or seven seasons, Kate Mulgrew has gone where no woman
has gone before: Week in and week out, she's captained
the starship Voyager through peril and triumph. Now, as
the long-running Star Trek series enters the second half
of its final season, Mulgrew takes some time out to
reflect on seasons past--and to postulate on what the
future holds both for Voyager and herself.
What do you think of when you realize that there's light
at the end of tunnel?
Mulgrew: My thoughts are introspective. I've been in the
trenches with these guys. To have been so closely allied
to them for seven years, and to know that this will
abruptly end rankles and divides my heart. I'm
struggling with that, even now, in preparation for the
moment when I'll have to say goodbye to them. For me,
it's always, essentially, about people. And I have loved
these people. I have taken this journey with them.
That's what I'm grappling with in this final season.
In the beginning, did it take time for the writers to
understand how to write Janeway--the first female captain
to anchor a Trek series?
Mulgrew: They were concerned about my inherent command and
authority. The first couple of seasons were tough; I was
highly scrutinized. It seemed to me everything was
analyzed to an inch of its being, and then when they saw
I could not only command the ship but do it with a
degree of aplomb they began to give me some slack--that
is when the true creative process began. I think the
writers watch as the character develops. Some actors do
that more effectively than others, and I think in my
case they grew to trust me. Now they pretty much
understand, exactly, my possession of Janeway, and they
know how to write her.
How much of Kate Mulgrew is now reflected in Kathryn Janeway?
Mulgrew: More and more, as the writers and I come to fully
understand that one is not as interesting without the
other. I have always likened it to a love affair: It
takes a long time to make a commitment from the writers
to the character, and from the character to the writers.
They begin to write in the voice that belongs not only
to the character that they have devised, but they are
listening to the actress who is portraying that
character. And you take more risks as you become relaxed
and you realize you are out of the trenches and onto the
field.
While much is often said about the harmony and family-like environment on the Voyager set, was there ever any
discord over the years?
Mulgrew: That's the nature of the beast--conflicts between
actors and writers, between actors and actors, between
producers and directors. It's the nature of nighttime
television that these conflicts should exist, because
we're very different people. And as one increasingly
possesses one's own character, those tensions can also
become even stronger. For instance, I would state very
frankly that I feel that I own Janeway now, in a way
that even the writers do not. Therefore, if I find her
saying something that I consider very inappropriate to
Janeway, I will simply call that in. Generally speaking,
they have been not only respectful and attentive, but
they've been quite collaborative. And sometimes they
haven't.
The fourth season is where Janeway really came into her
own--both as a character and a commander. How would you
characterize that change?
Mulgrew: [At first she was] a little overwhelmed with this
command. An intrepid ship, wonderful senior officers--and then to instantly find herself in that excruciating
dilemma, electing to save the Ocampans, thereby
stranding us in the Delta Quadrant--it put Janeway
immediately into a kind of crunch mode, out of which she
did not emerge for a few years. [Later] she became much
looser, much more of a risk-taker, I think. I would say
she allowed her feelings and the depth of what those
feelings mean to her to show there is more levity, more
enjoyment of the moment. She is much less cerebral, and
much more visceral.
How have you evolved as an actress during your time on
Voyager?
Mulgrew: I have grown as an actress in my attentive risk-taking, and in my ability to concentrate for long
stretches of time on very difficult material, highly
technological material At the same time I miss sorely
the very direct and chemical challenge of being on stage
or playing other characters. Diversity does not exist
in this kind of long-term contract because what they
want you to do is be very faithful to the character and
that is, of course, part of the deal.
What is it that's kept the series fresh for you over the
course of seven years?
Mulgrew: Good writing. And one's partner is crucial to the
process. So if you've got good writing and a good
[acting] partner, it's a pretty terrific feeling--and
I've been blessed with both of those opportunities time
and again on this series.
From the outset, Janeway's had a complex relationship
with her second-in-command, Chakotay (Robert Beltran)--yet that relationship has yet to be expounded on.
Mulgrew: I think that needs to be wrapped up a little bit;
that's unresolved. How intimate is [the relationship]?
What do they mean to each other? What have they lived
through in these seven years? Is there a future for them
as friends, and if so, what kind of a future?
Are there any episodic moments from season seven thus
far that stand out in your mind?
Mulgrew: There are so many--my head is really swimming, there
are so many.
How about the season opener, the second part of
"Unimatrix Zero," in which you were in Borg costume? What
was that like?
Mulgrew: It's fine. I went in, I sat down, and it only took
those guys three hours--these makeup artists are highly
skilled people. Then I went in and did the work, had to
do that three or four times, and it doesn't bother me,
it's sort of challenging.
What did you think about the script for the upcoming
episode, "Shattered?"
Mulgrew: That was Chakotay and me. It was a bit of a wacky
script. Temporal prime directive, where Voyager goes
through many temporal barriers. Time zones, back and
forth, pre-season one, and where we are now. I'm not
sure what [it was after].
When you look back, do you have any favorites that jump
to mind?
Mulgrew: "Night" I liked. But I don't think the audience liked
it so much. The audience wanted Janeway to be a little
more forward-looking. And I had hoped that they would
look inward with me. Her loneliness and its dependent
depression is revealed, which is a very frightening
thing for a captain responsible for 145 crew [to admit].
It's very bold. But it is very important that the
audience recognizes the flaws in this captain so they
can embrace her humanity and relate to it--which I think
I have really done with Janeway. That will be the
odyssey of which I'm proudest; I think I have really
extended her humanity. I like it because it was
introspective. I like it because it gives Janeway a lot
to do on a deeper level than she's accustomed to
dwelling in. And of course I like it as an actress. I
think it's a very powerful and substantive theme--that of
loneliness in command--and I think that Brannan [Braga]
wrote a beautiful script. I will always say that Braga
is a hell of a writer--very edgy, very dark. He knows how
to go down there. And I loved playing it.
Have you ever thought about what the final episodes of
Voyager should be like, or would be like?
Mulgrew: I think at this point, I'm living it. It's
interesting the way that they seem to be delaying
getting us home. Now the momentum is such that they're
going to have to start to develop the final arc pretty
quickly. Are we going home, are we not, if we're not--what's going to happen. And so on, and so forth. I should make it very clear to you that I know nothing.
I've been told nothing. They're extremely careful of
that upstairs. The writers are very protective of their
material and their ideas, and they do not share them
with us in advance, so don't ask me, because I don't
know.
What are you plans after Voyager wraps, and you've
retired from the captain's chair?
Mulgrew: I'm going back to the theater; I have some offers on
the table. And I'm looking forward to understanding how
to be out of work, and how to live. My mother is not
well, some of the people very close to me are struggling
right now, so I think I'd just like to give my time, my
heart and my life to my loved ones. I'm very much
looking forward to the end--because I'm very much
looking forward to the rest of my life.
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