Garrett Wang

[pbot]

Hey, I've just been reading some of Garrett Wang's comments on life post Voyager. I don't know him, and I can't say what he's feeling, but in my humble opinion, he just seems jaded. It makes me feel a bit sad to see that.

I remember a few years back, I was looking for work in animation and I'd just finished making a short film that had gotten into a few big festivals. I felt really good! I'd worked really hard on that film, I'd taken some chances, there were some great things about it, and I felt like I ought to be able to use this to get a job. Long story short, a year later, I was selling cellphones outside a used needle clinic.

Being a Chinese American actor, the roles that come one's way are very limited. I can imagine how tough things must have become after that Voyager bubble burst. He's stated (and I'm paraphrasing) that you'd think that after 7 years of acting on voyager it would lead to something more.

I remember feeling the same way, when I was selling cellphones. I guess to some degree, when you're in a creative position you're always a lot closer to working that cellphone store than you realize.

Looking back now, the line between doing what you love, doing what you're good at, and making a career can be very blurry. Kate Mulgrew talked about the rules of the "old boys club" and they are very much there in any industry. But I guess at the end of the days, there are the things that you do that give you personal satisfaction. Those are the things that always kept me going.

I know that I don't know Garrett Wang, and that I'm an outsider. I guess I saw enough of myself in his (justified) disappointment. But all artists have to deal with that. I'm working a creative job for a video game company in India now. Its a wonderful opportunity, a creative job where my thoughts and ideas matter, and working in India has allowed me to see the world in a new and very different perspective. I could never have imagined this happening while I worked in the cellphone store. Life can be bigger than you realize. Just my take on things I guess.

 

[Guy Gardener]

Adult onset Childstar Syndrome.

It's not as rare as you would think.

 

[PopBoy]

First of all - good luck in your new exciting paths!!! Sounds amazing.

I think the problem with Mr.Wang was his terrible acting. My floorboards are less wooden than his acting. Then when they'd toss a show to him it was rarely all that interesting.

I think his lack of work after the show...is down to this. Not really to do with some old gentlemens network. He's just not that good. Many of the actors on Voyager weren't that brilliant. You could almost see them thinking about the script as they filmed the scenes.

Plus, Garrett's break was on a small show that struggled with ratings AND The show was the star - not the individuals in it.

 

[pbot]

Thanks Popboy! I thought he was quite good, I mean, I felt the man had his moments.

 

[PopBoy]

Hmmm, i beg to differ but okay. For me, red flags went up immediately in the pilot. The kid was gonna struggle. I am sure now with age, the boy is a better actor (though Robert Beltran was equally patchy to be honest). Voyager had three very shoddy actors (Robert Beltran, Robert McNeill and Garrett Wang). The formers, when given a good script, eventually started to get better. Mr.Wang, for me, did not. Its like he would take a big gulp before speaking/acting and deliver the lines if you get my drift.

Ultimately though, even if he'd turned it around and was given amazing scripts....Star Trek is the star really. Rarely is it about the actors. Which is probably why few from the last three syndications have gone onto larger studio work. Its really something the agents shoulda informed Garrett about.

 

[Enterprise is Great]

It probably didn't help that he often showed up to the set late and didn't know his lines as well as he should have. And he was almost let go from the show due to that. He probably gained a reputation. Plus of course he was rather wooden. Hewas good in Timeless but that was a rare occurence.

 

[PopBoy]

Wow really. I never knew this....explains a lot then.

 

[Enterprise is Great]

The only thing that saved his butt was People magazine naming him one of the 50 most beautiful people IIRC.

 

[Relayer1]

Voyager had three very shoddy actors (Robert Beltran, Robert McNeill and Garrett Wang).

I can't let that go - Beltran was an OK actor who got steadily more disconnected as he realised his character was being treated like Sigourney Weavers in Galaxy Quest. He just started to phone it in. Robert McNeil was certainly OK and to be honest, for an (another) underdeveloped character Garrett Wang never stuck out as being poor.

There were poor actors in it - Tim Russ was unlikeable, Kate Mulgrews apalling Katherine Hepburn impression really grated and Roxann Dawson was very average...

 

[R. Star]

Yeah, Beltran was pretty good in the few episodes where the writers actually fleshed Chakotay out a little.

Robert McNeil was the second best actor on the show I'd say. He was about to project a fairly three dimentional character in an otherwise two dimentional setting.

Garrett Wang... I dunno, I guess Voyager needed a whipping boy and he was it from episode one.

 

[PopBoy]

Voyager had three very shoddy actors (Robert Beltran, Robert McNeill and Garrett Wang).

I can't let that go - Beltran was an OK actor who got steadily more disconnected as he realised his character was being treated like Sigourney Weavers in Galaxy Quest. He just started to phone it in. Robert McNeil was certainly OK and to be honest, for an (another) underdeveloped character Garrett Wang never stuck out as being poor.

There were poor actors in it - Tim Russ was unlikeable, Kate Mulgrews apalling Katherine Hepburn impression really grated and Roxann Dawson was very average...

