O'Reilly and Drew Carey.
Thanks go out to Gustavo Leao for the last two items!
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