Alternate Enteprise Casting

[Praetor]

Most of us have heard of the other actors considered for Kirk, Picard, Sisko, Janeway, and numerous other main characters, but I haven't once heard of anyone else considered for the leads on 'Enterprise.' Do any of you know of anyone else considered, and if so do you have any prefences of those who didn't get the part?

Also, are there actors who may have guested on other series that would have been better suited to a certain part on 'Enterprise'?

 

[tranya]

Anyone, anyone other than Bakula. In retrospect, he was odd "genre stunt casting" (odd because Quantum Leap had been off the air for, what, 10 years by that point?). He looked great on paper, but was just wrong for the part -- lack of real charisma, wasn't able to turn the character into anything that could carry the weight of the series.

All IMHO, of course.

 

[Penguin]

Second Tranya. Bakkula was one of the most Wooden actors alive when he appeared in Enterprise. He was a chipher in the part. Believe that every other actor on the Bridge acted rings around him even Anthony Montgomery Who did very little and said even less.

 

[Cicero]

Immediately, I remember wishing (in vain, I knew) that Lara Flynn Boyle would be the captain of the NX-02 (I think this was prior to the Columbia being named), and I'd like to repeat that suggestion. Also, it's hard to imagine Connor Trineer or John Billingsley being replaced. Both were excellent in their parts.

Also, I know she's too old for the part as played by Linda Park, but I think Lucy Liu could've made a great, credible, and interesting Hoshi Sato. (Neither actor is of Japanese extraction, but that wasn't a barrier to the production, so I'll ignore it.)

 

[tranya]

Immediately, I remember wishing (in vain, I knew) that Lara Flynn Boyle would be the captain of the NX-02 (I think this was prior to the Columbia being named), and I'd like to repeat that suggestion. Also, it's hard to imagine Connor Trineer or John Billingsley being replaced. Both were excellent in their parts.

Agreed. And Jolene Blalock grew on me -- I initially loathed what T'Pol seemed to represent, but she did fine; same with Gary Graham. And both Linda Park and Dominic Keating were fine, just not given enough interesting stuff to do. I'm not a big fan of Montgomery, alas.

And Jeffrey Combs' Shran was one of the best bit parts in all of Trek. I would have loved to see what it would have been like had there been a 5th season and Shran joined the cast as a regular.

 

[Praetor]

Agreed regarding Bakula... nothing against the guy but he just seemed to lack some gravitas. I think Keith Carradine would have been a great CO, as his character A.G. Robinson showed in 'First Flight.'

Also agreed regarding the other cast members and Jeffrey Combs' Shran. Did anyone else feel like that all o the cast members seemed too young? Doesn't it seem like everyone should have been at least 35 to evoke a more NASA feel... like this is something the've all been training for their whole lives, and the're the best of the best? Seems almost too formulaic as was done.

 

[Captain X]

The only one I was tempted to recast for my show was to have Keith David as Archer rather than Scott Bakula.

 

[Praetor]

^That's pretty inspired.

He'll always be Goliath from 'Gargoyles' to me.

 

[SFRabid]

I wonder what a recasting of Archer would have done to Trip's long term popularity. Geeks across the world like the fact that it was the engineer that always got the girl.

 

[Skywalker]

Bakula wasn't wrong for the part, the part was wrong for Bakula.

 

[Penguin]

Praetor, I have long thought that A. J. Robinson would have been a far better Captain than Archer. Actor who played Robinson was wonderful even if it was only in one episode. Stood out more than Bakkula.

 

[TEH BABA]

Olmos as Archer.

 

[SFRabid]

I wonder how it would have gone with Trinneer as the captain and Bakula as the engineer and keeping the role as the son of the person that developed the warp 5 design. It makes more sense that the son of the developer of the warp 5 engine would be an engineer committed to making it happen.

 

[Captain X]

Bakula wasn't wrong for the part, the part was wrong for Bakula.

The part was wrong for whoever played it - just look at how Trip was in Twilight and Lorian was in E2.

 

[Skywalker]

Agreed, I just meant that there was nothing wrong with Bakula. I thought he was a good choice for a Trek captain. The character was the problem all along.

 

[Praetor]

I wonder how it would have gone with Trinneer as the captain and Bakula as the engineer and keeping the role as the son of the person that developed the warp 5 design. It makes more sense that the son of the developer of the warp 5 engine would be an engineer committed to making it happen.

Or simply giving Trip the engineering backstory and casting Keith Carradine as Archer?

But seriously, I guess no one has actually heard of anyone else who was considered for the main parts?

 

[MeanJoePhaser]

Peter Weller or Michael Beihn as Archer. Or Peter Weller as Archer and Biehn as Tucker. Neither is exactly young, though, and both would be genre stunt casting, too.

 

[rhodeschroma]

I've also been very curious as to the OP's question of alternate actors considered for each of the roles. From everything I had read - it seemed that BB / Paramount had decided early on they wanted Scott Bakula to play Archer, as I never heard a word about anyone else (though, if his contract negotiations went on for as long as it was reported they did, I'm sure they had a few others in mind or they'd have been screwed if Bakula declined the part.)

As far as Bakula as Archer, I feel strongly that it was the part, as written, that made the character lackluster. I have seen Bakula in plenty other things, live and film, and have never found him to be a poor actor, quite the contrary. Bakula found some semblance of a footing in season 4, but so much of the bs they had him spewing and the preachiness they engrained in the character was so bad it wouldn't have mattered if they would've had Shatner, Stewart, or frankly any non-trek A-list killer actor playing that part - much would've still been embarrassing and contrived. Man, I know acting is a job and the actors are there to do what the writers tell them to do, but geez - some of those Archer speeches were as cringeworthy as the theme, and ultimately, and unfortunately, became indelibly linked to Scott Bakula himself.

I wonder how it would have gone with Trinneer as the captain and Bakula as the engineer and keeping the role as the son of the person that developed the warp 5 design. It makes more sense that the son of the developer of the warp 5 engine would be an engineer committed to making it happen.

Although now it would be hard to visualize, if it would've been from day 1 - I can see Trinneer rising to the challenge. I do however think that Trinneer really shined as Trip and that it was a perfect casting job.
-

And last thing - why do the promos on Sci-Fi for ST:Enterprise say "Meet a future where... ... ... the captain gets all the ladies." - what ST:Enterprise are they referring to???? :-) I could see it if it said "the captain's good friend Trip gets...," "or the ship's engineer gets ...," etc. - but none of that would make much sense, marketing or otherwise - and it wouldn't relate back to Kirk, who even non-trek people know, did get all the ladies and was much more the captain they wanted than the Archer they got.


Rhodeschroma.

 

[Trekwatcher]

I'll chime in here and say that I thought that Bakula was good in the role of Archer. He was no more wooden and awkward in S1 than Stewart or Brooks were in their respective first seasons. By S2 he was clearly more comfortable with the role, and he really shined in S3 (my personal favorite season) and S4.

 

[Penguin]

Have to admit that you either Like Bakkula or you dislike (Hate?) him as Archer.

Cannot comment on Bakkula in other roles as I have never seen him in in any other parts.

I did see part of one episode of Quantum Leap where he was playing a chorus girl. embarssing. He looked like a Drag Queen who fondly thought he was acting feminine. Bakkula is over six feet Tall and no matter what outfit you put him in he won't fit into a chorus line. I admire a guy who will take on something like that knowing that he will look foolish.