I got a call from my agent saying you have an offer to voice a cartoon by the name of 'My Little Pony.' And that's pretty much what went in my ear. So I asked him the three questions that actors always ask. I need to see the script, when and how much, which were legitimate questions.
Star Trek' ushered in the end of the Westerns. Then the canvas switched to the sci-fi canvas.
'War of the Worlds' was a goof delivered as news bulletins. It was the beginning of an erosion that now has us in trouble. We just don't know where to get the truth. It was a piece made 56 years ago with all good intentions that still abused the public's trust. It was that little marble, that little push, and now no one trusts the media.
You have to risk to get ahead The person whos always hugging the tree trunk and never walking out onto the skinny branches will never succeed. Sometimes you have to walk out onto the skinny branches, and that means having goals, taking a risk.
I mean, an actor's got to be known for something. Typecasting is an unfortunate kind of reflex punishment for having done a good job. But what's the alternative? To not do a good job?
The problem with Alien Voices 'was we had four really terrific years. And then it began to be about selling: Simon & Schuster wanted whatever, 40,000 units sold a year.'
That was the great, great thing about 'Star Trek,' that it was a show that people could tune into at all sorts of different levels.
I'm of the opinion that it flies in the face of reason not to believe. The odds are too great against you to not believe that there is some sort of extraterrestrial life out there.
Being idly hanging around, and that's not good for an actor to do.
When I did finally get to the circus as an adult, I was very impressed by the trapeze artist. But, being 6 feet 3 inches and over 200 pounds, there was no way I could do a trapeze act. If I fell I'd take the catcher with me.
I'm really not a television watcher.
It's great fun to have the license to say damn near anything you want, short of being offensive.
The way you can see what an actor brings to a role is you turn the sound off. Everything else becomes subtext, the wink and the nod, and the attitude and all that kind of stuff is a little easier to see with the sound off.
My first interaction with Gene was that after I auditioned I walked out of the room and then this big guy walks out with me, and he puts his hand on my shoulder and he says, 'You make my words sound better than they are.' And I said, 'Well, you must be the writer.' And he said 'I'm Gene Roddenberry.' And I had no idea who that was.
It was fans... who understood 'Star Trek' and brought it back to life. 'Hill Street Blues,' 'The Paper Chase,' and 'Til Fly Away' all got second chances... So did 'Gunsmoke' and 'Cheers.' It's very hard to change a network's mind, but it can be done.
A lot of the time you find that elements of a character are brought out by the actors playing them.
I'd really like to think Picard and Q are each other's Jekyll and Hyde. That's an interesting way to look at their relationship, and it gives you a pretty good idea of who Q is.
Before television, there was a piano in many homes in this country. People played instruments on an amateur level and because of that, they became informed amateurs. We've lost that.
I usually play the sort of hard-boiled guy who is forcing situations - I'm not usually playing the person in reaction.
The thing about good acting is asking, how much are you going to reveal and when should you let the viewers' imagination take over?
