reggie jackson actor star trek
Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy. "Science fiction wasn't really where I wanted to be," Olmos said, though he would eventually return to the genre with his role as Adm. William Adama on 2003's Battlestar Galactica. Yet, even the smallest casting decision could have changed everything. Before he began regularly appearing on TV and movie screens, baseball great Reggie Jackson was set to audition for the role of engineering chief Geordi La Forge. Personal life LeVar Burton, who actually got the role, later confirmed via Twitter that Snipes really was in consideration. As the 1987 casting memo via Trek Movie plainly stated, Crosby was pretty much "the only possibility" for the role of Deanna Troi, ship's counselor. Imagine if another set of actors had been cast as the crew of the USS Enterprise in Star Trek: The Next Generation. True, the role of La Forge was clearly undecided at this point, as it had a few more … The episode then breaks into a wild montage of classic X-Files moments, only with Reggie added in, usually via fancy computer effects, reminiscent of when the cast of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine interacted with the cast of the original series in the episode, 'Trials and Tribble-Ations.' Reggie Jackson as Geordi. ... Reggie Jackson for 'Geordi' and Mark Lindsay Chapman for 'Data'. The hyper-intelligent, ultra-capable android gets away from his admittedly creepy look (come on, white skin with yellow eyes and slicked-back hair isn't exactly soothing) by constantly striving towards finding his version of humanity. Jean-Luc Picard of the starship Enterprise. Yes, even America's Dad is, by all accounts, a pretty dedicated Trekkie. He was an actor and writer, known for Exodus (1960), Torn Curtain (1966) and Star Trek: The Original Series (1966). Due to a birth defect, he was born blind. Among the other actors considered for the role were Wesley Snipes, Reggie Jackson, Kevin Peter Hall, Clarence Gilyard, and Tim Russ, who would later play Tuvok on Star Trek: Voyager. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. With that in mind, Combs was able to establish himself in the series. But, what if Spiner never made it past the auditions. If both Marina Sirtis and Rosalind Chao were once favorites to play Tasha Yar as the head of security, then what was going on with Denise Crosby? She is expected to appear in the same role in episodes of Renegades, which strips mention of Star Trek for legal purposes. Not only that, but the name Reggie Jackson is mysteriously attached to the same role. She’s currently performing in a play in San Diego. Russ would eventually star in Star Trek: Voyager as Tuvok, while Jackson never appeared in the Star Trek franchise. At least, as ScreenRant reports, Englund took part in the auditions for that character. 'That Yankee hat is almost the New York City symbol,' 50 says. "I like to think that if only Patrick Stewart had hair, I could have been Data," he said. Hanks told Stewart that he even watches the credits of every episode and, in Stewart's words, "knows the name of every Trek character, past, present, and I think future." Eric Menyuk may not exactly be a household name, but Star Trek fans likely know that he would eventually appear in TNG as the "Traveler," the mysterious and reality-transcending alien who eventually did us all a solid and spirited Wesley Crusher away from our reality. It certainly would have meant more work for Chao, since, as ScreenRant reports, Keiko O'Brien didn't appear until season four of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Yep, the New York Yankees legend and Mr. October himself was a favorite to play Geordi! This wasn't too long after Olmos' turn in Ridley Scott's 1982 science fiction classic, Blade Runner. After a long career in public service in which he saved, It might be darn near impossible to imagine anyone else telling his Number One to "Make it so" on the bridge of the, Letters Of Note have uncovered an old memo from the archives at Paramount, written on April 13th 1987 to the studio's Head of Network Television - detailing the actors being considered for the various roles in. Jeffrey Combs was one of the group who auditioned for the role of Cmdr. Social media and news coverage of Space Force often include references to “Star Trek,” “Star Wars,” “Guardians of the Galaxy” and “Starship Troopers.” This isn’t surprising. So much of a character's reception hinges on an actor, leading to a lot of fuss at the outset of a show as you try to balance the needs of the series, the requests from showrunners, and more, all while imagining how future fans will interpret the casting. They divorced in 2015, and Farrell played a role in the web-released fan film Star Trek: Renegades. It's not clear why Englund didn't make the cut. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The most surprising name on the list: Wesley Snipes was once a frontrunner to play Geordi La Forge? Perhaps producers were worried about the visual presented by someone who was so deeply linked to a scary horror franchise, though you wonder if Englund himself wanted to break out of that pernicious horror movie typecasting. Edward James Olmos is one of those actors that you just can't escape. And other central characters, from the android Data to ship's counselor Deanna Troi, once were going to be played by completely different people. Jackson asked Campos on a date, and discovered many similarities, including the ability to speak Spanish, and being raised in a single parent home (Campos's father was killed in the Korean War). While people were no doubt enthusiastic about Stewart's acting pedigree, it was clear that he, too, had precious little hair left on top of his head. "I told them that I wasn't right for it," he said. After Crosby decided she wanted to leave the show, her character was abruptly killed off in the first season. Star Trek (2009) cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. Michael O’Gorman Gregg Marx Jonathan Frakes Ben Murphy. Other notables on the list, Jenny Augutter (Logan's Run) for Beverly Crusher, Reggie Jackson, Tim Russ (Star Trek: Voyager) and Wesley Snipes (Yes, Wesley Snipes!) IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. Image: Topps Jean-Luc Picard. Names not on the list, Brent Spiner wasn't even a thought for Data, neither was Marina Sirtis for Troi, and Wil Wheaton wasn't in line for Wesley Crusher either. (TNG: \"Encounter at Farpoint\", \"The Masterpiece Society\", \"Cause and Effect\", \"Identity Crisis\", \"Ship in a Bottle\")Sometime prior to 2340, Geor… Surely, that was doubly hard for the folks who were casting the lead roles on Star Trek: The Next Generation. O’Brien was a botanist and the head of plant science on the USS Enterprise-D, and also was a school teacher for kids living in the space station Deep Space 9.Keiko is an example of a very strong-willed (although some may say stubborn) character. Yes, really, according to the 1987 casting memo circulated at Paramount in the lead-up to Star Trek: The Next Generation (via Trek Movie). Reggie Jackson Aug 1 Walter Koenig, Chekov of Star Trek, suffers a heart attack Aug 1 England wins the women's cricket World Cup for the first time since the inaugural event in 1973 with a 67 run victory over New Zealand at Lord's Of course, this may be influenced by his later work in the Blade film series as a super-cool, leather-clad vampire hunter, complete with practically iconic sunglasses. Before he was Blade, to may have made his mark in the Enterprise's engineering section as yet another contender for the role of chief engineer Geordi La Forge, according to the 1987 casting memo (via Trek Movie). If he had actually gone for the role, this would have been a truly groundbreaking step for Star Trek and much of primetime TV, even in the 1980s and 1990s. Yet, Olmos once stood to have even more of a presence in the world of sci-fi television as the 1980s drew to a close. What if, instead, Data was played by none other than Freddy Kreuger? As Combs himself told 1428 Elm, he grew up as a fan of the original Star Trek series, though his dad often told young Combs to turn it off. Actors Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes and Michael Dorn reprise their Star Trek roles. On his third audition, he caught the eye of one episode director — Jonathan Frakes. Ryker. The 'Star Trek' actor may have just won National Selfie Day. Star Trek: 10 Actors Who Were Nearly Cast In Iconic Roles. William Riker, the second-in-command of the Enterprise. While it's not totally confirmed, it's very possible that Menyuk got the boot because of his hair. As it turns out, quite a few actors were almost cast in Star Trek: The Next Generation, making for an interesting alternate-universe take on a beloved sci-fi show. Ken Griffey Jr. is back. An assistant football coach tried to break up the couple because Jackson was black and Campos was considered white. Though it may seem surpassingly strange, it's true. Denise Crosby, who ultimately won the role, was not even on the list for the part, she was being considered for Troi. Instead, according to The Next Generation Companion, the character that would eventually become Yar was then named "Macha Hernandez." in November 1998. Yes, according to the casting memo of 1987 in Paramount, the next generation is in fact circulation before Star Trek (via Trek Movie). As he told The Big Issue, "I think I made some wrong decisions in my life, man. In the world of Star Trek: The Next Generation, Data is very often a fan favorite. In the course of the … While it's hard to speculate how, exactly, Chao would have changed the role, there's a chance that she would have stuck around longer than Denise Crosby, who was ultimately selected to play the part of Yar. Chances are pretty good that, at some point in your film and television-watching career, you've come across his face once or twice. Remove the wrapping, tilt the package cover, and out comes