Is it true that some of the cast didn't get along?

I recently heard that some of the cast members didn't get along in real life (particularly Colm Meaney and Alexander Siddig). Is this true? If so, what beef did they have with each other?

 

Meanney and Siddig would hang out at pubs. All our relationships should be so bad.

No, the actors did not hate one another. They were not chummy as a group, like the TNG cast, not were they hostile, as Mulgrew was to Ryan. They tended to form groups, but generally remained professional. Indeed, any disagreements that were had were over acting decisions.

 

Yeah, this is definitely the first I've ever heard about anyone not getting along. Everything I've read concurs with Bad Thoughts, that they all got along fine but it was more about the work.

 

I wish I could remember where (tried to find it, but couldn't) but somewhere along the line I saw or read an interview with Alexander Siddig where he mentioned that early on Avery Brooks tried to take him under his wing, but by the end of the show they weren't as close. I don't know that that translates into not getting along as much as just having different interests or whatever, but that's the only thing I can think of that's even in the ballpark.

 

The worst incident I've heard of is an argument between Auberjonois and Brooks during Far Beyond the Stars over the type of anger the characters should portray. It was over professional matters.

OTOH, Garrett Wang and Robert Beltran intercepted cast members, led by Kate Mulgrew, who hoped to get Jeri Ryan fired because she received too much attention. That's simply petty.

 

Coworkers don't always get along like pals. In any workplace it's possible for beefs and rivalries to come up.

Kor

 

I saw some convention Q&A panel recently where Terry Farrell made some "I know we were the difficult cast"-type comment, and everyone laughed along in that "what a hilariously comic understatement" way. It threw me because it didn't jibe with the sense I'd gotten from them, though of course it's impossible to know what the behind-the-scenes of a show really is.

I always thought the three made an interesting contrast... TNG had their "best friends forever" vibe, DS9 always felt to me like professionals focused on doing the work, and then there was VOY, seemingly the workplace from hell. You really see it in what ends up on screen.

 

For some reason, I have this memory of the cast not really getting along leading up to What We Leave Behind. It seems like they get along at conventions though, but like any workplace environment, you have your ups and downs.

 

I vaguely remember reading something about Siddig being a jerk in the early days and missing a cast photoshoot because he couldn't be bothered to show up. I wish I could remember the full details but take it with a pinch of salt. He is absent from the Season Four cast picture however.

Colm Meaney and Rosalind Chao must be friendly because she was at his wedding a few years ago.

I believe Armin Shimerman and Rene Auberjonois have worked together quite often post DS9.

No idea about anyone else.

 

Siddig had some dispute about toy rights, and then he had his passive aggressive phase over turning into Spock. Those were sources of tension in the cast.

Visitor was/is the glue of the cast. She got along with everyone--obviously Siddig--but has been close to Auberjonois and Brooks. Siddig and Meaney are close. Brooks is close to Lofton and has been close to Meaney. Auberjonois and Shimmerman are close. Farrell is close to Dorn and Brooks. They tend to break up in terms of proximity, whether in Los Angeles, New York, or Europe.

 

It's possible for people to work together and get along, but friendships don't necessarily evolve out of it. The best example I know is the relationship between Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman from Mythbusters. They worked well together, and respected each other professionally, but both have openly admitted that they weren't "friends" off-camera.

 

Dave Rossi (who worked behind the scenes) wrote about some of this stuff in the old (UK) Star Trek magazine... circa around 2006, but I can't remember the exact issue.

By all accounts, those actors who were "theatrically trained" and took the craft very seriously indeed, didn't necessarily gel with some of the younger/newer-to-acting stars like Siddig and Farrell.

Armin Shimmerman has stated numerous times that Avery Brooks was not particularly interested in being good friends with anyone outside of Cirroc Lofton (find some of those interviews where he refers to him as "Mr. Brooks" and you'll get the 'read between the lines' subtext) - again, no unpleasantness but not 'friends' - just colleagues.

Michael Dorn mentioned that he was shocked at how serious/"stuffy" the cast were when he joined - but remember, he came from TNG where the cast were all mates/saw each other outside of work etc. DS9 was definitely not that place. The cast took the work seriously, and the atmosphere reflected that.

Terry Farrell was basically left out in the cold by the cast when she tried to make various demands of the producers in season six - (allegedly) some of the cast said they'd back her, then they didn't, then she was off the show.

So, I'm sure there were times when different individuals were unhappy at other individuals, but I don't think a statement like "they didn't get on" is accurate. They were work colleagues, and - like many of us with some work colleagues - did not consider them anymore than that.

I think as an audience we always hope that some of the great friendships/relationships we see on screen must come from similar off-screen, but it is rarely the case e.g. George Peppard and Mr T. (The A-Team) , James Bolam and Rodney Bewes (The Likely Lads), and so many other examples!

 

I remember hearing stories of Meany taking Sidding out on St Patricks day for drinks/ pub crawl so I'm gonna guess they were fairly close; at least in relation to the rest of the cast.

Could this not be comedic overstatement? As in yeah we were the difficult cast compared to the other Trek show across the lot?

 

So...

Shatner and Nimoy were BFF Until they fell out before Nimoy's death

Everyone in the TOS cast hated Shatner except Nimoy

All the TNG cast are BFF

Only Dorn liked Muldaur

All the Voyager cast got along except Mulgrew and Ryan

Brooks only befriended Lofton and Farrell?

Any ideas about the Enterpise cast?

 

I think during the original run, Shatner and Nimoy were often at odds with one another.

As for Voyager, it would seem the men were quite chummy. Beltran, though, confronted Mulgrew several times, mostly over Ryan.

And I am pretty sure Brooks only did film and tv for the money . He would film his classes on the DS9 sets. I don't think his wife moved with him to California. And depending on how loosely he was speaking, Brooks may have still been driving a Volkswagen Rabbit after several seasons. He really wasn't interested on settling in.

ETA: I am not sure what to think of Farrell's statement. She admits herself that the cast was often frustrated that she could not nailed down scenes as quickly as they would have liked, which drew out filming times. It also seems that the fan, assigned to protect her makeup in the early seasons, was as a sore topic. That may mean that Auberjonois and Shimmerman, who were very handicapped by their prosthetics, may have been particularly annoyed with Farrell.

"Difficult" could also mean the most opinionated. I would guess that Farrell is saying that the DS9 cast was more willing to make comments and suggestions to producers, directors and each other than the other 90s casts. Visitor, Shimmerman, and Auberjonois were clearly outspoken, and Siddig and Farrell had their squabbles with the studio.

 

Anyone know the whole story of why Terry Farrell left the show? I’ve only heard bits and pieces.

 

There are many dimensions to the story. My own understanding, after listening to and reading dozens of interviews of Farrell, is that she was getting new offers for roles in television, and she either wanted the leverage to pursue them or better pay. Berman refused both and decided to play games instead, and in the process, he may have been a sexist asshole. Subsequently, she chose not to renew her contract.

 

Other than what is publicly available no, although the rumours she was harassed on set might well have been a factor

 

Yep, that’s exactly what I heard too. She said something about having a problem with “the people” and that’s why she left, and why they killed her off pretty brutally.

 

She's accused Rick Berman on several occasions of inappropriate behaviour, particularly regarding frequent comments about her breasts and their size. Given all the actresses apparently wore breast padding under their costumes and Berman is hardly unknown for bullying and sexist behaviour it's not at all hard to believe.