Star Trek: 10 Things You Didn't Know About Kira Nerys
She may advise you to walk with the Prophets, but that doesn't mean she isn't ready with a phaser.
Major, and of course later Colonel, Kira Nerys burst onto our screens in 1993, instantly solidifying herself as one of the strongest female characters in Star Trek's history. Since then, she is often held up as an example of a well-written, brilliantly-acted character - one who has been endlessly analysed.
One of the fun, and challenging, roles that we do here is to go through all that has been shared about the process of bringing a character to life, and assessing what has been discussed to death (yes, we know the role was originally meant to be Ro Laren!) and what is one of the deeper gems from the production vaults.
Nana Visitor has been invaluable in her frank honesty about Kira - the power that she felt radiate from the character, and the frustrations she often faced behind the scenes. There is a tendency for audiences to believe that the actor often creates the role, and all the lines therein, but often that is far from the truth.
Major Kira is a role model, a challenging icon, and a powerful reminder of the effects of trauma on a person.
10. She Was Originally Labelled A Turncoat
It's fairly well-known that the character of Kira Nerys was intended to be Ro Laren, with Michelle Forbes returning for the role. Forbes herself passed on committing to a television show, which gave the producers an opportunity to design an entirely new character, with Nana Visitor taking the role.
Her initial description was that she was a belligerent officer, highly critical of the new government that had taken control on Bajor. While that element of the character was retained, one that was quietly dropped was that her former terrorist compatriots saw her as a turncoat.
While it's touched on in the series, her initial brief would have seen her helping round up her former cellmates, at least those who refused to fall in-line with the provisional government. There was a bit of a shift in how this was presented - Kira was always hot-headed in the beginning, but she was also fiercely loyal to her fellow Bajorans.
One early example of conflict was in the first season episode Progress, which saw Kira tasked with removing an elderly man from his home. It was the first of many heartbreaking moments for her.