Interviews – Renegade Walter Koenig

Hey guys, what's going on? You are listening

to ThisWeekInGeek .net's Future Imperfect. I'm

one of your many hosts, MikeTheBirdman. Well

guys, over the last week, two weeks, two... It

seems like it's been forever, but that's a good

thing. We've been talking about Star Trek Renegades.

We've talked to Tim Russ. We've talked with Grant

Imahara. We've talked with Adrian Wilkinson.

We've talked with Vic Mignola. And we're going

to end things, guys, today with a bang. By the

time you're hearing this, there's going to be

one more day left to donate to Star Trek Renegades,

which, oddly enough, ends on... Friday the 13th,

so let's not let this be an unlucky day. We're

going to be talking with Walter Koenig today,

and you may know him. You know, he was on this

little show called Star Trek. He's played Chekhov,

but he's also done a lot of other cool things,

like Babylon 5, countless other sci -fi movies.

Plus, he's just a big fan of the fandom. That's

why he goes out of his way to go to these conventions

to see you, to talk with, well, people like me.

And, well, I got the ultimate pleasure of talking

with Walter today. Walter, welcome to the show.

Thank you. I'm glad to be here. Yeah, it's honestly

a dream come true to be able to speak to you

because you've had such a huge career and it's

hard for me to think of questions that haven't

been asked of you a million times before. I'm

going to try my very best here to not drop the

ball on this interview. So I want to ask you

the big question is with this project, Star Trek

Renegades, it's supposed to be this new take

on the sci -fi franchise of Star Trek and it's

going to be this ongoing. web series, hopefully.

How did you get involved in this very ambitious

project? I'm not sure. You just got a phone call

one day like, hey, do you want to do this? The

fellow whose idea this was, Sky Conway, is a

friend of mine with whom I've worked on at least

a couple of occasions. We made gods and... Gods

and Men, is that what it's called? Yeah. We made

that together, and our actual personal relationship

goes back about 25 years. And he called me and

just said, you know, I'm doing this new film,

and it's going to be Star Trek, but it's going

to be different, and I have a very big role for

Chekhov in it, and of course I'd like you to

play it. And it was pretty much on that basis

that I said, Okay, he's a friend, and I had no

particular burning desire to play Chekhov again,

nor was I opposed to it. It's simply something

that I don't think about. But as a favor to him,

and after reading the script, I thought it might

be fun to do. So now that it's kind of, I would

consider Star Trek Renegades, just from what

I understand of the script, it's supposed to

be this darker take on the material. Basically,

what it's been described to me as like a Black

Ops team, very much grimy and gritty sort of

thing. Very different from what you played back

in the 60s. Was there anything in the script

that maybe has said, maybe this is worth revisiting

Chekhov one last time sort of thing? I don't

know. There's a lot of lines which I'm in the

process of memorizing. Chekhov is like the boss

of the Federation at this point. He's one of

the top guns. He's 140 years old. The thing is,

Mike, I just like the work. I don't feel that

I have... I've used my last breath on acting.

I think that, you know, I would still like to

do other things. And this provides an opportunity

to get out there again and emote. So it's really

on that basis that I just... So it's basically,

it's always still fun to get out there and act,

perform your craft again and again, so to speak,

correct? Yeah, that's about it. Yeah, because

I look at these projects and I see a lot of filmmakers,

a lot of young guys going out there and using

the web as their opportunity to go out there

rather than just getting around Hollywood, which

can be infinitely complicated and more politic

-y than what I've realized in recent years. And

it's really ambitious to see people kind of doing

it like that. Since you've been an actor since

the 60s, since well before I was born, I would

love to get your perspective. How have things

changed getting into specifically sci -fi over

the years? Well, I don't know if anything has

changed, you know, involving one specific genre.