a monster of a book that starts with a forward by. While he hasn't spoken about his personal inclinations regarding the show, a look at the timing of his career contains a hint. Kotto, who drew attention for saying that James Bond shouldn't be played by Black actors in his interview with The Big Issue, nevertheless said that Black actors should play a wide variety of characters and clearly would have relished commanding the Enterprise on the Paramount Studios lot. A leaked memo from 1987 lists some of the actors … Two new parodies open in theaters this weekend on Friday, May 21⦠MacGruber and, Wearing a button up shirt made from rejected casino carpet fabric, New York Yankee, For baseball fans, The Official Major League Baseball World Series Film Collection, out on Nov. 10, is the Holy Grail, the mother lode, a grand slam of a DVD collection. As Patrick Stewart told Entertainment Weekly in 1994, Tom Hanks himself ran into the British actor, who was then well known for playing Capt. As per IMDb, he's appeared in everything from 1982's Blade Runner, to 1997's Selina, to the modern prestige television revival of Battlestar Galactica. How would the role of Jean-Luc Picard have been different with Olmos in the captain's chair? Then again, a slight change could have made all the difference for the nascent show. Except, when Sirtis made it to the final group, the character wasn't named Tasha at all. According to the The Los Angeles Times, Olmos recalled that showrunners had called him and offered to give him the lead role of the captain of the Enterprise. For the mirror universe counterpart, see Data (mirror). True, the role of La Forge was clearly undecided at this point, as it had a few more contenders than that of any of the other characters listed in the memo. by ianspelling@corp.popstar.com (Ian Spelling). It all worked out in the end, with Vulture even calling TNG the "platonic ideal of the Star Trek ethos." Of course, when you're famous or at least well-connected, you might be able to achieve this dream. 5'7\") tall and was right-handed. Before he began regularly appearing on TV and movie screens, baseball great Reggie Jackson was set to audition for the role of engineering chief Geordi La Forge. Long-time Yankees owner, Celebrities To Trade For Charity In April, Shirley We Are Serious: Leslie Nielsen Dead At 84, Yankees Legend -- #1 With the Bat, #2 in the Field, The Star Trek: The Next Generation that almost was, See full article at Corona's Coming Attractions, Star Trek: The Next Generation Casting Memo - Wesley Snipes could have been Georgi, Star Trek: The Next Generation Casting Memo, Jean-Luc Picard & Data Could Have Been Black Men (And Other Star Trek: Tng Casting Choices That Never Were), Yankees owner George Steinbrenner remembered, The Official Major League Baseball World Series Film Collection, 50 Cent Calls New York Yankees Win 'Amazing', Jay-z Joins Alex Rodriguez At New York Yankees Victory Parade, Jay-z Says It's 'Incredible' Hearing His Music At Yankee Stadium, What's Wrong With Baseball? The coach contacted Campos's uncle, a wealthy benefactor of the school, and he warned the couple that their bei… He did look cool in a pair of shades. Berman went on to executive produce the TNG features and to executive produce and co-create Deep Space Nine, … Baseball star Reggie Jackson had been auditioned to play the role of Chief Engineer Geordi La Forge before he regularly appeared on TV and film screens. Futurism reports that Hanks nearly secured the role of starship pioneer Zephram Cochrane in the film Star Trek: First Contact, which featured the TNG crew. Then, Patrick Stewart was cast as Capt. Itzin later appeared in five different guest roles on various Star Trek series, but is best known as the disgraced President Charles Logan on 24. 1987 Paramount Memo Reveals Actors Auditioning For Star Trek: TNG Cast ... Reggie Jackson Tim Russ Wesley Snipes Victor Love Chip McCallister Clarence Gilyard Jr. Kevin Peter Hall. LeVar Burton Reggie Jackson Tim Russ Wesley Snipes Victor Love Chip McCallister Clarence Gilyard Jr. Look at Mae Jemison, former NASA astronaut and first Black woman in space, who also happens to be a big Trekkie herself. Fictional character in the Star Trek franchise. For the role of "Beverly," Cheryl McFadden is the favorite. Stewart very nearly missed the chance to join the Star Trek team, for one. Here are all of the episodes referenced in that crazy scene. | From the archives of Paramount we have a memo—written in April of 1987 to the studio’s Head of Network TV—detailing the acting talent then being considered for various roles in Star Trek: The Next Generation , a programme that would begin to grace the small screen just five months later. He, of course, worked with Gene Roddenberry to launch the show and then ran TNG when Roddenberry pulled back as his health faded. External Sites. Yet, he wasn't interested. Credited With This was no easy decision for Kotto, who had already appeared in Ridley Scott's 1979 sci-fi