Walter Koenig, the original "Pavel Chekov" from Star Trek, was in town for the Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo in April. One of the unfortunate things about Expos is that it’s an artificial environment. Actors who know how to play up to a crowd like William Shatner or Wil Wheaton get the praise of everyone.
Yet for some who are quieter and perhaps more introspective, it’s not that good of a showcase – despite these type of actors having a lot more interesting things to say than the showboaters. While preparing this article, I had a chance to watch part of a long interview Mr. Koenig recently did for the Academy of American Television. You do get a better sense of the person and the actor than what I saw for a short time at the Expo.
Given the body of his work and that Mr. Koenig has been in the industry for decades, he has certainly seen a lot of changes – from a three network universe (ABC, NBC, CBS) to a world where not only are there 500 channels, sometimes you don’t even need a network or a television to produce a show. Unlike back in the 1960s, people don’t have to worry as much about being typecast, Mr. Koenig said: "People break out of that all the time...television people go on to movies nowadays" and actors in a genre show will find other work. He didn’t think it was an inhibitor to a career, compared to the past when there was a clearer line between the two. Producers back then, as Mr. Koenig put it, wouldn’t touch anyone for a movie they were already getting for cheap on television.
Besides changes to the industry, as someone who is in his later years, as someone who has worked on a show which had an idealistic vision of the future, and as someone who has given his support to George Takei (he was the Best Man at George’s wedding to his partner), I asked Mr. Koenig what he thought about us slowly turning into the kind of open society in which Star Trek was set.
"I think it’s great we’re more tolerant in many ways, but I’m not sure I could confidently attribute it to Star Trek. I think the country is moving forward and that’s encouraging. On the other hand, for every three steps we take forward we take two backward."
Of course, we do have to ask his opinion on the new Chekov (Anton Yelchin). Mr. Koenig has met the Chekov on the new series of films, and described him as "a very bright young man...he’s starred in several movies already."
As for his feelings on the new film series? "The first one was great...it’s not our Star Trek. It’s a different generation – this generation is committed to action, adventure...pyrotechnics. I don’t say that in a derogatory way – it’s part of the excitement. Ours...moved slower, we were a little more involved in introspection and the depth of some of the characters." Funnily enough, while Star Trek Into Darkness has gotten a good reception overall, there are more than a few people who are pointing out the sacrifice of characterization to bright lights, big fights, and explosions.
That being said, if we could magically turn back the clock on all the actors of the original series and have them act in this movie, Shatner would still hog the screen time, Chekov would still speak his few lines in his funny accent and I suspect everyone would be raving about the new Trek movie. It may not be your father’s Star Trek, and that’s okay, but sometimes we do miss the original – not just for the writing and the ideas, but for the actors in it.
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Evan Kayne |
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Walter Koenig |
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Calgary Expo |
Celebrity Interview |
Celebrity Video Interview |
Comic Expo |
Interview |
Star Trek |
