Garrett Wang believes a comment kept him from directing

When Star Trek: Voyager was still airing, Garrett Wang expressed his desire to direct an episode of the series. His other cast members, Robert Duncan McNeill, Tim Russ, Robert Picardo, and Roxann Dawson all helmed the director’s chair. Wang’s request, however, was denied. And the actor believes it’s because of a comment he made off record to a TV Guide reporter.

Wang believed Rick Berman’s rule that the human characters should show less emotion was ridiculous and told the reporter that he though the producers of Voyager didn’t take the risks to make the show as good as it could be. The reporter printed the comment, and Wang says “even though I wasn’t really specific about what the issue was, that printed comment alone sealed the death of my ambitions to direct an episode of Star Trek.”

Wang requested to direct an episode shortly after the TV Guide article had been printed and was immediately turned down. He said he was the first actor in Star Trek history whose request to direct was denied. Wang believed he could have brought something to the director’s chair because of his lifelong appreciation for science fiction.

"I truly believe that if I was given the chance, it would have been the best freshman effort by a Trek actor because of my passion for sci-fi."

Whether or not the TV Guide article was the death knell for Wang’s request will, most likely, never be known. And since the producers haven’t spoken up about the reason he was denied after all of these years, it’s probably a safe bet to say they won’t now. And without confirmation, there’s no way of really knowing if Wang’s supposition is correct. But we do all know that what we say can often have a big impact on our careers.