I never saw [TOS] when it was first on because I was in high school, and then in college. I was very busy growing my hair, reading Proust, and all that. When I was at Cornell, sharing a house with eight other grad students, somehow we started this ritual of watching the original Star Trek. We were just blown away by this show. We would crowd around this television. I still get chills thinking about how powerful that series was. I was a drama student; everybody else was studying art, political science, biology. But the show spoke to all of us, no matter what our fields of endeav or were. We all responded to it. It was the most exciting moment I've ever had in television except maybe when I was a child and saw that CBS show 'Panic' in 1957 and it scared the hell out of me. We were all very much into "theatuh." I found myself saying, "Man, if this stuff is going on in television, gcesus that's a lot more interesting than the plays we're doing here!" For me it validated the whole idea of going into television as an actor. You can tell stories that really affect people. Reach out to people. It validated the medium of television in a way that I don't think any other series could have done at the time. It was wonderful.

When Ethan Phillips got the call from his agent telling him about the [Star Trek Voyager] audition, he was living in NewYork, but attending the Sundance Film Festival in Utah. Phillips is an accomplished actor, with impressive experience on the stage, in feature films, and in television. He is no stranger to episodic television, having spent five years as Pete Downey the Governor's press aide on the hit U.S. sitcom 'Benson'. Nor is he a stranger to Star Trek. Phillips played a Ferengi henchman in [TNG: "Menage à Troi]. Ethan flew back to New York on a Thursday, picked up the sides, and looked over the scene that night. Friday morning he went into the casting office, read for the part of Neelix - on tape - and left.

I can't tell you the number of times I've read for a series on tape in NewYork, and nothing comes of it. There's an old actor's joke in New York that the tape always disappears somewhere between here and L.A. There's probably some huge bar in Kansas that's filled with actors' audition tapes. So I just dropped it. It was just one of many I go in on.

The next day the casting office called and asked Phillips to read for the part of Doc Zimmerman - also on tape. The following week he went in and read again, this time for Zimmerman. About a week later his agent called from L.A. and said the producers wanted him to fly to California and test for the role. The agent did not know which role he would be testing for. Two days later his agent called again and confirmed that the test would be for Neelix. There was now serious interest in him, so Ethan put additional effort into studying for the audition. At the same time, he did not want to change anything he had done on the tape. He knew that the reason the producers wanted to see him was because they were happy with what they saw on tape and probably did not want any adjustments at that point. Phillips flew to L.A., hired an acting coach named John Kirby - whom Phillips regards as one of the best coaches in the city - and worked on the scene. When he went in for the read, there was a woman sitting next to him who was auditioning for the captain. She asked if he'd seen the pictures of what the producers were planning for Neelix. That's when Ethan found out he was auditioning for "a prosthetic guy". Up to that point, he was still thinking that the Neelix character probably looked like Ethan Phillips in a Star Trek uniform.

But it didn't affect the audition. I was nervous and I read the scene. They smiled and seemed to like what I was doing. I went back out and there were three other actors there at the time. Two testing and one reading. A gentleman from England and another guy. They read, then the producers told us all we could go and they told the English guy to stay. So I knew it was all over. I got back to NewYork, and the next night my agent called and said they wanted to see me again the next Monday. I had these plans I'd been working on for months and it would be really tough to cancel them. He got back to me later and said never mind, it wasn't necessary. They don't need to see you again. Then I really knew it was over. They didn't like me. I knew they had five days to pick up the option. (According to Screen Actors Guild rules, if an actor tests well, the producers have five days to confirm the deal. During that time, the actor cannot sign with anyone else.) On the fifth day I called my agent and said, "What's going on?" He said, "Well, you're still very much in the game. It's between you and Robert Picardo for the role of Neelix." I didn't know Bob was reading for the role. Bob and I have gone up against each other for parts for twenty years. Sometimes he gets them; sometimes I get them. I think he has a little more cachet in the industry than I do, so that depressed me. At 3:30 p.m. Los Angeles time, 6:30 NewYork time, I called back once more to see if he'd heard anything, and my agent said, "I don't know, but I have it from a source at Paramount that the role could be yours." Then he got a phone call so he put me on hold. When he came back he said the call was Business Affairs, and that I had the role.

The producers wanted Phillips back in Los Angeles the very next day, Tuesday, August 9. He then spent that week doing makeup and wardrobe tests. Since the producers still had not cast the captain, he flew back to New York to pack up and move out to L.A. He would not return to Los Angeles until August 30.

