12 Actors Who Hated Being On Star Trek

1. Garrett Wang

Harry Kim
CBS

To date, Garrett Wang is the only cast member to have had a request to direct an episode refused by the producers.

Many Star Trek alumni and current cast have taken the director's chair along the way. Shatner and Nimoy, Frakes and Burton, Stewart and Brooks - all of them have directed episodes or features of the franchise. So when Garrett Wang put in his request, it may have been with a sense of 'just a formality' to put in the application.

That it was denied seems to be emblematic of a larger issue with Star Trek Voyager. In the seven year run of the show, it suffered from ratings issues and the aforementioned tensions due to the introduction of Seven of Nine. Characters were underwritten and underdeveloped and perhaps the worst victim of this is Wang.

A common joke is that Harry Kim was the franchise's forever ensign, unable to gain a promotion even though he had more experience than half of Starfleet. This is even remarked on in several episodes. However, Wang says that he did ask for his character to be promoted and the response was 'well, someone has to be the ensign'.

Couple this with the refusal of the directing gig and the lack of cast cohesion ala The Next Generation, then there is little mystery as to why Garrett Wang did not have the most enjoyable time on Star Trek. Like many others on this list, he attends the conventions and seems more than happy to be a part of the show regardless.

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Contributor
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Seán is the host and head writer/presenter for TrekCulture, as well as a writer/presenter on WhoCulture and WhatCulture Horror. He has authored two novels, dozens of short stories, and hundreds of articles for WhatCulture. He holds a Master of Arts in Creative Writing from University College Dublin. As part of his work with TrekCulture, Seán has been invited to participate in collaborations with Roddenberry Entertainment, as well as contributing to several Star Trek community projects. An avid fan of Star Trek, Doctor Who, and the horror genre at large, Seán's expertise has helped develop these channels to the successes they are today. As host of the Ups & Downs series on TrekCulture, Seán has become internationally recognised for his positive yet critically informed approach to reviewing every episode of modern Star Trek, ensuring he is one of the go-to voices in the Trek community. Favourite Quote to describe himself: "I'm serious about what I do, just not always about the way that I do it"