I mean, what's changed is that it's just that

much harder to be a working actor today. There

really aren't that many more jobs, but the membership

of the union, the Screen Actors Guild Union,

is probably at least one and a half times what

it was in the 60s. So there are more actors trying

out for the same number of jobs. And with the

emphasis on young people, very young people,

it makes it even harder for those of us who have...

past the, well, those of us who are in our 70s.

So it's hard finding work. And I guess that,

as much as any other reason, is why I did this.

I also did a part in a film called Cowboys and

Engines. And I did that because it was a character

that I thought I might enjoy. It's a very small

part, but I thought I might enjoy. And, again,

the same reason, because I just like to work.

Now, when you're out there on set, because I've

never actually, I've only ever been on stage

once, and that was in high school. So let's discount

that experience completely. What's it like to

get out there and perform for something you know

is going to be seen by millions and millions

of people? Like, I've always kind of wanted,

because you've been around so long, and I've

wanted to get someone who's a real veteran to

answer this question. How do you prepare for

something like that, knowing you're going to

be seen by millions? You know, Mike, you don't

think about that. That's the last thing in the

world that's on your mind, how many people are

going to see you. You live in the moment, and

the idea is to do the best job with the lines

you have when you're on camera. So that's really

where your focus is. It's just doing the best

you can do with the lines that you have. while

you were acting on camera the other stuff is

truly after the fact and it doesn't even register

you know until maybe the movies in the theaters

or something like that now is this something

that has always been with you like have you always

wanted to be an actor like One of the questions

I've asked before of the other guests that I've

done during this interview series is, where did

the acting really begin for you, and what made

you stick with it for so, so long? Like I said,

you enjoy the work, but I understand sometimes

you can do things you don't necessarily enjoy,

but you keep doing it because the money's good.

What's made you stay with it for so long? Is

there one particular aspect of it? Well, you

asked a couple of questions there. Sorry. I actually

started when... The first time I performed, I

was eight years old, and I was... attending an

adult camp, and I was the only kid. And they

gave me a part with lines I couldn't even read.

I had to memorize them by hearing them. And I

got a very warm reception from the audience,

a lot of laughs and a lot of good feeling. And

I worked again, and I did the same thing again

in sixth grade. otherwise a kind of shy kid.

But when I got up on the stage, I felt a freedom

that I didn't feel that I had in regular life.

And all the little girls were kind of interested

in me, and I just loved the attention and the

applause, and it made me feel like I had some

worth. I was somewhat of an indifferent scholar.

And so the place where I found the most success

and the most reinforcement was when I was on

the stage. And then I played the lead in my sophomore

year in high school, the play, and I did it again

in my senior year in high school. So all of that

certainly was pushing me in this direction, although

I didn't know it at the time, except I thought

I was going to psychiatry. I was going to have

a pre -med course in college and then go to post

-college and get an M .D. and all of that. But

I just didn't have the mental equipment to get

a degree in the physical sciences. It was just

a little beyond me. Again, there was a play in

my first year at college, and I did the lead

in that. It all came kind of easy, and it was

like saying to me, why are you knocking your

head against the wall at something that you're

not going to be very good at, if indeed you succeed

at all, when here is something that you know

there are people who will give you approbation

and will... Tell you that your work is good and

make you feel good. And so that was pretty much

my thinking. And I had one teacher, one instructor.

I transferred to colleges. I went to Grinnell

for two years in Iowa, and I transferred to UCLA.

And I had one teacher at UCLA who was very, very

encouraging. And he was also the representative

of a neighborhood playhouse. which is a drama

school in New York. And he wrote a letter to

them for me, and I went to the Playhouse, and

my classmates were James Kahn and Dabney Coleman

and Chris Lloyd and Brenda Ficarro and Elizabeth

Ashley and one other lady, I can't think of.

Oh, Jessica Walter. And so that was a pretty

heady group to be involved with. They all went

on to stardom. And not that I ever knew that

was going to happen to them. But it was a very

stimulating environment, and once I spent the

two years there, I was kind of, that was it.