And it was great, because, you know, sometimes you just work so hard, and it doesn't happen. You don't get the part. And now to find myself twenty years later on the show is bizarre, and wild, and fantastic.

He also discovered that he liked wearing a prosthetic appliance. He had heard other actors say the devices were very "freeing" because they bring a sense of anonymity to the actor, which permits actors to hide behind the mask, and be as uninhibited as they want, without feeling embarrassed or self-conscious. With the added advantage of not worrying about what someone will say to him or her later, on first meeting-because people generally do not recognise the actor without the appliance. It did not take him long to begin adding dimension to his character. He quickly began informing visitors to the set, "Neelix is very handsome, very sexy. He was a male model on his home planet, you know."

He started, Neelix, as a kind of a tough scalliwag type guy, a junk dealer, who kind of finagled his way onto that ship. He turned out, on the journey, to develop a very beautiful heart, you know, incredibly empathetic character. You don't see how a character develops over seven years when you're doing it day to day, week to week. And it's not until the whole thing is over that you can look back and you can see the entire arc - the beginning, middle and the end of where the character started and where he ended up, over seven years. And I see that now.

I think that when you step away and look back on the arc - where the character began and ended - Neelix went from kind of a scoundrel and a brigand to someone of extraordinary heart, who really found a home and enjoyed being of service and had a lot of generosity of spirit. Would he have made that same journey in a shorter series? I'm sure the writers could have accomplished that in two years, but they had more time, so the shift was more leisurely.

first sight of Neelix

Neelix arrives on Voyager for the first time

Neelix greets Tuvok

Neelix in action against the Kazon-Ogla

the above four screenshots are from [#1 and 2 Caretaker]

preparing to film the scene in [#1 and #2 Caretaker] where Neelix arrives to rescue Kes

Neelix comes aboard U.S.S. Voyager, bringing his local knowledge of that region of the Delta Quadrant. He and Kes, his lover from the planet Ocampa, soon start contributing usefully to shipboard life. Later, in [#5 Phage], he starts a self-appointed job as ship's cook, to alleviate replicator rationing. In [#6 The Cloud], he appoints himself ship's morale officer. In [#54 Macrocosm] and [#73 Revulsion], Janeway recognises Neelix's talent as an ambassador.

"Whatever you need is what I have to offer. You need a guide? I'm your guide. You need supplies? I know where to procure them. I have friends among races you don't even know exist. You need a cook? Oh, you haven't lived until you've tasted my angla'bosque. It will be my job to anticipate your needs before you know you have them. And I anticipate your first need will be me." Neelix to Janeway in [#1 and #2 Caretaker]

About 6 months ago this guy asked me to speak at a college about the business of acting. They showed a bunch of stuff I'd done. One thing they showed was an episode of Star Trek, [Fair Trade], where Neelix deals with these intergalactic drug dealers.

filming [Fair Trade]

I hadn't seen the show i.e. [Fair Trade]. I don't think I ever saw it. And we all sat down and watched. And I was just blown away. It was such a good show - the acting, the lighting, the music, the whole production. It was great television, and I was really proud of it.

Neelix and Talaxian friend Wixiban face the violent drug-dealer Sutok

Neelix berates Wix for his attempt to involve him in drug-dealing

the above two screenshots are from [#55 Fair Trade]

The interaction with Jennifer Lien (as Kes) was more of a romantic nature. Ethan Phillips talks more about this in Behind-the-scenes: Jennifer Lien speaks. With the captain, there was a certain decorum that you had to follow, a certain respe t, because I knew that she was very fond of Neelix, so there was a warmth there as well. With Robbie McNeill's character, Tom Paris, there was a good camaraderie, I thought, an equal footing, a friendship.

There are a lot of really good episodes for Neelix, but the two that stick in my mind are [#15 Jetrel] and [Mortal Coil]. And [#15 Jetrel] was a great episode for my character. Jetrel was a Haakonian who was responsible for the destruction of my home planet and for the death of my family. And we encountered him in space, and it's kind of like seeing Eichmann or Hitler or Genghis Khan if you've been subjected to his treachery.

the above two screenshots are from [#15 Jetrel]

In the process of the show i.e. [#15 Jetrel] I forgive the guy. It was wonderful because there's a moment where I come in at the very end, and I come in to explain something to him. I don't come in to forgive him, I come to tell him something: no, I was a coward at one point in my life. I come in to share my own shame with him, not to forgive him, I don't think I was, and yet while I'm there my heart leaps, he's lying in bed and he's dying of the same disease that destroyed my family, and my heart leaps and I forgive him in a moment of spiritual generosity. It knocked me out. The writing was quite lovely. clip of [Mortal Coil]

