Phillips Catches Rays In 'The Island'

Having left Star Trek: Voyager, Ethan Phillips has taken a trip to The Island.

Phillips, who played Neelix - the chef, Delta Quadrant liaison and occasional hero - appears as clone Jones Three Echo in the Michael Bay thriller about people who discover that they are scheduled to be killed and have their body parts harvested for the human beings from whom their DNA was taken. A fan reviewer at Ain't It Cool News wrote after a preview screening, "Ethan Phillips (I almost didn't recognize him without the Neelix make-up but his voice is very distinctive) has a great part as a conspiracy theorist who has no idea just how much he has underestimated the conspiracy."

The actor told Sci Fi Wire that after many years of putting on prosthetics for Voyager, he was happy to be appearing in a science fiction film using his own features. "It's nice that I don't have to wear the makeup," he admitted. "I save myself five hours a day of sitting in a makeup chair."

Phillips co stars with Ewan McGregor, but says that oddly enough the two never discussed the science fiction franchises that made them internationally famous. "I think he knows I was on Star Trek for seven years, and I know he did two Star Wars movies, and we never really...talked about that," said Phillips, who described The Island as "science fiction, but it's more of a thriller that takes place in the future...it's more like the evolution of science and what's happening with genetics."

The Arizona Reporter has a positive advance review of the movie, which also features Scarlett Johansson,Sean Bean and Djimon Hounsou. Star Trek: Enterprise recurring actor Randy Oglesby (Degra) appears as a surgeon.

The Internet Movie Database has more details on The Island, which opens July 22nd.

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