horror film, Alien, and as a villain in the 1973 James Bond film, Live and Let Die. Captain Jean-Luc Picard, played by Shakespearean actor Patrick Stewart, now consistently ranks as the top Star Trek captain in fan polls like the one conducted by SyFy that had over 50,000 respondents. He went on to audition for Deep Space Nine. He did look cool in a pair of shades. Robert Englund, the American actor who's now best known for his turn as Freddy Keruger in the Nightmare on Elm Street film series, really was in the running to become Data. However, her schedule may pose a problem. Reggie Jackson as Geordi. That struck me as extremely weird. Yet, if things had gone only slightly different way back in 1987, Chao could have been playing a very different character. With Hanks out of the picture, James Cromwell of Babe fame stepped in as Cochrane, the flawed inventor of the warp drive. As he said in an interview with Star Trek, his agent told him that the show's producers were balking on the very issue of his hair. Even half-hearted fans of the sci-fi franchise can probably guess that Hanks still hasn't made it in the world of Star Trek, though. So, why didn't he apparently push harder for the role of La Forge? Perhaps, in some other universe, there's a cool, almost creepy Troi sitting on the bridge of the Enterprise, while Sirtis was busy decking hostile foes as the security chief. This presented a visual problem, apparently, as producers realized that it may have looked strange to have two nearly bald characters. She first appeared in Star Trek: The Next Generation, according to IMDb, but both her role and that of Miles (played by Colm Meaney) were expanded when they joined the cast of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Reggie Jackson. As ScreenRant reports, Data was originally going to be bald. Actors Who Were Almost Cast In Star Trek: The Next Generation. It's a compelling, deeply affecting character arc that's made all the stronger by actor Brent Spiner's interpretation of the simultaneously hopeful and emotionless android. Btig LLC, an institutional broker dealer specializing in trading and related brokerage services, has announced that it will hold its star-studded 2011 Commissions for Charity day on Wednesday, April 27. He later came to regret the move. According to Trek Movie, Menyuk was apparently the front runner to play Data. When, as an adult, his agents told Combs that they'd gotten him an audition for the rebooted series, he balked. Still, it would have been interesting to see Jackson star in a long-term series, rather than one-off appearances in films and shows like The Naked Gun, Richie Rich, Diff'rent Strokes, and The Love Boat, as IMDb reports. Though the role was reportedly written for him, Williams had to pass because he had already promised to star as Peter Pan in Hook. This is a list of notable events, premieres, releases, series cancellations and endings and other business ventures for Nickelodeon in the year 1985. She got the role once LeVar Burton, the episode's director, learned of her love for the franchise. Sirtis, who had only been in the United States for five months, read for the role in auditions, with Denise Crosby reading as counselor Deanna Troi. La Forge was planned to be revealed as the product of alien experimentation. I should have done that but I walked away.". We've all seen the legendary internal Paramount memo that listed the various actors considered for roles on Star Trek: The Next Generation.So, we're talking Yaphet Kotto for Picard, for example, and Eric Menyuk for Data (Brent Spiner wasn't even on the initial list). According to Screen Rant, he was set to play Berlinghoff Rasmussen, a wily time traveling conman in season five's "A Matter of Time." Reggie Jackson (born 18 May 1946; age 74) is a former Major League Baseball right fielder who, in 1987, was under consideration for the role of Geordi La Forge. Money, to Start With, George Steinbrenner gets called on a foul. It must be hard to cast actors for nearly any show. According to the 1987 Paramount casting memo revealed by Trek Movie, Chao was described as a "favorite" for the role of security chief Tasha Yar. He appears in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG) and seasons four through seven of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (DS9) as well as the feature films Star Trek Generations (1994), Star Trek: First Contact (1996), Star Trek: Insurrection (1998), and Star Trek: Nemesis (2002). Though she wasn't included anywhere on the 1987 casting memo reported on by Trek Movie, British-American actress Marina Sirtis was amongst the group of people who tried out for the role of security chief Tasha Yar. Picard tells Riker that “Commander Worf’s head looks like a fanny.” ... Brian suggests baseball-player Reggie Jackson and actor Sidney Poitier. Chao would have also been the only Asian-American member of the main cast. Image: Topps Star Trek fans may know Rosalind Chao best for her turn as Keiko O'Brien, botanist