Charles X
In a memo to Star Trek casting director Joe D’Agosta, Gene Roddenberry suggested hiring Michael J. Pollard, who he had “been hearing good things about.”
D’Agosta preferred Walker, telling author Marc Cushman, “It’s pretty amazing that we were able to get actors of a certain status, but Star Trek was an unusual show and I think it was recognized to them as that right from the beginning. We were the only theatrical show on television. We had the costumes, yes, that’s always part of it, but we also had current topics under the guise of science fiction. The scripts read theatrically; they read in such a way that they were very appealing to actors. They weren’t getting the same thing from other shows.”
Grace Lee Whitney said, “Robert Walker was a stroke of casting luck for Star Trek. It’s impossible to imagine anyone else in that role. He captured the perfect balance, projecting vulnerability, innocence, and horrifying menace, all at the same time.”
“Charlie X” writer Dorothy Fontana said, “I thought he was excellent. He was a fine actor. A little old for it but he still looked young. When I saw the finished show, I thought, ‘Gee, he did a really good job.’ And he managed to pull off a lot of the things that were important to me.”
D’Agosta preferred Walker, telling author Marc Cushman, “It’s pretty amazing that we were able to get actors of a certain status, but Star Trek was an unusual show and I think it was recognized to them as that right from the beginning. We were the only theatrical show on television. We had the costumes, yes, that’s always part of it, but we also had current topics under the guise of science fiction. The scripts read theatrically; they read in such a way that they were very appealing to actors. They weren’t getting the same thing from other shows.”
Grace Lee Whitney said, “Robert Walker was a stroke of casting luck for Star Trek. It’s impossible to imagine anyone else in that role. He captured the perfect balance, projecting vulnerability, innocence, and horrifying menace, all at the same time.”
“Charlie X” writer Dorothy Fontana said, “I thought he was excellent. He was a fine actor. A little old for it but he still looked young. When I saw the finished show, I thought, ‘Gee, he did a really good job.’ And he managed to pull off a lot of the things that were important to me.”
Joe D’Agosta did bring in Michael J. Pollard for Star Trek, but saved him to guest star with Kim Darby several weeks later in “Miri.” Joe D’Agosta said, “Michael was one of a kind. You either loved him or hated him, because he was so, for lack of a better term, quirky. Odd. But interesting; unique. He brought that same performance to every job he did.”
Director Vincent McEveety said, “When you’re dealing with actors, any actors, you never know what you’re going to come up with. I mean, they can be the sweetest guy in the world on screen and yet they’re next to impossible when you meet them and attempt to work with them. He [Pollard] is a very quirky fellow. But, for a while, you don’t care how quirky actors are as long as they hit their mark and remember their lines. In his case, he could play it any way he chose because that was the character that they [the writer/producers] envisioned. They wanted that quirkiness and that nuttiness. So it was a very strange take on a character, but an actor who was absolutely professional.”
Director Vincent McEveety said, “When you’re dealing with actors, any actors, you never know what you’re going to come up with. I mean, they can be the sweetest guy in the world on screen and yet they’re next to impossible when you meet them and attempt to work with them. He [Pollard] is a very quirky fellow. But, for a while, you don’t care how quirky actors are as long as they hit their mark and remember their lines. In his case, he could play it any way he chose because that was the character that they [the writer/producers] envisioned. They wanted that quirkiness and that nuttiness. So it was a very strange take on a character, but an actor who was absolutely professional.”
Find out the details behind the making of every episode of the original Star Trek in the three-book series These are the Voyages – TOS. Season 1 is available now in hardback, softback and in Kindle.
Season 2 is warping your way for publication in early 2014, from Jacobs/Brown Press.
Season 2 is warping your way for publication in early 2014, from Jacobs/Brown Press.