You know, I had made a decision that I couldn't

turn back on. Now, because, like, you... had

all these wonderful, encouraging moments. And

as I'm just looking over your filmography on

IMDb right now, going all the way back through

1962 to now, is there anything outside of the

work you've done with Star Trek which is something

you're particularly proud of that maybe not a

lot of people have seen? Well, I think a lot

of the stage work that I did, a lot of the theater,

you know, played to relatively small audiences.

You know... We had runs that were maybe three

or four weeks long, and then it was over. But

yeah, I was in a play called The Boys in Autumn,

where I played Tom Sawyer and Mark Leonard played

Huckleberry Finn, the two of us. And we got a

really wonderful reception. We played it in Los

Angeles. We were extended there, and then we

went on the road and we played it. in individual

theaters and at conventions. It was adaptable

to playing on a convention stage. And I did Christmas

Carol playing Scrooge, which is an enormous role.

He's never off the stage. And that was great

fun. And I did kind of a... It was funny, but

it was also kind of a drama called Steambath.

There was another play where I played a Puerto

Rican towel attendant who was, in fact, God.

So it's mostly on the stage that I think I've

shown myself to my best advantage. In terms of

film, probably Babylon 5. I had most to do on

Babylon 5, and there were a couple of episodes

that I thought came off very well. So to answer

your question, that's where my thinking is. Now,

one of the things, because I really haven't had

a chance to talk to a lot of people that have

performed a lot of stuff on stage, like plays,

for example. What is it about that experience

you think that really kind of gets you going?

Is it the fact that it's a different audience

every night and you can kind of feed off the

energy? Or what's the mindset when you're on

stage? Well, certainly there's a live audience,

which you don't have and you work on. in front

of the camera, and that can be very stimulating

and very encouraging. There's something about

playing before people. If it's 100 people or

500 people or 2 ,000 people, there's something

marvelous about being on the stage and everybody

is watching you and hopefully getting caught

up in what you're doing. feel and are empathic

and are going along with you. And doing it live

like that, it's just more of an adventure, live

performances. Things happen. You have to improvise,

whatever. The crowds are different. You feel

different from one night to another, so you interpret

it a little differently. But it's all those things.

It's knowing that there are people out there

who want to like you, and hopefully you achieve

that for them. And, of course, the roles, generally

speaking, are better in theater than they are

on film. They're just bigger, and they're more

dimensional. There's more nuance, and you have

a chance to explore all of that. On camera, you

know, you get one or two takes, and if it's reasonable,

they say cut, and they go on to the next scene.

So would you say there's, just from what I'm

interpreting from that, The performances evolve

as you do them on stage because, like you said,

you can react and feel and feed off that energy.

What kind of director do you like working more?

Do you like more with film because they tell

you precisely what they want? Or do you find

theater directors are a little more flexibility

because they know the thing can evolve as it

goes? I mean, it's just the opposite. Really?

Okay. The opposite. There's such a time restraint

in working on film that there's very little time.

for the director to work individually. I'm not

talking about future film where they take more

time. On television, you've got to get so many

days' worth of shooting each day, so many pages

each day. So the director really has an eye on

the next scene while you're performing this one.

And if you are a regular on a show, or even an

irregular, as I was on Babylon 5, the directors

assume that you know what you're doing and that

the character is pretty much solidified, and

he's not going to make much of a difference in

how you interpret it because you've already established

how you behave as that character. On the stage,

you know, every night you get notes from the

director, and some of them are... less consequential

than others, but it's a more insightful process.

And if you have a good director who understands

the material and understands character and how

to communicate with actors, you can have something

pretty exciting. Now, you mentioned earlier that

sometimes when you're on stage, you have to be

in that moment and improvise. Can you think of

one moment, or one memorable moment rather, where

things have gone catastrophically wrong yet have

gone catastrophically right? Well, there's one

that comes to mind. I don't know if it went catastrophically

right, but it's kind of an anecdote at this point.