Now you see I thought the aforementioned three were pretty good. Along with Jeri Ryan, Robert Picardo and Ms.Lien. Robert Beltran was (for me) insufferable. Its a shame the producers left his character in the way they did but perhaps they saw that he wasn't a very good actor.

 

[Relayer1]

Now you see I thought the aforementioned three were pretty good.

Aren't opinions great ? I've go tons of 'em !

 

[sonak]

Voyager had three very shoddy actors (Robert Beltran, Robert McNeill and Garrett Wang).

I can't let that go - Beltran was an OK actor who got steadily more disconnected as he realised his character was being treated like Sigourney Weavers in Galaxy Quest. He just started to phone it in. Robert McNeil was certainly OK and to be honest, for an (another) underdeveloped character Garrett Wang never stuck out as being poor.

There were poor actors in it - Tim Russ was unlikeable, Kate Mulgrews apalling Katherine Hepburn impression really grated and Roxann Dawson was very average...

Tim Russ "unlikeable?" I'd never heard that before. He was playing a pretty stoic character though, and on occasions like "Meld" when he got to step away from that, I thought he was very good.

 

[Relayer1]

Voyager had three very shoddy actors (Robert Beltran, Robert McNeill and Garrett Wang).

I can't let that go - Beltran was an OK actor who got steadily more disconnected as he realised his character was being treated like Sigourney Weavers in Galaxy Quest. He just started to phone it in. Robert McNeil was certainly OK and to be honest, for an (another) underdeveloped character Garrett Wang never stuck out as being poor.

There were poor actors in it - Tim Russ was unlikeable, Kate Mulgrews apalling Katherine Hepburn impression really grated and Roxann Dawson was very average...

Tim Russ "unlikeable?" I'd never heard that before. He was playing a pretty stoic character though, and on occasions like "Meld" when he got to step away from that, I thought he was very good.

I'm basing it on other characters. I really didn't like Sisko, Kira, Odo or Neelix at first. Through excellent writing, character development and great performances I grew to like the first three very much. The fact that I also grew to like Neelix speaks volumes for Ethan Phillips as an actor, because he was hardly well written !

Despite all the airtime and attention they got in the show, I disliked Tuvok (and Janeway) at least as much by the end of the show as I did at the start.

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

I thought Tim Russ was very nuanced which is just what you need playing a Vulcan.

 

[CaptJimboJones]

It should be pretty clear that, with a few very notable exceptions (Patrick Stewart being the chief one), acting in post-TOS Trek has NOT been a ticket to a great acting career. Yes, it provides a high-profile job and the opportunity for great experience, but is no guarantee of work once the job is over, and in some cases might even be a negative if casting directors see you as typecast as a "genre actor."

Those who have been most successful post-Trek, it seems, are those who focused on the directing and production side of the business (Jonathan Frakes, Roxann Dawson) rather than acting.

Not to knock Wang, but it seems like he felt entitled to a great acting career because he had been on Voyager. Unless you're an A-list star, nobody in Hollywood is guaranteed a shot, even those with supporting roles on long-running shows like Voyager. That's just the reality of the business, and Star Trek was no different.

 

[pbot]

Fair enough I suppose.

 

[Cyke101]

On the one hand, I really want to sympathize with Wang's complaints, and I especially agree with the OP about the limited roles for Asian Americans out there (even worse when a role that's written for or with Asian American actors in mind is cast by someone else, but that's beside the point) -- for a few Asian American actors I know, to see Wang in a (then-) modern day TV show, as a regular no less, was a point of inspiration. The clashes between the casts and the Powers That Be are no secret and have spanned essentially every Trek incarnation, though it seemed to be highest for both DS9 and Voyager.

On the other hand, however, I feel like he had (or has?) held on to that bitterness a wee bit too long. I'm a fan of Beltran and think the Voyager writers severely underused both Chakotay and Kim. But while Beltran and Wang voiced similar complaints after Voyager, Beltran hit the stage double-time as his escape and coping mechanism. I won't say that I know Wang either, but I'd say Beltran has handled himself better. For Wang's acting as well, I feel that if he had gotten more encouragement from the producers and better material, he could have learned to improve his acting chops as the show went on. I'd like to think MacNeill and Siddig similarly improved over their 7 year runs.

Ultimately though, I'm merely an internet commentator/outsider. If Wang really has pulled himself up by his acting boot straps, then more power to him.

 

[pbot]

One thing that's worth mentioning, I think that they're all good actors. When given episodes that really allowed them to shine, you definitely saw that. For example, remember that episode where Chakotay was tortured by the Kazon?

Also, yes, Garrett Wang in Timeless.

I'm no professional actor, but I always thought as an actor, the best thing to do was to do local or off off off broadway theatre and auditions when they come up. You'll probably wait tables during the day, but at least you can do your passion acting at night.

 

[Guy Gardener]

Two actors auditioned for the part of Harry Kim.

I've always wondered who that other guy was?