Though considered, these two actors wouldn't have worked as Captain Janeway had they been cast

Star Trek: Voyager fans know that Kate Mulgrew wasn't the first captain of Voyager...at least not when the series started filming. Originally, Geneviève Bujold had the role, but once she decided to back out, Mulgrew captured the role and went on to make history with it.

As the role was being cast, though, there were other women considered for it, even Susan Gibney, who portrayed Dr. Leah Brahms on Star Trek: The Next Generation. She was, in fact, one of the favorites for the role and even screen-tested, but ultimately, it was decided that she looked too young. But two more actors were considered which would have resulted in a Captain Kathryn Janeway that wouldn't have worked quite as well, at least not in my opinion.

According to Whatculture, both Linda Hamilton and Lindsay Wagner could have potentially gotten the role of Janeway, and as talented as both of these women were, neither would have been the ideal type of Janeway that Star Trek: Voyager needed to succeed.

When it was decided that the next captain on a Star Trek series would be a woman, everyone behind the scenes knew it had to be the "right" woman. Not just anyone could do the job. Janeway needed to be tough but fair and be able to command without being questioned and respected without the need to instill fear in her crew. And the person assuming the role would need to convey authority without being overbearing. Basically, she would have to convince an entire audience of viewers, who weren't sure about a female captain in Star Trek in the first place, that she was the right person to be in command of Voyager.

The toughness Hamilton brings to her characters would have stood her in good stead, and she's even proven, in the series Beauty and the Beast, she had a softness that could have benefited Captain Janeway. But she excels more at the hard roles that involve physicality and ruthlessness, something Janeway didn't utilize much of, although "Year of Hell" did bring out that side of her somewhat.

Wagner has a kind personality which always comes across in her roles, even when she's supposed to be angry. The roles she has undertaken have played to her strengths, and while she is someone who you'd want to be friends with, it would be difficult to have seen her as the captain of Voyager.

Perhaps it's simply because I can't see anyone else as Captain Janeway that makes me think neither Hamilton nor Wagner would have been able to become the commander that Kate Mulgrew portrayed on Voyager. It's just as easy to say I couldn't see Kate Mulgrew being The Bionic Woman. Some actors are given a role to play, and they do well with it. Others are given a role to play, and they make it their own. That was Kate Muolgrew.