Krige’s Borg Queen

Fourteen years ago today, Star Trek: First Contract was released and audiences were introduced to the Borg Queen, played by Alice Krige.

Krige found that the Star Trek: The Next Generation actors were a fun bunch who genuinely liked one another. “What pops is what a truly joyful experience it was,” she said about making First Contact. “They were like the best repertory theater, that cast. They hadn’t worked together, the Next Gen group, for about two years, I think, and they were really delighted to see each other and to work with each other again. It was just a ball. It was just flat-out fun from beginning to end for me. ”

Another thing that Krige noticed about the Next Generation cast was their professionalism and loyalty to each other. “…Everyone was absolutely determined that it should be a good film because they really wanted to support Jonathan Frakes (who was debuting as a feature film director after having directed several TNG episodes),” Krige explained. “There’s always a sense of focus on a set, but there was a kind of cohesion on First Contact. People stepped in behind him, I felt, to support him in the most loving way. I’m not saying that he needed support. I’m just saying that it was like a truly functional family supporting one of its own. If I look back on it, that was what was most unique about the experience.”

Susanna Thompson played the Borg Queen in several Voyager episodes (Dark Frontier, Unimatrix Zero Parts I and II) but Krige returned for the series finale, Endgame. Krige chose not to watch Thompson’s performances before taking on the role again. “I decided that I would not watch Susanna,” she said. “It had absolutely nothing to do with Susanna. Whoever had played the role, I would have made the same decision. But I did ask to receive all the scripts. And I read them. I read all of the Voyager episodes that the Borg Queen was in, but I didn’t watch them. I didn’t want something in my head, in my imagination. I needed my performance to happen in the moment, and I didn’t even watch First Contact again. So not only did I not watch Susanna, I didn’t watch First Contact. I just focused on the stories I’d been sent, that had been filmed, and on the new script for Endgame.”

Krige appeared recently in The Sorcerer’s Apprentice as Morgana le Fay. The Sorcerer’s Apprentice was released in July.

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