and wife of engineering chief and perpetually downtrodden Starfleet enlisted officer Miles O'Brien. Well done Geordi, there is hope for the future and I always thought Star Trek The Next Generation was a great prediction of this generation right now as we Skype call people on the big screen and ask our computer for answers while entering things into our tablets and tricorders/Iphones. Reggie Jackson (Photo: Mitchell Leff/Getty Images for PGD Global) Reggie Jackson, a Hall of Fame baseball player who spent 21 years in MLB, took part in an athlete-centric episode of Celebrity Jeopardy! Unfortunately, he was too busy directing his first movie, That Thing You Do! Alas, he never entered the Star Trek universe, though he did have a pretty delicious candy bar named after him. Could this be MLB Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson? That was just fine for Menyuk, who was clearly losing his hair by the late 1980s, when casting for TNG was underway. Data is a Soong-type android in the 24th century who served as second officer aboard the USS Enterprise-D and the USS Enterprise-E and eventually captained the latter vessel. "I might as well not have gone because it didn't matter," he said, but that's not quite the case. Thanks to his work on Battlestar, he probably would have brought plenty of gravitas to the role, though one imagines that he may not have been as much of a philosopher king-type as Picard was when he was interpreted by Patrick Stewart. Since Crosby was going to play the security chief after Roddenberry's decision, the character was changed from the Latina "Macha Hernandez" to "Tasha Yar," a blonde with Ukranian heritage, as The Next Generation Companion reports. Robin Williams, another Star Trek fan, nearly landed a guest spot on TNG himself but had to step away at the last minute. As an adult, he stood 170 centimeters (appr. ** The Reggie Jackson listed in that letter as a potential Geordi actor is indeed the legendary baseball player, and not another actor who used that name. as Geordie. During his freshman year at Arizona State, he met Jennie Campos, a Mexican-American. Alas, he never entered the Star Trek universe, though he did have a pretty delicious candy bar named after him. STAR TREK/Casting It could have been so different. Many Star Trek fans naturally dream of appearing in an episode of the series or one of its accompanying films. Yet, he got close. Picard, as played by Kotto, would have been the first Black lead on Star Trek. Then again, being a vocal superfan is no guarantee that you'll land a spot. He was married to Lillian Weinberg. 'It's beautiful ... beyond explanation,' the Mc says of Yankee players using his songs for at-bat music. It really could have been different; 1 alternate choice here and there, and the faces that have long been cemented in the minds of fans may have looked entirely unlike those we all are familiar with now. Somewhere out there is a memo for possible actors for TNG, and what struck me the most interesting was that Reggie Jackson (the baseball player) was a finalist for Geordi. An actor who went on to Star … Geordi. People naturally use analogies to understand new concepts; it’s easier to understand new phenomena in terms of something you already know. Geordi La Forge was born on February 16, 2335 in Mogadishu, Somalia to parents Captain Silva La Forge and noted exozoologist Commander Edward M. La Forge. He's not returning to the baseball diamond, but fans will be able to see the Hall of Famer on Sunday as the MLB is set to air a 90-minute documentary on his career, according to MLB.com. Farrell retired in 2002 after marrying actor Brian Baker. Thus, Brent Spiner and his full head of hair were cast in Menyuk's place. The counselor would have been a more detached character with, one assumes, a pretty logical way of addressing the ship personnel's various problems. "I don 't know if the game has changed," Bob Gibson, now 74, told, I'm not sure who will rejoice at this news more: Yankees or Mets fans. Jackson had started an acting career in the 1980s after retiring from baseball, and had made guest appearances on sitcoms before hand. He competed with Abdul-Jabbar … Showrunners liked both of them, but creator Gene Roddenberry decided that the two actors should switch roles. After a long career in public service in which he saved Queen Elizabeth II from being assassinated by ballplayer Reggie Jackson, and prevented the Academy Awards from being blown up, Lt. Frank Drebin is no longer with us, and neither is Leslie Nielsen. Yep, the New York Yankees legend and Mr. October himself was a favorite to play Geordi! Sirtis, who they believed had "exotic" looks, was deemed a better fit for the slightly alien Troi. List of guest stars who were on The Love Boat! Though it may seem strange for Star Trek fans who are now so used to Sirtis playing the typically soft-spoken, measured Troi, who was so often outfitted in ultra-tight jumpsuits, the character would have originally been very different.