Guest actor on Star Trek who almost played Captain Janeway before Kate Mulgrew

When “Star Trek: Voyager” was in development in 1994, the franchise was hot. “Star Trek: The Next Generation” was making its way to the big screen in the form of “Star Trek: Generations,” and its spinoff “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” was finding its stride at the beginning of its third film. season. However, “Deep Space Nine” was set on a space station, and the head of the franchise felt that an additional “Trek” show should be created to incorporate more traditional star treks. “Voyager” is set aboard a Starfleet ship, the USS Voyager, stranded after 75 Earth years.

Show creators Rick Berman and Michael Piller Recently the late Jerry TaylorWhile developing their series, they decided they wanted the captain of the USS Voyager to be a woman, as all previous “Star Trek” captains had been men. Captain Katherine Janeway was created, and casting began in due course. Ultimately, the trio settled on veteran actress Kate Mulgrew for the role, and many liked Mulgrew’s natural openness and authority; Janeway was a great character, and Mulgrew helped her grow.

But Mulgrew wasn’t there from the beginning. In fact, Deep Expeditions can probably tell you about the two infamous days on Voyager’s set when The role of Janeway was played by famous Canadian actress Genevieve Bujold. Bujold, unaccustomed to working in television, was unable to handle the show’s fast pace, and her energy was extremely low (as surviving footage indicated). She resigned two days later, and Mulgrew came in to replace her at the last minute.

Fewer would probably be able to tell you about a third actress who was also in serious consideration for Janeway. Susan Gibney, who previously played Dr. Leia Brahms in two episodes of “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” apparently went through a very long audition process for “Voyager,” and was apparently on the cusp of landing the gig when Bujold was cast. Gibney talked about the many auditions she had for V.I 2014 interview with StarTrek.com.

And from the way Gibney describes it, she and Bujold were considered at the same time. Bujold, being the more popular of the two, seemed most likely to get the role of Captain Janeway, but Gibney felt that the showrunners were really targeting her. After all, she was already part of the “Star Trek” family thanks to two episodes of “Next Generation.” Dr. Brahms explanation for beginnerswas the designer of the USS Enterprise, and had a rivalry with Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton), the ship’s chief engineer. Their first meeting is extremely awkward, as Geordie falls in love with a hologram of Dr. Brahms. Gibney got the role of the hologram and the real-life Leia.

Gibney was comfortable with Star Trek. She knew the people involved and was ready to lead a new series. She was brought back to the Voyager set time and time again to prove herself. She even got to wear a captain’s uniform. From Jibney’s memories:

“They did a full screen test and brought in the other actors and crew. We did a lot of hair tests and a lot of costume tests, and then they brought in everyone who was cast and the whole crew. They shot most of the scenes in the pilot that day. Was that the first test or the second test ?I had three auditions for them every time I thought it was over…I think I was opposite Genevieve (when Bujold left) and I was told, ‘Susan, you have to go back to L.A.’ And then there was another audition.”

Securing lead roles on major TV shows is, of course, a long and arduous process that involves multiple levels of approval from all the studio heads, but even by that measure, Gibney seems to have managed to evade.

Gibney recalled having to audition back to back with several other actresses who she felt were not good for the role. She suspected that her audition partners were strategic choices by executive producer Rick Berman to make her look better. Unfortunately, that didn’t seem to be enough, as Mulgrew eventually got the job. As I remembered:

“I auditioned with another woman, but obviously the other woman didn’t perform as well that day as they would have liked, so they thought Rick was trying to get me on the show by not having good people opposite me. Then we went to the final round, “In any case, we know the results of that round, which took weeks and weeks. It was a long process.”

Gibney said she received something of a “consolation prize” for her extended efforts. She was eventually cast in a two-part episode titled “Deep Space Nine” as a character named Commander Erika Benteen. In the first part, “The Home Front” (January 1, 1996), she was a commander. In the second part, “Paradise Lost” (January 8), the character is promoted to the rank of captain. She is assigned to command a starship called the USS Lakota.

So, Gibney didn’t get to play Captain Janeway, but she did get to play a legitimate Starfleet captain, even if it was only for one episode. And because Trekkies have such good memories, they will forever be remembered as an integral part of “Star Trek” lore. As many have argued “Deep Space Nine” is the best of all the “Star Trek” shows. – Better than “Voyager” for sure – so Gibney will always have that thing about him that makes him arrogant.