John Billingsley turned down an audition for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

John Billingsley played Dr. Phlox for four seasons on Star Trek: Enterprise.

Though Star Trek: Enterprise didn’t make it to seven seasons, getting cancelled after only four seasons, it is still well-known, especially now in the age of streaming. With the series having been on several streaming channels before moving exclusively to Paramount+, Enterprise was able to gain a bigger fan following, and the cast and characters have become even more popular, including the ever cheerful, wise Dr. Phlox, the Denobulan doctor who was portrayed by John Billingsley.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is the next series in the Star Trek arsenal which will be debuting this May. While in production, the series was looking for guest stars and had some character slots to fill. So John Billingsley was asked to audition. For a guest slot. The same actor who’d spent four years on a Star Trek show, had made Dr. Phlox one of the best doctors on a series, and was credited for 97 episodes was asked to audition for another Star Trek series. Unsurprisingly, according to an interview Billingsley gave to Treknews.net, he said no.

Did the producers of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds not know who John Billingsley was?

You would think, before an actor was asked to audition, the casting director would catch a glimpse of the actor’s resume. If so, they would have seen that Billingsley wasn’t a struggling thespian just dipping his toe into the franchise’s stream of series. He had a starring role on a Star Trek series for four seasons and has appeared at many conventions.

Billingsley thinks there is a disconnect between the producers of the new shows and Star Trek: Enterprise. Perhaps they simply know nothing about the series.

"Oh, now here’s the thing that got me! I was asked to audition for a small supporting part on Strange New Worlds. And I said to my agent, ‘could you just let them know that I was on Star Trek!?’ I turned it down.I think there’s a strange disconnect between the folks making the new shows and Enterprise. I think we were seen at the time, fairly or unfairly, to be the red-headed stepchild of the franchise, the show that, briefly, crippled the franchise. So, I’m not sure if there’s any great appreciation or even cognizance for the Enterprise cast, with maybe the exception of the captain, as characters to be resurrected. I could be wrong."

Still, it’s essentially a slap in the face to ask any Star Trek actor to audition for another Star Trek series. It’s no wonder Billingsley turned down the offer.