ST:V - Jeri Ryan: Working With Kate Mulgrew Was Difficult

[jdspencer]

I honestly couldn't tell that they didn't get along that well which is a testament to both of their talent

[dk]

Garrett is a good man. Both he and Jeri were both very honest and upfront without being inflammatory. It's admirable. Kudos to the both of them.

[fnger]

Garret Wang was constantly being denied requests to let his character grow and develop over the course of the show, or even advance in rank beyond Lieutenant. He also wanted to direct at least one episode, but that too was denied. To give you an idea of how insulting that is, it is common for actors, when contractually locked into a show for as many years as Voyager was on the air, to be given the opportunity to direct so that they come out of it with more than just an acting credit on their resume. The Director's Guild actually requires prior experience, so this is often the easiest way for an actor to break in to directing as a career move. LeVar Burton and Jonathan Frakes both directed multiple episodes of Star Trek TNG. But Wang had all his requests denied despite the show having the same number of seasons. There was a lot of bullshit going on behind the scenes over at Voyager.

[DocDarkness]

Kate didn't like the idea of show needing a sex symbol to boost ratings so she gave Jeri a very hard time on set over it. A clear case of misguided anger, the decisions were made by the show runners not Jeri and her gripes should have been with them not her costar. I believe Jeri and Kate have since burried the hatchet but the really fabulous outcome of all of this is yes Sevens sex appeal caused a boost in ratings as expected but her character evolved past that to become one of the strongest most memerable characters on the show and in trek overall.

[bubblycider]

The last years of Voyager were really a difficult period for Mulgrew: her dad died of an invasive tumour, she met the daughter she had given up for adoption for the first time, her mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease... I mean, it doesn't excuse her behaviour, but with all this going on I can understand why she must have felt even worse when she wasn't seen as the selling point of the show anymore. Anyway, Janeway was a great role model for me as a child and now I am a doctor because of her passion for sciences!

[JasonQiuMusic]

I feel like Roxann Dawson never got enough credit for her work on Voyager. After Jeri came on, we all seemed to forget that there was more than just one kickass woman on the show to begin with.

[romeovf]

It breaks my heart that Garret was bottling these things inside for so long, and Jeri is a good friend for giving him that hug, he surely needed it.

[ShouldBeWiser]

Poor Garret. He just wanted everyone to get along...he's just as nice in real life as his character.

[roberthynes]

I like how they avoided saying "she was hot and interesting." And went with "The new hook"😅

[scaniatex]

Thank you for uploading this. I'm currently subscribed to the Delta Flyers podcast and loving it so very much. Garrett seems like a class act who's told another story like this which he was pleading to higher ups for unity on set. A great man whom may have been an Ensign on Star Trek Voyager, but to me he is a Captain through and through with that mentality.

[johngrasing]

I am guessing that Garret Wang is as nice as the character Harry Kim.

[Willpower-]

Garrett Wang is a teddy bear with a heart of gold. That hug was sorely needed. Thanks, Jeri!

[tcscushing]

Garret Wang, under-appreciated actor.

[mary-kittybonkers]

Jeri Ryan and Garrett Wang are such gracious, kind people. I was really touched by Garrett’s emotional response when talking about the difficulties experienced on set.

[matthewmichealattard]

I was honestly baffled when I start reading about how much tension there was between the cast members of Voyager because the actors did a fantastic job in playing their characters.

[KungFuKing]

I love these guys. Jeri was phenomenal as Seven, despite everyone going on about her physical attributes - her acting and character is what made Voyager better

[stvp]

The relationship between Seven and the Doctor was my favorite part of the show as they wrestled with what it means to be human.

[zacmcnulty]

It’s from my understanding that Mulgrew was very proud of being the main star as a female character who was not sexualised and she wanted to feel as though she could withold that through to the very end alone. So for them to realise the show needed spicing up a bit and to watch a very attractive Jeri come into the show, be placed in a revealing costume and for her to be sexualised really hit a nerve with her. She did not like the idea at all. So, initially she took a disliking to the character not Jeri herself. Then of course the rating were rising and posters of Jeri were everywhere since she become more mainstream and pretty much become the most popular on the show. It pretty much had made Kate‘s character irrelevant, which hurt her a lot. So, it’s understandable that tension would arise. There was one point she even requested that Jeri should not be able to go to the bathroom during the show. Kate admitted she didn’t handle it well and had apologised. Kate said this:

“Let’s be very straight about something, ” said Kate matter of factly “This is on me, not Jeri. She came in and did what she was asked to do. No question about that, and she did it very well. It’s on me, because I’d hoped against hope that Janeway would be sufficient. That we didn’t have to bring a beautiful, sexy girl in. That somehow the power of my command, the vicissitudes of my talent would be sufficient unto the day, because this would really change television, right? That’s what dug me the hardest, that to pick up the numbers they did that… That was my interpretation of it. And that hurt me. I found it sort of insulting. And, of course, she embodied the part, this beautiful girl. But we certainly were utterly professional. I had been nothing short of completely professional, and she did her job. Very well! It was a very good idea that she was half Borg, but it’s on me. I’m sorry it has to be part of this legacy, and I probably should have comported myself better. I should have been more philosophical about it, but in the moment it was difficult.”

[joeschmo]

I felt genuinely bad at Garrett being snubbed, publicity-wise. Gotta say, to this day, "Timeless" was and still is one of my favorite VOY eps, largely due to Garrett's portrayal in his present/future selves, and the feeling that went into it.

And Jeri knocked it out of the park in "Infinite Regress". Still blows me away every time I watch her seamlessly transition to each "personality", especially so rapidfire near the end. Whoa!

[philiphunn]

Poor Garrett. He seems like such a lovely guy.