01x11 - The Stars Above

[bunniefuu]

STAR TREK NARRATOR:

[ECHOING] Space,

the final frontier.

GATES MCFADDEN:

For well over years,

a fearless crew of pioneers

have faced the unknown...

Out there.

...on an endless quest,

looking for stars...

- That way.

- ... but not

up there in space.

More that direction.

GATES: Down here

in sector , otherwise

known as Hollywood,

where you'll find

every species in the galaxy.

You see, I'm an actor.

Every actor in town

worked on those shows.

GATES: And this is the story,

not of the captains...

- Aye, Captain.

- ...or the ships

they commanded,

- but of the first officers...

- Fire.

- ... crew...

- It was a great part

to get to play.

- ... the occasional doctor.

- That's odd.

GATES: Actually, that's me.

- And of course,

there were many, many aliens.

- [MEN SCREAMING]

- From the

original series...

- Captain. [LAUGHS]

... to the movies and

every T. V. series since...

- Engage.

Yes! It was one of those

great actor moments.

- It was horrifying.

- GATES: Star Trek means

so much to so many.

You're Brad Pitt, mate, and

they all want a piece of you.

You can get Trekkies

from birth to death.

GATES: And be it

the big bucks,

or sad minimum...

Co-workers were

a pain in the a*s.

GATES:...it's the actors

who brings Star Trek to life.

I fake for a living.

It's what I do.

[BOTH GROANING]

GATES: From

the series regulars...

I was hired

to play this character

on the pilot, and that was it.

GATES:... big parts,

guest spots...

Guest stars.

And I played Rain Robinson

in Star Trek: Voyager in .

[CLAPPER]

GATES: So, beam aboard

and hold on tight

as we boldly meet

the actors of Star Trek...

and you can see it all

from here in The Center Seat.

During stardate s,

mankind had long been

looking up at the stars...

- [RECORD SCRATCHES]

- ... and quickly back down again

toward movie screens.

ROBBY: That is correct, sir.

GATES: Fascinated by

an unknown fictional universe,

out of reach from science

but well within the grasp

of our imaginations,

ALIEN: We have come

to visit you in peace,

and with goodwill.

GATES: So for a young actor,

back then, making it big

sometimes meant

sh**ting for the stars.

I think they're all dead.

I was always interested

in science fiction,

and I had worked

in science fiction

all the way back to ,

Zombies of the Stratosphere.

GATES: Instead of plummeting

through the stratosphere

and back to earth with a thud,

Leonard Nimoy

was destined for

far greater heights.

I was working

pretty good at the time.

My career was

moving along nicely.

GATES: So, when an

ex-World w*r Il fighter pilot

turned airline pilot

turned LAPD officer

named Gene Roddenberry,

turned his hand

to script writing,

well, Leonard Nimoy's ears

didn't exactly prick up.

"He's going to produce a pilot,

you might be cast in it,

"It might be sold and

it might go on the air."

You know, it was

all those maybes.

GATES: And if

it was going to happen,

they'd probably need a...

- Captain.

- Yes, sir.

Shatner, I think

the one big film that he got

was Judgment at Nuremberg.

And everything...

His career pointed

right to him becoming,

uh, you know,

the next movie star.

Okay, Judge.

I would have kept him

away from television

if I were his agent.

But as it turns out,

look at this long,

long, long career.

Set warp factor one.

And there's just

a magnetism to him

in his portrayal that

I think is really key to

the success of the show.

GATES: But they

could not do it alone.

Regarding the casting,

the easiest place to go

was people that we

were both familiar with,

that we had both

used in The Lieutenant.

My first

television thing I did,

the producer-director

was Gene Roddenberry,

I was just like,

"Hey, let's go!" you know.

GATES: And boldly go,

they did.

It was

an interracial show

of equal people

doing equal things.

Transmission

has been cut off.

I was the first

African-American actress

in a leading role

on television.

GATES: But in Hollywood,

opportunities to play

an iconic character like this

are few and far between.

It's the luck of the draw

for freelance actors.

You never know

what's coming down the pipe.

This business

is so extraordinary

in terms of the serendipity,

in terms of the coincidence,

I know this saying.

It was invented in Russia.

Three years before Star Trek,

I was brought in to read

for a role

of a Russian student

who was defecting.

It was a show

called Mr. Novak.

[IN RUSSIAN ACCENT]

"You Americans

live in a world of dreams."

I remember,

that was one of the lines.

Three years later,

I get the call for Star Trek.

Makes me homesick,

just like Russia.

More like the Garden

of Eden, Ensign.

Of course, doctor.

The Garden of Eden

was just outside Moscow.

Now he looked like a Beatle.

But that was okay.

GATES: Be it

the original series or today,

actors need gigs,

and Star Trek had plenty.

As an agent,

I thought that Star Trek

was a great starting point

for a lot of people,

and often, it would be

their first television job.

I always thought

that I would come to LA,

and be on a great cop show

like NYPD Blue.

But then,

I started booking Star Trek.

That was my first gig.

GATES: The same

was true for Sarah Silverman.

You know, I was

taking it really seriously,

and I took a...

I went to an acting coach.

Go back down the hall,

take a left at Mars,

right at Haley's Comet.

I got to say

really serious lines like...

What the hell?

And, "Say hello

to Saturn for me."

GATES: Not just the shows,

movies too.

Star Trek was my first job

as an actor.

- What?

- It was the most integral part

of my career because it

not only put my foot

in the door, it shoved me

through the door.

- Thank you, sir.

- GATES: It was Star Trek.

Once you get in,

you never get out.

I was so happy to have a job.

It's a very unstable industry,

and when you get on a show,

you never know

if it's going to go.

Star Trek

is a very unique animal

in that way,

because this is, like,

the one rare occurrence

where you know

that if you're signing

a seven-year contract, you're

probably going seven years.

Holy cow. I don't know

if I'm gonna be alive

in seven years.

It's a nice little income

coming in for seven years,

and that's precisely

what I wanted to do

at that time in my career.

And suddenly,

I'm looking at these houses

that I've passed every day

for years, and years, and years,

- and going,

"Might get one of those."

- Always the optimist.

Mercedes came down the road,

"Might drive one of those."

GATES: But before

you can live long

in a prosperous fashion,

you need to get cast.

And the gatekeeper

in the Star Trek universe,

well, no, it wasn't

Gene Roddenberry,

it's this guy.

I was casting director

on Star Trek for years,

throughout most of

the four different TV series

and three movies.

The Next Generation,

Deep Space Nine, Voyager,

Enterprise, Generations,

First Contact

and Insurrection.

