Anyone else love to be an actor on Star Trek?

[ReadyAndWilling]

I can't be the only one here.

Seems so great to be apart of something with such a rich fan base.

Then again, you have people like Beltran who say being on Trek was the worst time of their life.

 

[RegFan]

I'd like to be an extra. I'm not good at acting, and I don't want to be famous.

 

[Nardpuncher]

I'd love it, but that's because I'm not an actor.

I can understand though that an actor that's been around a while would not necessarily find Star Trek the most fulfilling work.
Sure the pay would be good, as many actors want a steady paycheck, but saying "Sensors non responsive sir," wouldn't be the highlight of an acting career.

 

[Quinton O'Connor]

I'm going for a Liberal Arts AA to help pursue professional acting and I've been in some local shows in the past, to generally positive reception. To say I'd love to be an actor on Star Trek is probably understatement material.

 

[Quinton O'Connor]

I'd love it, but that's because I'm not an actor.

I can understand though that an actor that's been around a while would not necessarily find Star Trek the most fulfilling work.
Sure the pay would be good, as many actors want a steady paycheck, but saying "Sensors non responsive sir," wouldn't be the highlight of an acting career.

This is certainly true. And to say the least, the odds of landing a permanent role are near-none to none.

 

[DevilEyes]

I can't be the only one here.

Seems so great to be apart of something with such a rich fan base.

Then again, you have people like Beltran who say being on Trek was the worst time of their life.

But you also have people like Visitor who say that being on Trek was the best time of their life.

It depends on how the role is written and whether it is challenging enough for an actor, and can also be influenced by the working environment, chemistry with the other actors, by how much the actor connects to the role or likes the show in general, etc... just like in any other show. I don't see what's so special or different about Trek.

I'd love it, but that's because I'm not an actor.

I can understand though that an actor that's been around a while would not necessarily find Star Trek the most fulfilling work.
Sure the pay would be good, as many actors want a steady paycheck, but saying "Sensors non responsive sir," wouldn't be the highlight of an acting career.

That's if your role is to stand there and utter meaningless technobabble. On the other hand, you might get a very emotional, dramatic storyline, even if you're just a guest star who is to be killed at the end of the episode. Again, I don't see what differentiates Star Trek from any other franchise or TV show out there. Is standing there and saying "sensors not responsive, sir" any different than standing there and saying "The patient is in stable condition" or "The estimated time of death is 12 hours"?

 

[Quinton O'Connor]

"The killer must have known his stuff."

"Ah, Mr. Seinfeld! Your reservations checked out. This way."

 

[Nardpuncher]

I can't be the only one here.

Seems so great to be apart of something with such a rich fan base.

Then again, you have people like Beltran who say being on Trek was the worst time of their life.

But you also have people like Visitor who say that being on Trek was the best time of their life.

It depends on how the role is written and whether it is challenging enough for an actor, and can also be influenced by the working environment, chemistry with the other actors, by how much the actor connects to the role or likes the show in general, etc... just like in any other show. I don't see what's so special or different about Trek.

I'd love it, but that's because I'm not an actor.

I can understand though that an actor that's been around a while would not necessarily find Star Trek the most fulfilling work.
Sure the pay would be good, as many actors want a steady paycheck, but saying "Sensors non responsive sir," wouldn't be the highlight of an acting career.

That's if your role is to stand there and utter meaningless technobabble. On the other hand, you might get a very emotional, dramatic storyline, even if you're just a guest star who is to be killed at the end of the episode. Again, I don't see what differentiates Star Trek from any other franchise or TV show out there. Is standing there and saying "sensors not responsive, sir" any different than standing there and saying "The patient is in stable condition" or "The estimated time of death is 12 hours"?

No, but not many actors have any of that in mind either when they say they want to be an actor.
Even if you're the captain of the ship (who usually is the star of the show) many times you're just saying mundane stuff and even if it's serious you may be doing rather silly things, like Patrick Stewart doing great acting in the episode Family but it's all about him coming to terms with being a robot for a few days.

 

[You_Will_Fail]

I'd rather work on the creative side.

 

[DevilEyes]

No, but not many actors have any of that in mind either when they say they want to be an actor.

What do they have in mind, in your opinion?

Even if you're the captain of the ship (who usually is the star of the show) many times you're just saying mundane stuff

I'm sure that never happens on cop shows or medical or lawyer shows.

and even if it's serious you may be doing rather silly things, like Patrick Stewart doing great acting in the episode Family but it's all about him coming to terms with being a robot for a few days.

It's a silly thing to portray a man coming to terms with having been recently abducted, abused, stripped of his own will and control over his body and mind, and forced to participate in a mass murder? OK...

