One of the interesting casting situations had to do with
eh French actress named Geneviève Bujold eh, she had been an Academy Award winning
movie star, French-Canadian
and she came and read for us,
and Michael and Jeri adored her.
Let's read her the riot act let's tell her
h, how awful it can be to be a regular on a television series that she's going to be working with
directors she doesn't know, she's going to be working 15 hours a day.
Painted a very dark picture of what it was like
Studio was in love with the idea of an Academy Award winning movie star,
and we told her everything, we told her everything
about what how horrible being on a television show would be,
and she said let me go home and talk to my children,
and she called me the next day
and she said I've spoken with my children
and the answer is oui, oui I will do it, and I just went.
She refused, well earlier she refused to dye her hair.
She had completely grey hair and we wanted her to dye it
she refused to dye it she finally agreed to dye it,
and she finally went to her trailer in tears.
She quit on the first day and as eh maybe it was the second day.
I went down to her trailer with the director and I, I was very calm
I, I looked at her, and I just said look just pack up your stuff and go home.
I called the studio people called the chairmen of television division and told him the story.
We just said let's shut down and shutting down is very expensive
because you have to carry a lot of people
and let's start the casting procedure again and luckily we had a second and third choisss
and the second choisss eh was Kate Mulgrew.
but somewhere the the dailies of that first day or 2 days with Geneviève Bujold exist uhm.
The Cardassians gave us the last known heading of the Maquis ship and we have charts of the...
I think Kate's a very interesting actor. She managed to be a, a woman.
Without it looking like boasting she was my first choice from the beginning.
I had the Paramount brass standing on the lip of my bridge
every day for at least 6 months arms crossed in their double breasted suits glaring at me
Tuvok. She went over and greeted ensign Kim,
she looked around the coms she said hello to Roxanne in science, she said hello to mister Paris at the helm
and she sat down in her chair and she says...
Ungaj *laughter*
I'm not being derisive it's what she says.
Now this is an American series right, and it was going to be very difficult
and everything would have to be rouge alert *laughter*
so after and I am not exaggerating 47 takes of ungaj, right,
and of course she's now becoming completely frustrated UNGAJ UNGAJ
She finally said I am fini ce fini de montre, this is crazy,
I am going to my trailer bring the producers bring the President I'm done.
*Laughter*
They came to her trailer and she said "You are absurd, you people are insane. You call this working? this is slavery.
You want me to work like this for 18 hours a day for 7 years for money?"
POOF she can't. "I am leaving I have a son and I have a lover, au revoir" *laughter* *claps*
She left, and the call came to me.
It's unfair that's all, everybody's on my back about this.
I mean there's whining about how I can't make a commitment and I'm cold,
I'm afraid of intimacy and then everybody jumps on my back,
and acts like I'm neurotic or something and I'm not doing my job.
Now don't you find that surprising?