10 Amazing Behind The Scenes Secrets Of Star Trek: Voyager

I could just leave this at the headline and let your imagination do the rest, but they pay me by the word so...

Robert Picardo's portrayal of the ship's holographic doctor was one of the most satisfying personal transformations on the show. Initially stiff and uptight, his programming blossomed across the show's seven seasons to allow the actor to flex his more comedic muscles. Something he'd done his entire career, meaning this role was, in the beginning, against type.

Famously landing the part when he adlibbed "I'm a Doctor, not a nightlight" during his audition, he was initially reluctant to accept when he discovered that the part would be a) incredibly dry and b) largely confined to one set. The role of Neelix, however, an incredible expressive comic-relief character that was also being auditioned for at the time, appealed to him greatly and he asked the producers to let him have a crack at that as well. Sadly, Ethan Phillips had already landed the part, and so they refused.

Picardo had a lucky escape though, as his only concern about the Neelix role was how long it would require in the make-up chair. A question he was given "around 15 minutes" as an answer to. In reality, Ethan Phillips spent around 3 hours every day undergoing his Talaxian transformation; something Picardo has said he categorically would have eventually quit over.