Star Trek guest actor who almost played Captain Janeway to Kate Mulgrew

When Star Trek: Voyager was in development in 1994, the franchise was red hot. Star Trek: The Next Generation made its way to the big screen in the form of Star Trek: Generations, and its spinoff, Star Trek: Deep Space 9, found its way to the start of its third season. “Deep Space Nine,” however, took place aboard a space station, and franchise executives felt the need to create a spin-off “Trek” show to include more traditional star treks. Voyager was set aboard a Starfleet ship, the USS Voyager, that ran aground 75 years from Earth.

Show creators Rick Berman, Michael Peeler and the recently deceased Jerry Taylorwhen developing their series, decided that they wanted the captain of the USS Voyager to be a woman, since all the previous main Star Trek captains had been men. Captain Katherine Janeway was created and casting began on time. The trio eventually settled on the role of veteran actress Kate Mulgrew, and many liked Mulgrew’s natural openness and authority; Janeway was a great character and Mulgrew helped her grow.

But Mulgrew was not enthusiastic from the start. Indeed, astute Trekkies can probably tell you about the famous two days on the set of Voyager when Janeway was played by the famous Canadian actress Genevieve Bujold. Bujold, unaccustomed to working on television, could not handle the fast pace of the show and her energy was very low (as evidenced by her saved footage). She quit two days later and was replaced at the last minute by Mulgrew.

Few will likely be able to tell you about a third actress that Janeway was also seriously considering. It appears that Susan Gibney, who previously played Dr. Leia Brahms in two episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation, had a very long audition for Voyager and seemed on the verge of landing the gig when Bujold was cast. Gibney talked about her many auditions StarTrek.com interview in 2014.

From the way Gibney describes it, she and Bujold were considered at the same time. Bujold, being the more famous of the two, seemed more likely to get the role of Captain Janeway, but Gibney felt the showrunners were really pushing for her. After all, she was already a part of the Star Trek family thanks to two episodes of The Next Generation. Dr. Brahms, I will explain to the uninitiatedwas the designer of the USS Enterprise and had a rivalry with Jordy La Forge (LeVar Burton), the ship’s chief engineer. They had a very awkward first meeting as Geordi fell in love with a hologram of Dr. Brahms. Gibney was to play both the hologram and the real Leah.

Gibney was comfortable with Star Trek. She knew the people involved and was ready to host a new series. She was brought back to the Voyager set again and again to prove herself. She even had to wear the captain’s uniform. According to Gibney’s memoirs:

“They did a whole screen test and brought in other actors and crew. We did some hair tests and some costume tests, and then they brought in everyone who was in the cast and the whole crew. And they shot most of the scenes. Was it the first or second test that day? (when Bujold left) and I was told, “Susan, you have to fly back to Los Angeles.” Then there was another audition.”

Securing lead roles in major television shows is, of course, a long and arduous process that involves multiple levels of approval from all the studio heads, but even by that measure, Gibney seemed to be getting a pass.

Gibney recalled that she had to audition one after another with many other actresses who she didn’t think were a good fit for the role. She suspected that her audition partners were strategically chosen by executive producer Rick Berman to make her look better. Unfortunately, that didn’t seem to be enough as Mulgrew eventually got the job. As she recalled:

“I had an audition with another woman, but apparently the other woman didn’t perform as well as I wanted that day, so they thought Rick was trying to get me on the show without having enough good people opposite me. So , we know the results of I was there, and I was there, and I was there it was a long process.”

Gibney did say she received something of a “consolation prize” for her continued efforts. She was eventually cast in a two-part episode of Deep Space Nine as a character named Commander Erika Bentin. In the first part of “Homefront” (January 1, 1996), she was the commander. In the second installment of Paradise Lost (January 8), the character was promoted to captain. She was appointed as the commander of a starship called the USS Lakota.

So Gibney didn’t get to play Captain Janeway, but she did get to play a legitimate Starfleet captain, even if it was only for one episode. And because Trekkie has good memories, she will forever be remembered as an integral part of Star Trek lore. In addition, many argued that Deep Space 9 is the best of all the Star Trek series. — probably better than Voyager — so Gibney will always be smug about that.