Movies - TV
How John De Lancie Landed The Role Of Q After Ditching His Star Trek Audition
By WITNEY SEIBOLD
When John de Lancie got a call from his agent in 1986 to audition for “TNG,” he thought "Star Trek" was a science fiction thing and didn't take it seriously.
"[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,"' de Lancie shared with EW in 2007.
Revealing his ignorance of Trek then, de Lancie admitted that he deliberately missed his first audition because he was rehearsing for a play.
A week later, his agent called with another scheduled audition, and he went only to placate her. Afterward, he said a "big guy" touched his shoulder and complimented him.
De Lancie said the man told him, "'You make my words sound better than they are.' I said, 'Well, you must be the writer.' And he said, 'I'm Gene Roddenberry.'"
Despite having no idea who Roddenberry was, de Lancie got the part and appeared in episodes of "TNG," "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine," "Star Trek: Voyager," and "Picard."