Star Trek: 10 Things You Didn't Know About Kathryn Janeway

Most Voyager fans will be familiar that the role of Captain Janeway was originally given to French-Canadian actress Geneviève Bujold. After just two days of filming, however, she stepped down from the role. This, of course, led to the casting of Kate Mulgrew as Kathryn Janeway and the rest, as they say, is history.

Whilst Mulgrew was always a top choice to take over the role, there were many other recognisable names considered during that time of uncertainty. These included Linda Hamilton - famous for playing Sarah Connor in the first two Terminator films; Lindsay Wagner - known for playing the iconic titular role in the 1970s sci-fi show The Bionic Woman; Kate Jackson - of Charlie’s Angels fame; Tracy Scoggins - who starred in 1993’s Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman and went on to play Elizabeth Lochley in Babylon 5, as well as taking on the role Gilora Rejal in the DS9 episode Destiny; and Susan Gibney - already known in Star Trek for playing Dr. Leah Brahms in the TNG episodes Booby Trap and Galaxy’s Child. Gibney was an early favourite for the role and even filmed test scenes, in costume, on the semi-complete set but was rejected by the network for having too young an appearance.

That so many actresses with experience in the sci-fi genre were considered for the role and, yet, it ultimately went to someone with very little prior knowledge of the genre, highlights the fact that Kate Mulgrew was destined to play Kathryn Janeway.