My job was to cast every

speaking role in each episode,

and every year, there were

- actors cast

on the shows.

GATES: But before

you try to calculate

just how many faces

Ron Surma must have

seen over those years,

he did cheat a little.

Once you

kind of get in the door,

you're in that world,

you're on their radar.

I've done

more different characters

in the Star Trek franchise

than any other actor.

In fact, somebody told me

it was in any

episodic franchise

in television.

GATES: So, he may have been

Ron's favorite, but he wasn't

exactly his number one.

Make it so, Number One.

The first thing I auditioned for

was Riker in that show,

and they had me in maybe

three times to read for him.

- Didn't get him.

- GATES: Nope.

This guy did.

- I'm here.

- [FRAKES AND INTERVIEWER LAUGH]

GATES: Jonathan Frakes'

portrayal of Riker,

though some said a little stiff

in the beginning...

And I'm trying

not to smile at him.

... soon became

a relaxed and beloved member

of the Next Generation crew.

Our lives were changed.

GATES: So, it's no wonder

that getting an audition

for Star Trek

could be the biggest moment

of some actors' careers.

No pressure.

Walk in the door,

and there are

five or six other guys

that kind of look

just like you.

And he's more famous

and a bit better looking.

[LAUGHS]

As I waited outside,

this minivan pulled up

and the doors slid open,

and out came this leg,

and in full

Seven of Nine regalia,

it was Jeri Ryan.

And I thought in that moment,

"This is what they want."

[CHUCKLES]

I mean, who am I kidding?

I'm not gonna get this part.

You would know

in the first minute,

if they had a chance

of getting the part or not.

GATES: With not long

to impress,

some actors bend over

backwards for the job.

At the very

last minute, I decided,

there was a chair there,

so I got in the chair,

I turned around upside down,

I threw my legs over

and I did the audition

upside down.

So, I went in and I'm doing

the audition like this,

you know,

but with a bit

of an English, you know,

accent, you know,

like, uh, kind of c*ck-ish.

One of the producers comes over

to me and says to me with

a very stern face,

he goes, there are

no accents in Star Trek.

You're not from

this province, are you?

And neither are you.

And I cranked it up

as far as I could because

[CHUCKLING] I thought there's...

I'm not leaving

anything on the table

[LAUGHING]

when I walk out of here

because I really wanted it.

- I really wanted to get it.

- GATES: Don't worry. He did.

- Yes, sir.

- GATES: Sometimes,

it's a grind.

So, I had

a couple of auditions,

...which I think

I came in four times.

It was another audition

among many.

You're brought in for,

like, six auditions.

I auditioned, uh,

seven times over six weeks.

And now,

you want to try it again?

You have to make

an immediate impact in the room.

GATES: And sometimes,

you need a little luck.

I guess so.

I went in there,

Avery says,

"You were the only person

that gave me a hug

in the audition."

You know, "You said, 'Dad,'

and you gave me a hug."

And that was a smart move

as the young Cirroc.

GATES: And then, sometimes,

you just have to wing it.

I had never seen the series.

So, I went,

"Hi. I'm Gates," you know.

"Is there a part you want

me to, um, audition for?"

And they said, "Well,

there's three women's parts.

"Just pick whichever one

you want to do."

And I picked the one

that I thought was the funniest,

and it was about

the last funny scene

I ever saw for the character.

These aren't the remains

of the ambassador.

But it's not just

the main characters.

A big part of Star Trek

is the supporting cast.

All that water.

When I went in to read,

the producers would say,

"No, we want him to be meaner."

[ARCHER GROANS]

I kept telling them

I don't agree.

It's a shame.

Uh, I remember thinking

in my mind, "Oh, man,

"I'm either going to get

this job or I'm never going

"to work in

this town again." [LAUGHS]

Some of the best auditions

you'll get, you'll ever do

don't go anywhere,

and some of the ones you

don't think twice about,

suddenly, the next thing

you know...

- [BOTH SCREAM]

- [SPEAKING OTHER LANGUAGE]

GATES: John Billingsley,

who played Dr. Phlox

on the series, Enterprise,

made an interesting

actor's choice

for his audition.

I punctuated the scenes

with occasional squawks.

I thought, perhaps, in moments

of rapture, joyous transport,

he would... [SQUAWKS]

and I auditioned,

and they seemed to like it,

and they brought me back

and I squawked,

and they brought me

back again, and I squawked,

and we had the first table read,

and I squawked.

And all the time,

I'm thinking, "Am I a bird?"

"I don't know. They're

not making me look like a bird."

[SQUAWKS]

I happened to be there

when he was going to sh**t

his first scene,

which was the scene

he'd auditioned with.

I think he went with...

[MIMICS SQUAWKING]

And you just heard this,

and bear in mind,

he's done this through

all the auditions

that he's had.

- [SQUAWKS]

- And you just heard this,

"Cut! Cut!"

"God."

"Are you [BEEP] me?"

GATES: Or as John himself

remembers it...

"John, quit [BEEP] around"

Just so I knew I wasn't a bird.

GATES: Of course,

some characters

have been more successful

in developing

a trademark sound.

[SCREAMING]

That is how the Klingon

lures a mate.

When I call my agent

and the producer was saying,

"Look, you know, we want

to see him for the part

of a Klingon."

because they were

going to put a Klingon

on the bridge.

And I went, "Wow,

what a great idea."

Do not approach me unannounced,

especially when I'm eating.

- GATES: Worf became

a series regular...

- [WORF GROWLING]

... and an integral part

of the Next Generation crew...

- I am a Klingon.

- ... and it worked out so well

that he later became

a series regular on

Deep Space Nine as well.

- Because when they call you...

- [PHONE RINGS]

... they want you and it

gives you a position of power

that we

don't have as actors

% of the time,

GATES: He's not wrong.

Most of us are lucky

if we just get one big break.

GATES: Every Star Trek actor

has their story...

I have been a Star Trek fan

as long as I can remember.

GATES:... and often with

a personal connection

to the show.

When I was growing up,

and my brother and I

watched the original,

and it really did

speak to us

because it was dealing

with a lot of great stuff,

and a lot of wonderful actors,

and they took chances.

One of the main reasons

I loved it is because

I was in love

with this guy named Bob.

And every week when

the TV show was on,

I got to go to Bob's house

and make out with him

on the sofa without

his mother objecting

while we were

watching Star Trek.

F. MURRAY ABRAHAM:

I had a history

with Star Trek,

as so many of us did

from television.

I mean, it was

a part of my life.

And I looked at it,

it sounded like fun.

