How Star Trek's John De Lancie Got The Role Of Q After He Ditched The First Audition
It's constantly worth remembering that the actors from our favorite TV shows and long-running entertainment franchises aren't often fans before they become involved. "Star Trek" is a good example. While many of the actors involved in "Star Trek" may well be aware of the breadth and cultural presence of the franchise, few of them were Trekkies going in. This, I feel, is wholly appropriate. A non-Trekkie actor will more effectively look at their character as a whole person and not necessarily as a cog in a decades-old machine. Patrick Stewart, for instance, famously had to ask his kids what "Star Trek" was all about before he auditioned to play Jean-Luc Picard on "Star Trek: The Next Generation."
John de Lancie, who plays the trickster god Q on "Next Generation," and who reprised his role in "Star Trek: Picard," was also not paying any attention to the world of "Star Trek" when he got a call from his agent back in 1986. De Lancie had been acting professionally for over a decade, having appeared on TV shows like "Emergency!," "Days of Our Lives," and "The Thorn Birds," and in movies like "The Onion Field." He also enjoyed a prolific career on stage, having been a member of the American Shakespeare Festival. "Star Trek," to de Lancie, was just another science fiction thing ... that he didn't take very seriously. Indeed, de Lancie deliberately missed his first audition because, well, he was busy.
In 2007, in honor of the 20th anniversary of "Next Generation," de Lancie spoke to Entertainment Weekly for an oral history project, and he revealed his ignorance of Trek and what he would rather have been doing at the time.
'I thought they did Star Trek.'
When de Lancie got the call from his agent, he was a little confused. Evidently, the actor was so out of the loop that he wasn't quite sure where "Star Trek" was in its production. In 1986, Leonard Nimoy's "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home" would have been taking the world by storm, and it's possible that de Lancie thought his agent was referring to that when he made the following comments:
"[My agent] said, 'You have an audition tomorrow at 4:30, and it's for ... gee, there must be a typo, it's just the letter Q. And it's for "Star Trek."' And I went, '"Star Trek?" I thought they did "Star Trek."' 'Well, they're doing it again.' I didn't go because I was rehearsing a play, and I was one of the leads."
De Lancie didn't say what play he was rehearsing for, but it was too important to miss. One does not merely skip out on a play rehearsal, leaving the production in a lurch. That would be unprofessional. It also seems that de Lancie's agent booked his audition for "Star Trek" nonetheless, even though he hadn't technically agreed to go. As such, de Lancie stayed on stage. It wouldn't be until some time had passed that his agent would telephone again, this time undoubtedly miffed, about "Star Trek" again.
De Lancie, perhaps just to placate his agent, decided to go and check it out. It seems that it would go quite well. A lot can come from just trying to satisfy an agent.
Auditioning at lunchtime
De Lancie recalled:
"A week later my agent called and she said, 'You didn't show up for an audition.' I said, 'Well, if you can make the audition around lunchtime, I'll be able to do that.' I took a look at the material very quickly and auditioned. A big guy walked out, put his hands on my shoulder, and said, 'You make my words sound better than they are.' I said, 'Well, you must be the writer.' And he said, 'I'm Gene Roddenberry.' I had absolutely no idea who that was."
Gene Roddenberry was, of course, the creator of the show and the inventor of Q. Needless to say, de Lancie got the part. His performance was so magnetic and funny, Q returned to the series often, eventually appearing in eight episodes. He would also appear on an episode of "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine," on three episodes of "Star Trek: Voyager," and on nine episodes of "Picard." De Lancie was part of something grand and long-lasting and, by today's measure, Q may be one of his more popular roles.
And he was warned. De Lancie related a moment with Gene Roddenberry:
"Gene came up to me after about the third day of shooting. He said, 'You have no idea what you've gotten yourself into.' I said, 'I don't know what you're talking about.' He said, 'You'll find out.'"
De Lancie is now an action figure, a mug, a t-shirt, a coffee mug, and a trading card. He has narrated "Star Trek" audiobooks and even co-authored one. He's even a rubber duck. They don't prepare you for that sort of exposure in acting school.