I was doing this play, which I mentioned, called

Steambach. And there were really two leads. I

was one lead, and there was another fellow who

was the other lead in the play. And the review

came out just the day we were about to perform.

And I didn't get to see the review until I got

to the theater because somebody brought it. It

was a newspaper review. In fact, we all read

it at the theater, and they gave me a very complimentary

review. And they gave the other guy a pretty

bad review. And we got on that stage, and he

was so angry. And he started to mimic things

and imitate things. And then, of course, I lost

it entirely. I mean, I didn't belt him, but if

he was going to improvise and go afield, then

I was right there with him. So we actually started

performing another play, one that hadn't been

written. And that went on for about five or six

minutes, which is a long time, and nothing to

do with the play that we were actually performing.

Ultimately, we got back on course, but I remember

it being rather bizarre. Wow. Just to be able

to do that and to get away with it, so to speak,

that's fantastic. Well, Walter, I want to ask

you one final question because I understand your

time is remarkably busy. When all is said and

done for your career, which I hope will last

many, many, many more years, if not eons, what

is the one role that you think brings the most

happiness to you? that isn't necessarily going

to be people would go to a convention for. That's

one that makes you happy on a very, very, very

personal level. Well, that's interesting. I have

to say, as far as film is concerned, I feel bested

on B5. It gave me the most gratification, the

most reward. Because the way the director -producer

wrote it, Joe Straczynski, he kept writing in

layers and dimension to the character. So I got

to be a lot of different parts of my character

as Bester were exposed during the 12 episodes

that I did. Generally, there's a shorthand. when

you're shooting a television show or even a movie.

And the shorthand is you're labeling it the good

guy or the bad guy or the good guy's friend.

And it's pretty limited as to how far you can

explore the character. But playing Bester, I

had all sorts of opportunities to examine who

this guy was and to discover different things

about him. roles that I've done on the stage

that I felt comparably successful in, that I

feel good about myself in. Certainly, I think

Besser was my opportunity to perform at a higher

level than I generally had a chance to do on

Star Trek. and to succeed to a great degree.

Well, I gotta say, Walter, I'm just getting into

Babylon 5 now. I know I'm about 10 years, 15

years late to the party. And I'm really looking

forward to hearing and seeing your performance

now that I know that... There's a lot more to

it. It's not very one -dimensional. That's kind

of what I really enjoy about Babylon 5. So, I've

got to say, I'm really hyped. I'm only in the

first season now. So, I'm really excited to see

it. And I'm really excited to see you in Star

Trek Renegades. I understand that starts shooting

in about two to three weeks during the beginning

of October. And I'm really excited to see what

you and the rest of the cast and crew can bring

to the screen. Oh, thank you, Mike. All right,

guys. Well, I want to thank you, Walter, for

spending time with us today on This Week in Geek.

And we can keep up contact with you, obviously,

through your various social media. I know you're

on Twitter. And where else can we see you coming

up in the future outside of Star Trek Renegades?

Nowhere. Well, then, we know exactly where to

go, then. That's right. All right, guys. Well,

that was my interview with Walter Koenig. tremendously

talented guy i'm really excited i got a chance

to do this interview to kind of get into the

mindset of a guy who's been around like i said

longer than i've been and just be a part of so

much from sci -fi to drama to comedy that's exciting

stuff and I'm really glad I had this opportunity.

If you guys can't tell, I'm smiling my face off

off the microphone. So guys, we got one more

day. Go out there, donate lots of money to Star

Trek Renegades. Hell, take a second mortgage

out on your house if that's your sort of thing.

So guys, make sure to check out our sponsors

of SFI .org, Starfleet, the world's largest Star

Trek online fan club, and our good friends over

at OffWorldDesigns .com. Lots of cool Star Trek

t -shirts. Use promo code BROHOOF to get 10 %

off your entire order. Good for... international

orders. Until next time, guys, for Future Imperfect

on ThisWeekendGeek .net, I've been Mike the Birdman

Dodd saying, live long and prosper.