It sounds like a good idea,

and my kids said,

"You better do it."

So, that was that.

GATES: Movie star,

Whoopi Goldberg

had her reasons, too.

Before Nichelle Nichols,

we didn't exist

anywhere in science fiction.

So, I want to carry

that female woman...

Of course,

a female woman, that's crazy.

...uh, carry that

woman thing forward

so some little girl

looks up and sees me

and says, "Oh." [EXCLAIMS]

We're on there!

A few molecules off,

and poof,

it's all gone. All of it.

Well, as a matter of fact,

in , in high school,

my friends and I

did a reel-to-real video

of Star Trek.

When the other kids wanted

to play Star Wars, or A-Team,

or Knight Rider,

I was like, "Can we play

Star Trek? I want to be

Mr. Spock."

- GATES: Who doesn't?

- [MEN SCREAMING]

GATES: But there are a lot more

aliens than just Vulcans

in the Star Trek universe.

When I got the phone call,

they're like, "Yeah, so they

want you to play a Ferengi."

I'm like, "What's a Ferengi?"

Ferengi, as a species,

was started in Next Generation,

and I was fortunate enough to be

one of the four actors

who played that original,

those original four Ferengi.

- We will accuse the humans

of preparing to ambush us.

- [THUNDER RUMBLING]

Ah!

And I had no idea

what a Cardassian was.

I couldn't, you know...

If you told me it was a form

of pastrami sandwich,

I, you know, I would

have said, "Oh, okay,

I'm playing pastrami sandwich."

GATES: So, how

do you play an alien?

I'm still asking

myself to this day,

how do you play a Vulcan?

This... Is it Burlesque?

Do you go over the top?

I mean, really weird, you know.

Do you do a voice?

Can you be funny?

GATES: All they really

had to do was

look in a mirror...

I don't have to play alien.

I am an alien.

GATES:... because no amount

of acting talent can

turn this face

into this one.

- Such is the power

of makeup.

- Makeup?

- GATES: That's right.

- Special effects makeup.

I looked in the mirror,

and I thought, "Oh, my God,

this is extraordinary."

And I immediately got

the character and what

to do with him.

You know, you're a work

of art. You're made into

something.

You don't have to

practically do anything.

It's all done.

It kind of makes the character.

You know, you look the way

you imagine yourself to be.

It works.

GATES: And the man who made

it work is Michael Westmore.

I was the makeup supervisor

and designer on Star Trek,

Next Generation,

Deep space Nine,

Voyager, Enterprise,

for the movies.

Anything that Star Trek touched

over the years, I was there.

He was easily a huge part

of the success of our show.

Every week, he had to come up

with something,

some alien race that

nobody had ever seen before,

and create magic,

and that's what he did.

GATES: But the real magic

happens when there's

a collaboration

between the makeup artists

and the actor.

So I get this

lovely role of Qatai.

Go down to the Westmore habitat

on Paramount,

and on the makeup shelf

were a series of

masks, faces and heads.

I look up and I see,

dun, dun, dun,

the lion's face,

slightly damaged.

I went, "I love that."

and he went,

"Okay, let's try it."

Tried it and looked

in the mirror, and I

began immediately

to resonate with the mask.

I understood

the value of the makeup

through that

four-and-a-half-hour process

because, after

we had finished with it,

I was in that character.

While they're putting it on.

I'd be sitting there looking

in the mirror, going,

"Well, why did this character

evolve this way?"

The Cardassians have

this big neck thing,

and I'd look at that and think,

"Man, these guys must have

been really uptight

"for some millennia,

and they're finally getting

these things in their necks

"just from straining from

how much they hate everybody,

you know, for so long."

GATES: But this wasn't

a shortcut to finding

your inner alien.

Uh, it was horrifying.

GATES: So horrifying, in fact,

that many actors said...

- No.

- I will not do it.

There were oftentimes

where I would get

an appointment for a client

and they would refuse to go in

because they knew that it

did involve makeup.

It's a lot to get used to.

My call time

in the makeup trailer,

was : a.m.,

and we all assembled on the set

at : a.m. to begin work.

GATES: And if

that isn't tiring enough,

there are other problems, too.

So, we had to make

molds of my ears,

and I'm

a little bit claustrophobic.

I just...

There's something about it.

I'm very claustrophobic.

If you have

claustrophobia problems,

think twice before taking

a job on Star Trek.

I think I had three calls

prior to sh**ting, with

prosthetics and with makeup,

and by this time,

I was starting

to get a little...

I was starting

to get a little nervous

about what I was in for.

GATES: Well, perhaps,

with good reason.

The initial, um, mold,

you're completely isolated.

And the only way

you can breathe,

the only way you can breathe

is through two tiny straws

that are stuck up

in your nostrils,

which stick out

of the plaster of Paris.

As it settles,

you can feel it...

constricting your face,

and you can feel that you're

becoming dependent

on these two straws.

And I was like, [SCREAMS]

and they're putting

this stuff on,

and I'm like,

[SCREAMS]

I'm just, like, going crazy,

[CHUCKLES] and one guy

is standing next to me,

holding me, you know,

saying, "It's okay, it's okay."

[STUTTERS] I still find gold

in my, you know, various pores.

GATES: Even the great Vulcan

himself raised an eyebrow

when it came

to make up.

The process,

the makeup process

did not get easier.

It became

more difficult, actually.

Not only the ears,

the eyebrows were

very complicated, too,

because I shaved the outer half

of my own eyebrows,

and Freddie put on

hair by hair every day.

You know, : in the morning,

I'm tearing my nose off.

But I've got... [LAUGHS]

I've got marks

from that first year or so,

when I didn't want

to take the minutes.

So, I learned very quickly

to not to,

not quickly enough,

to avoid damage to my nose.

GATES: And if that wasn't

enough skin off your nose,

there are even

worse things to face.

People who didn't

drink water

would seize up,

in the sense that it would

get harder and harder

to keep lines in your head

because you were dehydrated.

I remember we

filmed a scene and they

said "Okay, that's perfect.

"We're just going to bump in

a little bit closer and we're

going to do it again."

And I said, "What are we doing?

"This is the exact

same scene you've got."

And I said, "Oh, you're gonna

have to give me the script."

I had no idea where we were,

what we were doing,

and one

of the associate producers,

I think it was David Livingston,

stepped in and said,

"We've got to get him out of

that suit. We've got to get him

out of here. He's unraveling."

So, you're locked into

this rubber mask.

At one point, they say,

"What's going on there?

