Did you guys know that Susan Gibney (Dr. Leah Brahms on TNG and Commander Erika Benteen of DS9) auditioned for the role of Seven of Nine? I had heard that she auditioned for Janeway, but never for Seven of Nine! I can't imagine anyone else playing the role of Seven because Jeri Ryan did so well. Oh, Susan was also considered for the role of the Borg Queen on First Contact... if she got that role then maybe she could have appeared on Voyager as the Borg Queen. Read the StarTrek.com article about with the Susan Gibney interview about her auditions. BTW I also posted a thread on the TNG section of Trekbbs 'cause Susan Gibney auditioned for the parts of Deanna Troi and Tasha Yar!
Hudson Leick also audtioned for Seven of Nine. I couldn't see it at first, until someone reminded me of the ep where the actress who normally plays Xena's mortal screeching enemy actually played the calm cool collected warrior princess. http://hercxena.wikia.com/wiki/Ten_Little_Warlords Hudson had the chops to play Seven, but as with all great roles, Jeri Ryan tuly made Seven her own, to the point that I'd hesitate to entertain anyone else in the role.
I was never taken with Susan Gibney that much, though the producers seemed to love her and kept bringing her back. I'm sort of surprised they didn't fit her into Enterprise after all the auditions and parts she did for them.
I can't say I heard this one, only her consideration for Janeway. But on a related line, wasn't Nigel Havers one of the finalists for Captain before the determination was irrevocably made for a woman to get the role? If this had happened, I think I would have had a lingering wish that he might have spent a little time in the holodeck doing sprints or hurdles in between quaffs of the finest bubbly.
I didn't know who she was either, until I watched Xena: Warrior Prmcess. Vanessa Angel was actually cast to play X:WP in a 3 episode arc on Hercules: Legendary Journeys Alas (for her, not us) when she was to fly from England to New Zealand to take on the role, she got sick and bowed out. Shades of Mulgrew stepping into Janeway's shoes when Bujold bolted, Lucy Lawless stepped into Xena's leather boots and the rest, as they say, is history. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanessa_Angel
As is the case with "x was going to play y", we only have the actual portrayal to gauge against. Jeri had the role and that's all we know. If Gibney had been 7 of 9, we'd be saying "Jeri Ryan couldn't have pulled off that role".
What came first, the idea for the ratings boosting catsuit, or the acting chops of Jeri Ryan? That would answer all you need to know about that particular casting process.
The same could be said about Tricia Helfer and her role as Number Six on the reimagined Battlestar Galactica. A fashion model who IIRC had no significant acting credits to her name and who basically seemed to be a teenaged boy's wet dream (or Gaius "effing" Baltar's wet dream) most of season 1. And yet over the 4 years of BSG she not only played multiple versions of "Six", she played multiple versions with-in ONE scene and you truly believed they were different women! Jeri is gorgeous and "statuesque" and because of that some people mistakenly assume all she's good for is sexing up a scene. Did TPTB know what they were actually getting when they cast Jeri on Voyager? Hell no. Just like they didn't know what they were getting when they cast Genevieve Bujold. On the one hand, (Jeri) it worked out. On the other hand... well, lets just say it STILL worked out since Mulgrew ultimately landed the job. Too bad Mulgrew was too insecure by season 4 to not be swayed by the same prurient thoughts many others harboured re: such an extremely fortunate casting.
I loved that Convention where someone asked about a sexual relationship between Janeway & Seven, and Mulgrew asked, "Have you SEEN that suit? How would I ever have got her out of it?"
I guess what came first was the inclination to add the Borg, any Borg, to play an integral role in the future path of the show. As in "isn't about damn time"!!! The fact that it was a female borg that took the form of Jeri Ryan was strictly for the, uh, "elucidation" of all the punters that the show runners hoped to draw in. The fact that this actress provided a top notch and nuanced performance over four seasons was the real treasure and the one that endures!!!
Perhaps, if he hadn't spent so many of his formative years amongst 'em as Seven had, we might have seen a less inhibited ex-drone who, at least occasionally while regenerating, would have been comfortable wearing speedos or some such Voyager holo-recreation type garb!!