Anthony Montgomery says he was “Harry Kimmed”

Anthony Montgomery played Ensign Travis Mayweather on Star Trek: Enterprise

Four Star Trek series that laid the groundwork for the series that are airing now all had one thing in common. They tended to underutilize some of their main characters. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine did a better job than any of them, and, for the most part, all of the cast was used in some way. But The Original Series, The Next Generation, Voyager, and Enterprise left some of the cast on the backburner, and that’s what Anthony Montgomery, who played Ensign Travis Mayweather on Star Trek: Enterprise, discussed when he appeared at the 56-Year Mission Las Vegas convention. [via Trekmovie]

When asked what scenes the actors didn’t enjoy filming, Montgomery went in a different direction, stating he didn’t like the fact that he didn’t have a lot to do, and there were many times he would go in to shoot for one day, film one scene, and then leave for the week. The panel was being moderated by Garrett Wang, who played Ensign Harry Kim on Star Trek: Voyager for seven seasons, and Wang said felt Montgomery’s pain.

"Wang: Anthony, I just want to say, I feel your pain. “Shields at thirty percent, captain.” “You’re wrapped Harry, thank you.”"

Anthony Montgomery was warned early on about his potential fate on Enterprise.

When Montgomery got the part of Ensign Mayweather, some people said they hoped they [the powers-that-be] didn’t “Harry Kim” him. Montgomery didn’t know what that meant, but when his character wasn’t being utilized, he was told about Garrett Wang’s part and how he wasn’t used very much in Voyager, either. Montgomery then told the audience that he didn’t realize Garrett’s character was a verb, adding, “they Harry Kimmed” me.

And except for one episode of Enterprise in season two “Horizon,” the audience didn’t learn that much about the ensign, and he didn’t have much to do. But, unfortunately, he wasn’t alone. For his co-stars John Billingsley, Dominic Keating, and Linda Park were underutilized on the series as well which is a shame considering in some episodes these actors were really given the ability to shine even for brief moments. And knowing how well they did then, the fans knew they could do more. Montgomery summed up what most actors who don’t have much to do on set probably feel.

"Because I’m actually pretty damn talented, if I do say so myself. Because I worked hard at it. That’s not me looking for kudos. But I work hard at my craft. And I just felt like I was underutilized."

I do wonder if it would have made a different in Enterprise’s ratings if those characters were given more to do. Though that’s something we’ll never know, it’s not too late to bring some of these actors aboard other series and give them the opportunities they never got on Enterprise.