There's something,"

and [CHUCKLES] I have

had a collection of sweat

so bad it's

pooled and pushed

the latex out back here.

So, they lance it,

and this just wash of warm water

goes down my back,

and it's just one

of the joys of show business.

GATES: These

dedicated actors are either

- suffering for their art

or talking out of their...

- Butt.

GATES: But in

Matt Malloy's case,

both are true.

They show me the thing,

this foam thing that they

mount on your head.

I said it looks

like a baby's a*s

and they said the original

had been a dip of a baby's a*s.

[BABY CRIES]

[SPEAKING OTHER LANGUAGE]

I mean, it really

did look like a butt, you know?

I mean a talking butt,

and doing scenes, [STUTTERS]

I'm thinking, how can I

take this seriously?

But, yet, it was

absolutely compelling.

They were

very careful about that

to let me know

what it was going to look like.

Looked good.

By the way,

they showed me

the derivation of it.

It came from insects

and creatures,

live creatures that

they borrowed things from.

I thought that was really smart.

The characters who were alien,

really look like they could have

occurred in nature.

GATES: But if actors

had a call of nature

while in costume, good luck.

Going to the bathroom...

was an issue.

Bathroom breaks

didn't happen unless we got

almost completely undressed.

That was the only way

that occurred.

And there were enough of us

that slowed things down.

Every once in a while,

we had to kind of take

a good , minutes

so everybody could get undone,

they could head out,

head back in, get hooked

back up again,

and [LAUGHS] go back to work.

Well, I had a bathroom buddy.

MALE VOICE:

Bathroom buddy, Bathroom buddy.

Please meet Tosk

in the men's room.

And he would be on

his knees in front of me,

in front of my crotch,

unhooking my suit

with me in this lizard mask.

- [ZIPPER SOUND]

- GATES: For some, all this

was, understandably,

- just too much...

- Wash.

... as was the case

for one actor.

At one point, while he

was about to sh**t,

and he stood up,

he took his wig off,

he walked out

to the front gate of Paramount,

threw the wig

in the garbage can.

He just left. They found

one of the ears in a trash bin

outside the stage. [CHUCKLES]

GATES: But, with acting,

you can't walk the walk

until you've talked the talk.

GATES: Getting into character

on Star Trek isn't always easy.

And if the horrors

of the makeup chair

or the ill-fitting costumes

aren't enough,

wait until you

actually have to speak.

I'm at home

just running it,

running it, running it,

just saying it out loud

over, and over, and over again,

while washing dishes, cooking,

doing something like that

just so that, when we finally

get there to sh**t it,

that it,

as Shakespeare would say,

runs trippingly off the tongue.

It's tough, and you only have

a couple of shots at it,

and you've got long speeches

and what have you.

You have to give the impression

that you're having a good time.

We would receive the episode

that we're...

the new episode

the night before.

So, if you had a o'clock call,

that means you were

studying your scenes,

maybe into , o'clock

in the morning.

GATES: Well, we all

had different techniques.

My words, my words,

my words...my lines.

I didn't really need

to read the whole script,

and I knew exactly

what Reed was doing

in his said scenes.

- I didn't read 'em.

- No, I didn't. I read them.

I actually did read them.

And then, sometimes,

you'd show up, and the scene

that you were working on

that same night

had been rewritten.

GATES: And we're not talking

your average run-of-the-mill

dialogue rewrites.

Not everyone is fluent

in the language of Star Trek.

Star Trek seemed to have

consistently called

for theater actors,

Shakespearean actors

in particular

because the language

is not comfortable

and had to be

kind of highfalutin

and stand a little straighter

and all that sort of stuff

in order to do it,

and they had to do with

having a theater background.

You have some

really good actors who were

doing things like Star Trek.

if there are

any like Star Trek.

Yeah, because we're

used to language.

GATES: However, unlike

the Bard's rich prose,

the words of Trek are

sometimes a little

less meaningful.

They were

just gobbledygook to me.

I want you to install a bypass

between the main phaser array

and the secondary generators.

I also want to run

the main deflector pathway

through the warp power grid,

and the auxiliary conduits

through the lateral relays.

In some ways,

it's almost like verse

in that there is

a lot of, yes,

technical, what, uh...

Technobabble.

Vent a couple of LN

exhaust conduits along

the dorsal emitters.

I could not get it

on the day.

Make it look like

we're in serious trouble.

It's the only line

that I remember.

Vent a couple of LN

exhaust conduits along

the dorsal emitters.

Understood.

And I've got

to say something about the...

[SIGHS] I don't know,

the... cumulus

- or the... whatever the hell.

- It's all that

static discharge and gas.

I kept screwing up my lines.

- May I speak, sir?

- I was doing

this elevator scene.

I remember I had an opportunity

where I could look different.

GATES: Well,

not that different.

I don't think it was a robe.

I think it was a top...

- GATES: Of course.

- ... and I was on my way

somewhere as a civilian.

And I had some idea in my mind,

which I have with every script.

I don't know why

I've always done this,

like, "I'm probably

gonna need to flirt

with Shatner,"

You know, with Kirk, a little.

I wanted to wear my hair down

because I was waiting

for my moment

[LAUGHS] to be glamorous.

But every time

I'd walk out of the elevator,

right before it would open,

Bill would go like, "Line,

line, line, line, line."

Now, I'm going to go...

I'm like [SHOCKED EXCLAMATION]

deer in headlights.

- You're bothered.

- And I was ready to cry.

And I kept coming out,

and I kept blowing the line.

And then he'd go. "You...

All right, now, this time,

you're gonna do it.

"Line, line, line, line."

Oh, I wanted to k*ll him.

It's a test of character.

And then Nick took me aside,

and he goes, "If you

get it, good.

"If you don't, you don't."

Of course, I got it.

Who's been holding up

the damn elevator?

I think it was Garrett Wang

that told me,

He said, "Oh, just be glad

your character's not

in engineering

"'cause they get hammered

with the technobabble."

Can I help you?

Uh, unless you can reroute

the plasma regulator

to silo off the relay junction,

then, uh, no.

And then, the very next script

that came out,

I'm asking Chakotay

for an assignment

in engineering.

I was like, "Oh, God!

Here we go."

It was one of

the banes of my existence,

was writing some

of the technology

and the tech talk of the show.

"A tetryon beam

is approaching, Captain.

"We'll have to infuse it

with a class ," uh,

whatever, you know.

There were just

too many arguments

in the writer's room,

yelling at each other about

what warp drive could

and could not do.

- GATES: But if you thought...

- It's based on

an FTL nano-processor

with bilateral kelilactiral

with of those being slaved

into the primary

Heisenfram terminal.

