Why These Star Trek Actors Really Left The Franchise

Jeffrey Hunter's brief "Star Trek" stint can be attributed to a blend of personal choices and professional considerations. He originated the role of Captain Christopher Pike in the original pilot, "The Cage," filmed in late 1964. However, when the NBC network didn't pick up the series, Hunter's obligation ended. Desilu Productions invited him back for the second pilot. He declined.

Speculation runs rampant regarding the reasons. Accounts from those close to the matter differ on specifics but all concur that Hunter was unenthusiastic about returning. In 1972, former Desilu V.P. Oscar Katz recounted that following a screening of the pilot, "Word came back that [Hunter] didn't want to do it because he didn't like the show." With Desilu's business affairs department and Hunter's agent miles apart, and time running out to cast the second pilot, tempers got short. "One day I said, 'Well, forget it, we'll sign another lead.'" Thus, Captain Pike's mantle went to William Shatner's Captain Kirk.

The unaired pilot eventually became part of the episode "The Menagerie," but even that required negotiations between Desilu and Hunter to reuse the footage within the series. We can thank Hunter for agreeing to those terms.

Gates McFadden's abrupt exit from "TNG" at the end of season one stunned fans. As the actress behind Dr. Beverly Crusher, she played an integral role in the show's familial dynamics. Her character's departure, leaving her son Wesley (Wil Wheaton) aboard the Enterprise, struck many as absurd. Speculation swirled regarding conflicts with higher-ups, including producer Maurice Hurley, and disagreements about her character's portrayal.

In a recent interview, Michael Rosenbaum questioned McFadden about whether her working relationship with Hurley led to her departure. She acknowledged the possibility, stating, "I think I definitely pissed him off." She cited concerns about the initial season's regressive portrayal of women in scripts and her dissatisfaction with the portrayal of Crusher's relationship with Wesley. "I kept saying, why is it that I've raised this genius kid... and yet every time there's anything, even possibly serious, it's only the male characters that talk to him," she explained. "She's a scientist. I'm not buying this."

The cast and fans alike didn't buy her farewell, which led to problems for her successor, Diana Muldaur. For fans of McFadden and Crusher, this unfortunate state of affairs lasted only one year. McFadden would return to the enterprise that was "TNG" in season three and stayed on for the rest of the show's run. She also reprised the role for the "TNG" movies and "Star Trek: Picard." 

George Takei and Nichelle Nichols, celebrated for their iconic portrayals of Sulu and Uhura in the original "Star Trek" series, triumphantly returned to their roles for the animated "Star Trek" series (1973–1974). However, their participation almost never happened. Filmation Associates, the animation company, initially aimed to cast only five original series actors. While William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, and DeForest Kelley reclaimed their signature roles, Takei and Nichols were left out in the cold. James Doohan was to assume the mantle of Scotty and all other male characters, including Sulu. Majel Barrett Roddenberry was to resume her role as Nurse Chapel and perform all other female characters, including Uhura.

Nimoy, however, nobly rebelled, stating, "I refused to do Spock until they were hired." With that, Filmation welcomed Takei and Nichols aboard. Takei and Walter Koenig corroborated Nimoy's stance in the documentary "For the Love of Spock" (2016).

However, this was not one big happy fleet. Koenig, known for his portrayal of Chekov, found himself excluded from the animated adaptation due to cost constraints, and, regrettably, no advocate championed his cause. They instead offered Koenig the opportunity to pen an episode, resulting in the peculiar segment "The Infinite Vulcan."

While "TNG" grappled with a lot of offscreen drama involving its regular female cast members — namely Sirtis, Crosby, McFadden, and Muldaur — Michelle Forbes' departure took a different, more amicable path.

Forbes brought complexity and charisma to the character of Ensign Ro Laren during her seven appearances on "TNG." There were initial plans to transition her to "Deep Space Nine" as a core cast member. Producer Michael Piller noted, "Michelle Forbes is a wonderful actress, and her character of Ensign Ro created the entire canvas for this new series... It had always been assumed that she would be one of the people spun off and moved over to the new series."

