Star Trek has recast characters every now and then.
Star Trek has been around for nearly 60 years. It’s been a long-running franchise that has revisited the well on specific characters and ships a few times over its existence as a franchise. Some actors and actresses have been a part of the brand for decades on decades, and have elevated specific characters to unique heights.
When a character lands with a fanbase, the actor who portrayed them becomes galvanized. Yet, that doesn’t mean they can’t or won’t be recast later on in the process, nor does it mean that the person is guaranteed what they want when they want it.
It should also be noted that sometimes, the wrong person was picked to play the character. It happens and we’re looking at three times a character was recast for a reason other than the character being rebooted. We’re also not looking at older or younger actors and actresses who were brought in during filming to play a different-aged version of a character.
Three times non-rebooted characters got recast
Alexander Rozhenko (Worf’s son)
Alexander Rozhenko was actually played by three different young men across the franchise. The three actors were Jon Steuer, who first portrayed the character, then Brian Bonsall, who had the longest time as the character, and Marc Worden, who arguably had the most to do with the character.
Kathryn Janeway
Kathryn Janeway is the iconic captain of the beloved starship Voyager. She was famously brought to life by Kate Mulgrew but she wasn’t the first person to play the role, as French-Canadian actress Genevieve Bujold. Bujold filmed most of the first episode before quitting, forcing the crew to bring in Mulgrew to replace her.
Saavik
The late Kirstie Alley debuted the Saavik character in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, but her rising star at the time and higher salary demands saw the film’s sequels recast her with Robin Curtis instead.