Now you do know what

a bilateral kelilactiral is.

... would be

hard to memorize...

And, of course,

you have to learn Klingon.

And so, [CLICKING TONGUE]

[SPEAKING KLINGON]

It's written out,

and then, they have

the phonetic pronunciations

underneath it as well.

So, fortunately, that

grad school phonetics class

came in handy quite a bit.

[SPEAKING KLINGON]

It was incredible. They made up

this entire language

that worked.

I had one word

and it seemed

to be very important.

- And it was...

- [SPEAKS IN KLINGON]

...which, I think, means

"Let's get the hell

out of here"

or something like that.

[CHUCKLES]

Somebody sent me

a hard bound edition of Hamlet

that had been

translated into Klingon,

which was astonishing.

You know, just the idea

of translating Hamlet into

French makes my head explode.

So, It's one

of my prized possessions.

It's just...

It's really, really something.

I had to sing

a song in Klingon, Klingonese.

[SINGING IN KLINGON]

I cannot remember it.

So, don't ask me.

[SINGING IN KLINGON]

INTERVIEWER: Awesome.

Let's go kick some a*s.

GATES: No matter

the alien race,

from Andorian to Xindi,

all Star Trek actors

must master the script,

whatever the language.

You got to know

every line, verbatim.

They don't want you

to change an "and"

or an "or" or a...

[SPEAKING OTHER LANGUAGE]

You've got to know it cold.

You're in pain, Seven.

I can help you.

GATES: But surely there was

a little improvisation?

No, no, no, no.

You can't improvise

with the text.

You don't paraphrase

on Star Trek.

I ad-libbed.

- No, I'm kidding.

- INTERVIEWER: Yeah.

Say the wrong thing, Torg.

- [g*nshots]

- [SCREAMS]

GATES: It seemed that

the real overlords

of the Star Trek universe

- weren't the Klingons...

- [SPEAKING IN KLINGON]

- GATES:... the Borg, or Q.

- Moi?

GATES: Well, is he

really a baddie?

Did you ever watch the show?

At our first meeting,

you seized my vessel.

you condemned all humans

as savages.

GATES: Good point.

It's the writers.

Basically, it's, "This is

how it's written. This is

what we want. Deliver it."

Star Trek is the only show

I have ever worked on where...

if you used

a synonym for a word,

they would cut, the script

guy would come over and say,

"You said 'Cat'

and the line is 'Kitty.'"

GATES: Some actors

had absolutely no issue

with the writers whatsoever.

Probably, the most vivid thing

I remember about the whole thing

is that the first day

I was on the set for a half hour

and I was in bed

with Deanna Troi,

I rather like that

I'm more difficult to read.

than your other men.

I don't know

who put that together,

[LAUGHS] but it worked for me.

GATES: Some things

worked well again and again,

and that wasn't

lost on the crew,

- who'd spent years

sitting uncomfortably...

- In dark corners,

you know, on hard,

wooden apple boxes.

GATES: And be it the set

of Enterprise, Voyager

or the original series,

it's the crew who most noticed

the writers repeat themselves.

So, yeah, every character

gets k*lled, and then,

they bring them back.

He's brain-dead.

Commander...

I said, "Really?

I didn't know that.

"What else can you tell me?"

Uh, what you're gonna do is,

I'm sure you're going to do

an episode where you age a lot,

and then, they bring you back.

THE DOCTOR:

Commander Chakotay is

suffering bone decalcification,

tissue necrosis,

decreased visual acuity,

all classic signs of aging.

And there'll probably be

an episode where you

fall in love with an alien.

- GATES: Despite the...

- Apple boxes.

GATES:... the crew were

also quite comfortable

in letting an actor know

when the writers had

put the writing on the wall.

"So sorry to hear about

what's happening

to your character."

I said, "Why? What's happening

to my character?"

And he said, "Oh, maybe,

I better not tell you."

and I ran into Ron,

I said, "Ron, do I die?"

Yes.

And he says, "Oh, I just didn't

have the heart to tell you.

"Who told you that?

[STUTTERS] It doesn't matter.

It doesn't matter."

GATES: And if

your character does die,

think twice about

taking a memento home

because, as they say,

"You can't take it with you."

You cannot take

anything off the set.

You would be in major trouble.

Any of their brand,

any of the Star Trek brand,

they protected.

They had a checklist.

They came back

for your wardrobe.

GATES: Well, a few things

slipped through.

There they are. Look at those.

Look at those dusty

old pair of boots.

GATES: With props and costumes

going for thousands

on the collector market,

I did keep

one other thing.

But then, I sold it.

I had a friend

that got a good hunk

of the console years ago,

and he... I think

he got about grand for it.

GATES: The producers had to

crack down on the bit parts

taking bits.

When I was doing these things,

I never thought of asking

to take anything.

GATES: Well, Mark Rolston did.

So, I asked, and got

the most resounding, like,

"Don't you dare."

- GATES: Richard Herd dared.

- Very difficult learning how to

chat away

with the Klingon teeth,

which I saved.

And sometimes,

I chased my wife, Patricia,

around the bedroom

with my Klingon teeth.

GATES: And

Scott MacDonald dared.

This is...

a prop...

from the set of Enterprise

when I played Commander Dolim.

There was a scene

where the Xindi reptiles

we're eating mice

as they discussed their plans

to take over the universe.

And the piece de resistance...

This is...

an unbelievable thing to have.

I don't know that

very many actors have these.

GATES: But while some requests

were thoroughly denied...

"Don't you dare."

... the biggest props

go to showrunner,

Brannon Braga,

- who was dating...

- ...bored babe.

- GATES: That be

this bored babe.

- Bored. Let's do something fun.

GATES: And thusly,

Jeri Ryan had her dreams of

taking part of the set home...

- Sweet dreams.

- ... fulfilled.

Yeah, I have my alcove.

I figured, you know, four years

of that makeup and that costume,

[LAUGHS]

the least I can do is

get my alcove to bring home.

- [INTERVIEWER SPEAKING]

- Uh...

- How hard was it

to get the alcove?

- INTERVIEWER: Yeah.

Uh, to my recollection,

not at all.

I was, you know, dating

Brannon Braga. So, we had

a little extra pull, probably.

GATES: He'd need

all the pull he could get.

- It was hard to deliver

because it's such a huge thing.

- [THUD]

[CAR ALARM BEEPING]

GATES: Be it hours

in the makeup chair,

finding ways

to nick props from the set,

or lifting

heavy set pieces into

your girlfriend's apartment,

only a few actors

have attained the one role

that steals the show.

