The Star Trek Guest Actor Who Almost Played Captain Janeway Before Kate Mulgrew

When “Star Trek: Voyager” was in development in 1994, the franchise was running hot. “Star Trek: The Next Generation” was making its way to the big screen in the form of “Star Trek: Generations,” and its spinoff, “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine,” was finding its stride at the beginning of its third season. “Deep Space Nine,” however, was set on board a space station, and the franchise’s head honchos felt that an additional “Trek” show should be created to incorporate more traditional star trekking. “Voyager” was set on board a Starfleet vessel, the U.S.S. Voyager, as it became stranded 75 years away from Earth. 

Show creators Rick Berman, Michael Piller, and the recently late Jeri Taylor, while developing their series, decided they wanted the captain of the U.S.S. Voyager to be a woman, as all the previous lead “Star Trek” captains had been men. Captain Kathryn Janeway was created, and casting began in due time. Eventually, the trio settled on veteran actress Kate Mulgrew for the role, and many liked Mulgrew’s natural openness and authority; Janeway was a great character, and Mulgrew helped her grow.

But Mulgrew wasn’t a shoo-in from the start. Indeed, deep-cut Trekkies will likely be able to tell you about the notorious two days on the “Voyager” set when celebrated Canadian actress Geneviève Bujold played Janeway. Bujold, unused to working in TV, wasn’t able to handle the show’s fast pace, and her energy was very low (as her surviving footage indicated). She quit after two days, and Mulgrew came in to replace her at the last minute. 

Fewer will likely be able to tell you about a third actress who was also in serious consideration for Janeway. It seems that Susan Gibney, who had previously played Dr. Leah Brahms in two episodes of “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” had undergone a very lengthy audition process for “Voyager,” and was seemingly on the cusp of getting the gig when Bujold was selected. Gibney talked about her many auditions in a 2014 interview with StarTrek.com.

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

Gibney was comfortable with “Star Trek.” She knew the people involved and was ready to lead a new series. She was brought back to the “Voyager” set time and time again to prove herself. She even got to wear the captain’s uniform. By Gibney’s recollection: 

“They did a whole screen test and brought in the other actors and a crew. We did several hair tests and several costume tests, and then they brought in everybody who’d been cast and the entire crew. And they filmed most of the scenes in the pilot that day. Was that the first test or the second test? I did three tests for them. Every time I thought it was over … I guess I was up against Genevieve. She got it. I was in New York [when Bujold left] and I was told, ‘Susan, you’ve got to fly back to L.A.’ Then there was another audition.” 

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

Gibney recalled having to audition back-to-back with multiple other actresses who, she felt, weren’t very good for the role. She suspected her audition partners were strategic selections by executive producer Rick Berman to make her look better. Sadly, it didn’t seem to be quite enough, as Mulgrew eventually landed the job. As she remembered: 

“I had an audition with another woman, but evidently, the other woman didn’t do as well that day as they would have liked, so they thought Rick was trying to get me on the show by not having good-enough people opposite me. Then it went to the last round and, anyway, we know the results of that one. This was weeks and weeks. I was there and I was in, and I was out, and I was in, and I was out. So it was a long process.”

Gibney did say that she got something of a “consolation prize” for her extended efforts. She was eventually cast in a two-part episode “Deep Space Nine” as a character named Commander Erika Benteen. In the first part, “Homefront” (January 1, 1996), she was a Commander. In the second part, “Paradise Lost” (January 8), the character had been promoted to Captain. She was placed in command of a starship named the U.S.S. Lakota. 

So Gibney didn’t get to play Captain Janeway, but she did get to play a legitimate Starfleet captain, even if it was for just one episode. And, because Trekkies have good memories, she will forever be remembered as an integral part of “Star Trek” lore. Also, many have argued that “Deep Space Nine” is the best of all “Star Trek” shows — better than “Voyager” to be sure — so Gibney will always have that to be smug about.