There are No Little Roles

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Michael Dunn, from Wild, Wild West
Michael Dunn, who was becoming a celebrity as a result of his Academy Award nominated performance in Ship of Fools and numerous high profile TV appearances, such as “Mr. Big,” the leader of Kaos, in Get Smart. The role of Balok required a small and harmless looking individual to serve in contrast to the alien commander’s alter-ego -- the large and menacing image he transmitted to the Enterprise in an effort to intimidate the Earth crew. Gene Roddenberry and his staff preferred Howard for the part over Dunn, because he would be unrecognizable. The idea was to have the audience react to this strange alien being and not to the actor playing him. If Dunn had been cast, many watching would no doubt have pointed at their TVs and said, “Hey, look, it’s Dr. Miguelito Loveless from The Wild, Wild West!” Dunn would turn up in Star Trek®for the third season episode “Plato’s Stepchildren,” where the element of unexpected discovery was not  as imperative.

There will be many moments of “unexpected discovery” for you in These are the Voyages — TOS, Season One to be published by Jacobs/Brown Press in July 2013.
Watch for These are the Voyages — TOS, Seasons Two and Three, set for publication by Jacobs/Brown Press later in 2013.