GATES: On any Star Trek show,

It's important to know

who's at the helm.

Take us in.

We had fine directors,

and we had directors,

really, really

well-known directors

in television

seeking to do Star Trek.

And, you know, all actors,

here's what they want to know

about the director.

Is he crazy?

How crazy?

Am I going to live?

GATES: Armin Shimerman,

appearing as one of

the first ever Ferengi,

If it moves, k*ll it.

GATES: Sounds like

he had a crazy one.

The director, uh, was giving us

all sorts of bizarre directions.

[FERENGI GROWLING, SHOUTING]

I got this one!

And, in fact,

my first four years as Quark

was to try and eradicate

the mistakes I made as Letek.

Because I'm a people-person.

GATES: But, perhaps,

trying to avoid having

a crazy director,

many of the actors themselves

stepped behind the lens,

and the tradition

of Star Trek actors

becoming directors

extends

all the way back

to the great Spock himself.

People would often say to me,

"You should be directing."

The fact is,

I was insulted.

I thought, are

all these people telling me

- there's something wrong

with my acting?

- [INTERVIEWER LAUGHS]

GATES: But it

wasn't a bad idea

because, as of the end

of Star Trek Il, Spock

was dead,

and Leonard Nimoy

was resurrected as

a feature film director.

In all, cast members

directed over

episodes and films.

So, I threw my hat in the ring.

Obviously, I had done

a bunch of episodes.

By then, I was really into it.

I was really psyched.

They took a chance.

I thought, "Here we go,"

and then, that movie

was a huge success.

It made a lot of money

and everybody liked it.

I loved him when

he was my first officer

on the Enterprise.

Take us out of orbit,

Ensign Crusher.

WIL WHEATON: I love him

when he directs me

on Star Trek and on Leverage.

I love him when I call him

because [STUTTERS]

I need advice.

GATES: But not all actors

make great directors at first.

My first day

of sh**ting was a disaster.

We had this huge set,

and the first setup, I think,

- was, like,

took about eight hours.

- [WEAPONS CLANGING]

So, the first day,

I immediately fell a day behind.

And Berman and Ira

hated the up episode.

You've never been

right about anything.

Then, they took me in the office

and they made me go through

frame by frame by frame

because I was contracted

to direct two more,

and Berman said,

"If you weren't under contract,

I just wouldn't let you

direct anymore"

essentially.

Now, step aside...

and allow me to finish

this sorry business.

GATES: It seemed like everybody

had the chance to direct.

Well, Avery directed.

Hmm. I don't know

if I can see him

directing this kind of stuff.

I don't care

if the odds are against us.

Well, I was completely wrong.

He was a wonderful director,

such a great actor's director.

All the males were allowed

to direct whoever wanted to.

But as for me...

Did I have to campaign hard

to direct an episode?

What do you think? Yeah.

It took until

my seventh year to get it,

and they gave me this kind of

scary, spooky episode,

which was very

un-Star Trek in a way.

[GASPING]

I was so grateful

that I got that script.

I really was.

I had so much fun with it.

As one of the first women

to direct Star Trek,

I hope that I had some

small role in opening the door

to other women directors.

And now, Hanelle Culpepper

is leading the way with

the Star Trek: Picard series,

becoming the first

female director to launch

a new Star Trek series.

But back

in front of the camera,

it wasn't until year

that a woman

was finally put in charge.

Well, Voyager

had had a female captain.

What can I do for you?

GATES: And with Kate Mulgrew

commanding the ship,

Voyager was on course

for seven more years

of Star Trek.

But audiences were

hardly bowled over

in the beginning.

The ratings kept

going lower and lower,

and I think,

if you talk to the fans,

they would blame it

on the writing.

GATES: So, those writers

wrote in a new character.

People saying

it's a blatant attempt

to up the ratings... Well, yeah.

That's why they

added the new character.

The ratings were lagging,

the show was tanking.

GATES: And, as they say,

all publicity is

good publicity.

We took a lot of criticism,

that we were, you know,

cheapening the show,

and were turning it

into Baywatch in space.

Like we got

a lot of crap from

the Deep Space Nine writers

who thought we were

kind of selling out

and bringing

a bimbo onto the ship and all,

which, frankly, kind of sexist.

And I see the way

your pupils dilate when

you look at my body.

Some of the members

of the cast thought

that all the publicity

that this new character

was going to be getting

was sort of due them.

It was a mild shot.

It was a little conflict there,

you know, and usually,

when the cameras go off,

there's some banter,

either work-wise

or just to make

things comfortable.

And I looked to one of them,

in between the scenes,

and she's staring

at the board up here,

and I looked over here

and she's staring up

at the board, too.

And I thought, well, I

probably shouldn't

interrupt them.

they must be, you know,

just staying in a frame of mind

that they need.

I come to find out

they could not stand each other.

You came here hoping

to stop me. You'll fail.

Turn this ship around.

That's an order.

Your orders are irrelevant.

I'm no longer under

your command.

GATES: Jeri Ryan's character,

Seven of Nine, proved

to be a fan favorite,

and ratings did begin

to climb after her arrival.

Take off your clothes.

- GATES: However...

- Coming into an existing show

midway through is never easy.

- It's never gonna be easy.

- [OBJECT HISSES]

And when the attention shifts

because there's somebody new

and the publicity machine

is going crazy,

and there making this huge push.

That's not going to be easy.

It's just not.

But yeah, it was

a very difficult four years.

It was very tense.

It was not... I don't...

Unfortunately,

I don't look back.

As many laughs as I had,

and as much as I adored

working with

all of them, I don't...

I can't look back

on that four-year period

with this wonderful,

glowing memory because

it was so difficult.

It was so tense and difficult.

So, that's unfortunate.

I'm sorry that

I can't look back on it

with better memories.

Set a course...

GATES: When Voyager's

last episode...

...for home.

GATES:... screened

May rd, ,

the fifth successful series

of the Star Trek franchise

was over.

But fans didn't have

to wait long at all...

NARRATOR: Enterprise.

... because the promos

were already rolling out

for the next one.

Star Trek: Enterprise was

to be the sixth series

in the franchise.

- However...

- They kind

of flooded the market

with three different

series at the same time.

NARRATOR: Star Trek: Voyager,

NARRATOR : Deep Space Nine.

You know, every time they turn

on the television, there it was.

- Are you sure?

- MAN: Damn sure.

I remember

taking the phone call

about the show ending

and we were going

to have the big class photo

outside the gates of Paramount.