However, Forbes harbored other aspirations. In 2005, she explained in an interview with TV Zone magazine that she didn't want to commit to a series. She reflected, "If I'd gone on to do DS9, I might not have had the variety I've been lucky to have in my career... That's not to say I wasn't grateful for the opportunity; I genuinely was. However, I had to make a choice that felt right for me, which was a difficult one."

When Forbes reprised her role in "Picard," she shared on Instagram, "Ro taught me a lot. I've held those lessons close. She always stayed true to her word & beliefs. Always honest. Even if uncomfortable."

Wil Wheaton's portrayal of the "wunderkind" character Wesley Crusher faced substantial backlash, with some viewers labeling him a "Mary Sue" figure. Though challenging for the young actor, it wasn't the primary reason for his eventual departure from the show.

Wheaton explained, "Here's the absolute truth why I left 'Star Trek': I left 'Star Trek' because it was seriously interfering with my career in feature films." Commitments to the series had forced him to turn down several movie roles. The breaking point came when director Miloš Forman expressed interest in casting him for his 1989 film "Valmont." However, the "TNG" team wouldn't write Wesley out of the first scheduled episode of Season 3 or adjust the production order to accommodate the film's shooting schedule. Wheaton was told the first episode of the season focused entirely on Wesley. "I said, 'Well, this really sucks, but I'm under contract to you guys and if that's your call and if that's what you say I have to do, I have to do.' I had to pass on the movie."

But that wasn't the end of it. The production order of the first two episodes got flipped, and Wesley played an insignificant in the first segment. "The message was, "We own you. Don't you ever try to do anything without us," said Wheaton. That message drove him to leave the series, though he eventually made a few visits as a special guest star.

The typical contract for regulars on a TV series is six years, and if a show is lucky enough to continue beyond that all the cast contracts must be renegotiated. Actors on a successful series are in a better position to ask for more money or other concessions. Such was the case for the cast of "DS9" during Season 6. In particular, Terry Farrell, who played the role of Jadzia Dax, sought to challenge the status quo.

Specifically, she wanted to step back from a starring role to that of a recurring character who didn't appear in every episode. "I was just really tired. I was tired of waking up at four in the morning. I was tired of all the minutiae," Farrell explained. But no new deal was forthcoming, and the producers decided to "fridge" Jadzia and replace her with a new character.

Despite her desire for a break, Farrell didn't get one. She performed Jadzia's death scene for "DS9" one day, and tested for the Paramount-produced comedy "Becker" the next. She subsequently co-starred on "Becker" for several seasons until, ironically, she was let go from that show.

Even before "Star Trek" premiered in September 1966, Grace Lee Whitney's character, Yeoman Janice Rand, had been written out of the show.

Whitney addressed the topic in her memoir "The Longest Trek: My Tour of the Galaxy," in which she candidly admitted having been a victim of sexual assault. The culprit was someone at Desilu Studios she identified only as "The Executive." Whitney believed she'd been let go because the perpetrator didn't want her around as a constant reminder of what he'd done. But it was budget considerations that led to the decision to drop her. In late August 1966, casting director Joe D'Agosta penned a memo discussing cast costs. Whitney was one of the highest-paid supporting cast members, but underutilized. D'Agosta recommended her deal be renegotiated, or the character dropped or recast. This was just before the assault.

Roddenberry always regretted cutting Rand from the show. Less than two months after her dismissal, Roddenberry issued a memo concerning the possibility of bringing Whitney back in a guest capacity. But Rand would remain MIA on "Trek" until the "Star Trek: The Motion Picture." She also cameoed in movies "III," "IV," and "VI" and, finally, in the "Voyager" episode "Flashback."

At the end of her life, Whitney (who died in 2015) had long since made peace with the events, and even said as much to this author over lunch in 2012. That's what you might call a grace note.