 

[Quinton O'Connor]

Beggars can't be choosers and beggars and actors are cut from the same cloth, but I really don't think I'd be doing anything too terribly more fascinating on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit or Grey's Anatomy than I would be doing on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

 

[Thor Damar]

I have to admit that there is a part of me that would love to portray a character in the Trek-verse. I'm sure that you can guess what race I'd like to act as

 

[Captrek]

I think it would be fun. I’m not especially photogenic, so they’d probably bury me under alien makeup. It would also be fun to be a script doctor. Or both, so I’d really have some influence in creating a character I’d like to play.

 

[Nardpuncher]

No, but not many actors have any of that in mind either when they say they want to be an actor.

What do they have in mind, in your opinion?

Even if you're the captain of the ship (who usually is the star of the show) many times you're just saying mundane stuff

I'm sure that never happens on cop shows or medical or lawyer shows.

and even if it's serious you may be doing rather silly things, like Patrick Stewart doing great acting in the episode Family but it's all about him coming to terms with being a robot for a few days.

It's a silly thing to portray a man coming to terms with having been recently abducted, abused, stripped of his own will and control over his body and mind, and forced to participate in a mass murder? OK...

You assume too much.
I never said cop shows were better. I never said anything about cop shows at all.
Stewart did a great job in that episode, but if you think many actors would be happy when they ask "What's my motivation for this scene?" and the answer is that cyborgs took over your body and made you blow up your own side's starships, then maybe you know as little about what actors want as I do.

 

[DevilEyes]

^ It helps when you know exactly what your motivation is, since it's about something that happened in an episode you filmed previously. Not the greatest example to pick.

It seems to me like you're arguing that actors and directors are all incredibly stupid and lack any amount of imagination, so the former are incapable of understanding the context of a science fiction plot, and the latter are incapable of explaining it.

 

[Nerys Ghemor]

I have to admit that there is a part of me that would love to portray a character in the Trek-verse. I'm sure that you can guess what race I'd like to act as

Me too, of course! Even a small role would be an awesome experience! Especially the first time I got to see this in the mirror:

 

[Starbreaker]

Absolutely. I wouldn't even mind being the guy who gets vaporized on Rygel VIII

 

[Nardpuncher]

^ It helps when you know exactly what your motivation is, since it's about something that happened in an episode you filmed previously. Not the greatest example to pick.

It seems to me like you're arguing that actors and directors are all incredibly stupid and lack any amount of imagination, so the former are incapable of understanding the context of a science fiction plot, and the latter are incapable of explaining it.

No, I don't think I said that, but I do think that many actors , if they had the choice, would prefer what we might call meatier roles that let them use all they've learned.
There are many great peformances in all of Trek, but it's usually the case that many actors on the show are saying routine stuff.
I don't know how else to put it so that we don't have any more misunderstandings but I just think that many actors though they are happy to be in Trek and appreciate the pay may also want to be doing stage work or starring in what I carefully call more serious acting.

 

[sevenstars]

I would like a small but recurring role as a prominent Vulcan, please.

 

[DevilEyes]

^ It helps when you know exactly what your motivation is, since it's about something that happened in an episode you filmed previously. Not the greatest example to pick.

It seems to me like you're arguing that actors and directors are all incredibly stupid and lack any amount of imagination, so the former are incapable of understanding the context of a science fiction plot, and the latter are incapable of explaining it.

No, I don't think I said that, but I do think that many actors , if they had the choice, would prefer what we might call meatier roles that let them use all they've learned.
There are many great peformances in all of Trek, but it's usually the case that many actors on the show are saying routine stuff.
I don't know how else to put it so that we don't have any more misunderstandings but I just think that many actors though they are happy to be in Trek and appreciate the pay may also want to be doing stage work or starring in what I carefully call more serious acting.

Um, most actors in minor and background roles any show are saying routine stuff, and only a few actors in any show get "meatier roles".

And it would be very nice if you would define what exactly you "carefully call more serious acting".

If you don't see all the great drama and character moments that Trek has produced, I'm not sure why you're a fan at all? For the technobabble and explosions? Trek shows have never been strong on science - what they are notable for is drama, characters and social/ethical themes.

I was trying not to say this before, but you just seem to be stuck on some ridiculous snobbish ideas about the so-called "high" and "low" culture. Is being in a Shakespeare play "serious acting"? You know that the guy was just writing popular stuff that the audience liked, with lots of sex and violence, recycled plots, and a notorious disregard for historical and geographical accuracy, was despised by some of his university-educated colleges, and probably never expected his plays to ever be remembered as some sort of high art?

Or maybe you really have an insight into how actors in general think, because you've known or interviewed so many of them... in that case, could you please provide some quotes (anonymous if you must) of all those actors who hold those opinions? Or, if you know just as much as the rest of us, maybe you could just provide quotes and links to interviews by actors who claim they didn't like working on Trek because they thought that they could never do something worthwhile there, let's compare that to the list of actors who claim in their interviews that the roles on Trek were the best or among the best in their life.