And I'm standing

with Brannon Braga,

the chief guy,

and I saw Brannon

turn around,

and he looked at this [CHUCKLES]

hairy looking thing

called the Tellarite

standing there with

the sun glancing off his nose,

and we all just looked at it

and he just went,

"Yeah, It's time."

[INTERVIEWER LAUGHING]

That's funny.

- Oh.

- INTERVIEWER: That's good.

GATES: And with that,

for the first time

in years,

there would be

no new Star Trek episodes.

So, it's like,

"Okay, let's take a break."

And now, ten years...

ten years later...

GATES: It all started again,

and actors once again

began looking for work.

When I heard they were

doing a new Star Trek

and Star Trek: Discovery,

I just begged my agents,

I just said I would love

to meet the producers.

I'd love to see

if there's anything

that I might be right for.

I say, bring it on.

And they said,

"How about Harry Mudd?

"It's a couple of episodes,

might recur more."

And I was like, "Yes!"

It was one of those

great actor moments of, like,

[LAUGHS] "This is delicious."

And I will have my revenge.

Also, I'm going to k*ll you

as many times as possible.

GATES: However, Rainn Wilson

was in an unusual position,

along with some other

new Star Trek actors

in that he was playing

a role that already had

a long history with the series.

I don't believe it.

I went back and watched

the original Mudd episodes

and saw what he was doing.

Well, you should

refer to me as Mudd, the First.

It was very similar

to playing Dwight

on The Office,

where I was inheriting

a role from a previous actor.

So, that's a great place

to be in because

you get to steal

what they do really well,

and then, you get

to add your own mojo.

GATES: In recent years,

mojo is flying everywhere.

JJ Abrams's

three Star Trek films made

big bucks at the box office

by recasting characters

from the original series.

It's not easy

for all those actors

to step into those roles.

Not easy.

Treacherous. It's

a treacherous step.

Very flattering to me

that the character

is strong enough

to be carried on by

somebody else successfully.

I think it's great,

and he's a very good actor.

Very intelligent actor.

So, I'm very happy about it.

I think she's marvelous.

She told me,

"I was so nervous

when I got this role, "

and I said, "Why?

You're so good."

And she said, "I thought

you would hate me,"

and I said "I do. You're just

too damn good," you know. So...

GATES: We even saw

a reprise of Star Trek's

greatest villain...

[SCREAMS] Khan!

- GATES:... as we know,

originally played by...

- Ricardo Montalban.

... both in the 's and 's,

but in 's Into Darkness,

- To exploit my savagery.

- GATES: Benedict Cumberbatch

took on the role.

Shall we begin?

GATES: And even though his pecs

were nowhere to be seen,

his acting muscles

were on full display.

My name is Khan.

Here's the

[BEEP] English accent.

They told me

I can't have one.

Look at him.

GATES: Well, whether

you like it or not,

there is a place

where every

Star Trek actor can go

and be praised for their part

in a TV show like no other.

For an actor,

Star Trek is the gift

that keeps on giving.

After you've done

your Star Trek episodes,

you can do conventions.

GATES: And as unique

as they are,

Star Trek conventions

are not a new thing.

We did a convention

almost immediately

that the show was over.

GATES: And they are still here

in some kind of, well...

What's the word I'm looking for?

I mean, it just generates again,

and again, and again.

The best fans

in the whole world.

Star Trek fans.

GATES: And Star Trek fans

live for Star Trek.

You suddenly realize

how much they give a damn.

GATES: But in some cases,

Star Trek actors live

because of Star Trek fans

and the conventions.

It's still a huge part

of my life, and a big part

of that is the fandom,

and going all over the world

doing conventions.

That's a whole new world

that's opened up for me, um,

signing Harry Mudd photos now.

- [CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS]

- Oh, I have signed so much

[CENSORED] in this world.

I mean, you know...

And the fact that

anybody wants another

of my signatures,

I just can't believe it.

[CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKING]

Nobody really recognizes me

unless I do this.

- You know, it's almost like...

[LAUGHING]

- [CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKING]

My situation is always,

people come up to the table

and they look at the pictures.

And then they look at me,

and then they

look at the pictures,

and then they look at me.

So, I sit there,

kind of dealing

and that sort of

uncomfortable stew,

actor ego stuff,

I guess. I don't know.

GATES: Aw, cheer up, guys.

It was depressing at first,

but they really want

to meet you.

and it's, for some of them,

a high point of their life.

It's not difficult

to make somebody's day

when you're in this position.

It's really nice, and it's nice

to be able to make

somebody smile.

GATES: Not everyone's

approach is so altruistic.

I mean, the minute

you walk in that hotel,

you're Brad Pitt, mate,

and they all

want a piece of you.

If you're not careful,

you can wind up

thinking you're Jesus Christ.

[ANGELIC CHOIR]

[CHUCKLES] It was,

maybe too enjoyable.

I'm going to have to

remind myself every day...

...that we didn't

come out here to play God.

God, I remember

my first convention.

Pushed open the bathroom door,

[CLICKS TONGUE] and there's

two Klingons standing there.

When they saw Malcolm Reed

walking and they were like,

[MIMICS KLINGON SPEECH BADLY]

I'm like, "All right, lads."

So, I nip around

the corner for a pee

and I can hear them whispering,

presumably about me.

That's obvious, sir.

Because it was in Klingon.

[MIMICS KLINGON SPEECH BADLY]

Well, as far

as the perks of the show, um,

some of them,

I won't go into because

I'm married now.

No, I'm not

talking about groupies. Um...

[INTERVIEWER SPEAKING]

Sort of.

I mean, yeah.

I won't say they don't exist.

Well, you know,

when I was single, um...

Yes, you could find...

You could have a nice,

charming evening.

I can see

the attraction.

Some women find this neck sexy.

GATES: For all that

Star Trek brought us,

the laughs, the tears,

the pointy ears,

there's one thing

that all of us lucky enough

to have been part of it

are the most proud of.

I was pleased with the fact

that we were dealing with issues

that had

a sociopolitical reference

and relevance.

NICHELLE: Gene set it all up.

He did it. And this is what

we're going to do.

And you've got the script

and you've read the script

and you're going,

We'll start to live the way

the Fuhrer meant us to live.

Is he kidding?

They'll never let him

get away with it.

There was an episode where

the guy was black on one side

and white on the other. I mean,

you'd have to be

an idiot not to get that.

DOROTHY FONTANA:

We were one of the few shows

that could approach

the question of the Vietnam w*r

because nobody else could.

There is nothing good in w*r

except its ending.

We could call it something else.

and still have it be

about the w*r.

