Dawson: If I Can’t Tell What It Is, I Won’t Sign It

Hitting the convention circuit is almost expected of Star Trek actors. It's a way fans can get close to their favourite stars, and actors can give something back to their audience. But as Voyager's Roxann Dawson (B'Elanna Torres) explained, communicating with fans isn't always an easy process.

"I’ve had my fair share of unpublishable letters from prisoners and men requesting my underwear," she told FHM Magazine. "And at conventions, people give me strange things to sign. My rule of thumb is if I can’t tell what it is, I won’t sign it."

Though fan letters are not always so odd. "I get sweet and torrid letters in equal measure," she explained. "People identify with her because she’s half alien and feels she doesn’t belong in the human world or the alien world. I got a letter from a kid whose parents were divorcing. He wrote to say he felt torn between his mother and his father and really identified his struggles with B'Elanna’s."

The actress explained the best thing about working on a science fiction show. "I love having a job on a spaceship. They’ve put so much money into the sets that when I walk on there, I truly feel I’m on a rocket and that we could take off at any moment. It’s a great set to be a master of and to command people from. It’s two stories of pure power."

Dawson was also asked whether she believed in aliens from outer space, and it was clear that her time onboard Voyager had influenced her thoughts on this subject. "Having lived with aliens for the last seven years," she said. "It seems so natural to me that if I ran into an alien on the street right now, I wouldn’t think twice."

You can read more from Roxann Dawson, including her explanation of B'Elanna's special powers and her favourite scifi thing, by following this link to FHM Magazine. You can also find wallpaper and slideshows featuring the actress at the web site.

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