- And nobody ever said

a word to us.

- Spock.

RICK WORTHY: There was

so much happening racially

and politically in the world.

And then, when you

turn on your TV, and then,

there's this white fellow

and this lovely black woman,

and they have a kiss.

GATES: But not just any kiss.

This was the very first

interracial kiss on television.

So, it was a big deal.

It wasn't a big deal to me.

Jesus.

Let's get on with it.

- INTERVIEWER: Did Shatner

wanna do it?

- Oh, yeah. You kidding?

[CROWD APPLAUDING, CHEERING]

Genius.

That's what... That's why,

for me, Star Trek has

endured for years

because everybody

got the message that

we are the same.

It doesn't matter whether we're

black, white, Hispanic, green,

blue, half-black, half-white,

we're all the same.

BRANNON BRAGA:

Gene's vision,

he was very clear.

The humans of the th century

didn't have

w*r, disease,

poverty, hunger. Gone.

Religion, too, for that matter.

A secular, enlightened society.

For us, in this country,

it's sort of the idealization

of American values, and,

you know, how we see ourselves.

People of color

and people

all over the world.

can see themselves

in the future

with important parts

and important jobs in life,

um, and everybody's represented.

It's not just a fun TV show,

and it's not just a good show.

It's just... It's special.

Gene Roddenberry

was just amazing,

and I never

forgave him for dying.

It was like...

someone you depend on

to keep bringing the beauty

of the world to be.

Mmm.

Well, I really think

that's, in large part,

what the success

of Star Trek,

as a franchise, is.

Saving the galaxy?

It's because it's an

optimistic view of the future.

And I think that's what

people want to grab onto,

and I think we need that.

As long as we, as a species,

have something to learn,

Star Trek will be relevant.

To have created in this culture

something that is as iconic

as this show,

that lasts as long as this show,

that involves as many

people as it has,

it's quite extraordinary.

So, it's a testament

to the adventure

that Roddenberry

wanted to create.

Star Trek reflects,

in its various characters,

different portions

of the human condition.

GATES: And it's the actors

who brought

those characters to life

that we need to thank

most of all.

You are sort of

part of a legacy.

And there are legions of people

that have been on the road

and the journey before you.

Most people are pretty proud

to be in Star Trek.

You know, if any other show

in the world that you could

have gotten on,

a pretty cool one

to have gotten on.

It was awesome, you know,

to be a part of something

that is iconic.

I was a Star Trek fan,

who was in a Star Trek series

as a series regular.

I had won the lottery.

Being a part of Star Trek,

I am not exaggerating here,

It really did change my life.

It opened up...

I thought, what was going

to be one episode

ended up being

literally a life...

certainly

a career-changing experience.

GATES: I've been so fortunate.

The whole energy of the show,

the cast, the fans.

Actually, I should be so lucky.

That's kind of trite

and sentimental.

But [CHUCKLES] whatever.

- That's good.

- INTERVIEWER: Yeah, that's good.

[IN ACCENT] And I love

everybody and, you know,

I love Dr. Crusher.

My experience on Star Trek is,

it would be hugely

ungrateful of me

to have any kind

of negative thoughts

about it at all.

It's been a great blessing.

So, I mean, I got

a picture of me with

a ray g*n,

for God's sake,

you know?

Those years changed my life,

and they continue to,

you know, define my life

in many ways.

JERI RYAN: Seven of Nine

was a gift, as an actor.

She really was, in every way.

This character was...

This gave me a career.

and you couldn't...

I couldn't have asked

for a richer role to play.

Star Trek is

the most important thing

I've done in my career.

The best best part

of having been part

of the Star Trek experience

are the people

I've gotten to know.

It was a gift to be able

to be with those people

all those hours every day.

We laughed all the time.

We're still, to a person,

really close friends

all these years later.

Um, they're family,

and that was really

the greatest gift of all.

I'm really proud

that I got to participate in it

because, you know,

you don't get to say that

with a lot of stuff.

This is one thing

that, you know,

- I always am lit

when I think... No.

- [RECORD SCRATCHES, MUSIC STOPS]

That didn't sound right.

Hmm. It's always light up.

GATES: To be an actor

in the Star Trek legacy

is an honor,

and as one of the

,-and-counting actors

who've become

part of sci-filore,

there's one truth

that can't be ignored.

ARMIN SHIMERMAN:

I wonder sometimes,

whether playing Quark,

was it a detraction

from my career?

Because Star Trek,

although very popular

around the world,

it is not

very popular in Hollywood,

that it is a lesser franchise.

in most producers',

studio heads' minds.

The list of actors or actresses

who have won awards

like Emmys or Oscars

from working in

a science fiction project

is a very short list,

very short list.

It is simply not recognized

[CLEARS THROAT]

by members of the Academy

as a level of work

that calls for honors,

calls for being

honored that way.

Technical honors, yes. Wonderful

special effects, wonderful sets,

wonderful music and so forth.

But not for the actors.

Actors who work

in science fiction,

particularly then,

in those years,

are seen to be working

in a kind of a sub-genre.

as something less

than wonderful,

something less

than qualifies for honors.

And that's why

actors avoided it.

I found...

a level of comfort doing it.

GATES: The great Leonard Nimoy

passed away in ...

I shall simply say, good luck.

... having won

neither an Emmy nor an Oscar,

but joining a list

of acting legends who

will live forever on our TVs,

whenever we need them,

knowing they were part

of the most

wonderful, celebrated,

long running and important

TV shows ever made.

You see, I'm an actor.

GATES: But for those of us

who love Star Trek in

whichever series or timeline,

we owe Star Trek's

original actor and all those

who came after him a lot.

What I wanted to do

is make a living as an actor.

And I probably would have

been happy in a stock company

somewhere in Kansas,

doing plays, week after week,

playing different characters.

Instead, I was given

a role that took me on

a wonderful, wonderful journey.

GATES: From Roddenberry's

vision, to the writers

who gave it life,

to the wizards who brought

this utopian world

onto our TV sets.

The reruns now plays every day.

In a way, I have

reached immortality,

uh, for at least

another years, maybe.

GATES: To the original actors

who showed up on set

and made history,

And we really never knew

what was going to be

in the future,

whether we had a future.

But this has been

such a momentous

circumstance in my life.

It was really

profoundly wonderful.

I'm Star Trek

and Star Trek is me.

Couldn't ask for more.

INTERVIEWER: I imagine

you wouldn't trade

your career for any other.

No, thank you.

No, thank you.

I'm a very, very lucky guy.

[MUSIC PLAYING]