On the show [Mortal Coil] where my character dies and is dead for 18 hours and is brought back to life by nanoprobes. Talaxians have this great great belief in afterlife, in a deity and reconciliation with their family and a gathering onto an eternity of wonder and joy. And none of it occurs. In fact, it's a void. And I come back from the dead with this knowledge, very desperate, and there's a moment when I finally decide that I'm going to end it.

the above two screenshots are from [#80 Mortal Coil]

[Mortal Coil] continued And Chakotay talks me out of it. We were due on the bridge and he was talking to me and I remember thinking yeah there's no god and there is no afterlife, but dammit I'm going to stick around anyway and do my best, because that's the only thing I can possibly be here for. Those are two very powerful moments in the show, for me, as an actor, as a character. I just love telling stories. Star Trek tells great stories, you know, and that's what it's all about. We show people what they look like under these kind of heavily staked situations.

on the transporter pad, Neelix is about to beam himself into space

Neelix tries to face down Chakotay's reasons for Neelix to go on living

the above two screenshots are from [#80 Mortal Coil]

Neelix appealed to kids. He was cuddly, he was like a teddy bear. He was a jovial ebullient kind of guy, a natural to go with a kid.

In 2372, Neelix is made little Naomi Wildman's godfather. In [#80 Mortal Coil] we learn that he tucks her into bed at night and tells her bedtime stories. In [#99 Once Upon A Time] he takes charge of her while her mother is on an away mission and takes her to the holodeck. Later he has to tell her that her mother is lost, trapped in the Delta Flyer which is buried beneath the surface of a rocky planet - the experience proves to be a maturing experience for Neelix as well as Naomi.

Neelix tries to calm Naomi's fear that Seven, whom Naomi calls "the Borg lady", will assimilate them. [#80 Mortal Coil]

I think I probably took each script as a separate project, to see where I had to go - it was a matter of asking if anybody wanted Andorian sweet roots! But sometimes, it's all about the other person you're acting with. It's just like in life - you're different with your mother than you are with your sister than you are with your best friend. I think Neelixgot a big kick out of (Tuvok)...and Neelix took it upon himself to loosen him up, so there was always a provocative thing going on. They paired me with Tim Russ because we had such clashing personalities. Tim and I had a terrific time playing together and we had a terrific time off the set as well. I'm still very good buds with him. He's an extraordinarily funny man. Everybody on that set - very witty, very funny.

[#61 Rise]

[#126 Riddles]

They i.e. the episodes were challenging in two ways. One: the heat from the stove - it's really hot in that make-up. Just imagine a thick ski-mask made of rubber glued to your head, and you get an idea of how hot it is in there.

[#44 Flashback]

Ethan Phillips talking about the "ski-mask"

When you add the stove and the heat from the oven it really causes you to sweat, and I used to hate that because I'm in the make-up chair four, four and a half hours anyway. When I sweat, which will happen if I have any exertion to do, it's back in the make-up chair to repair, so you've got to add another 30 minutes, another half hour, another 45 minutes, another hour, another two hours. I'm in the damn make-up chair six hours. I figured at the end of the show I spent like 3200 hours in the make-up chair. I could've handwashed a 747 in the first season in the time I was sitting in that chair. So the heat from the oven bothered me. It wasn't so problematic handling the pots and pans. That would be simple for anybody. But you had to remember each movement and make sure it didn't leave the frame. So you could be spontaneous to a point but then you had to remember how you were spontaneous because the camera was [makes swooshing noise and movement of camera moving] so if I flipped that and went over here and said that, that's what I had to do in the take because it wouldn't cut together. But that's all part of the job, you know. That's why they pay you. So it had its difficulties, but nothing that was, you know, too hard, too hard!

Ethan Phillips is a co-writer of 'The Star Trek Cookbook' which includes spoof recipes and Talaxian musings.

book excerpt

Well, immediately I finished working in April 2001, I think my last day of shooting was like April 15th, and April 16th I was in rehearsals [for another acting project and details of later acting projects]. So I've been keeping busy. I haven't been out of work, which is good, it's a good thing.

In late 2377, in the last but two story named [#169 Homestead], Neelix goes to live in a colony of fellow-Talaxians, having found love with Dexa, a Talaxian woman. Janeway appoints him Starfleet's Ambassador to the Delta Quadrant and the crew line the corridor to the shuttlebay to see him off. Once he takes his ship Baxial to the colony, it is farewell to Voyager, ship and crew, forever. He does, however, maintain contact with Voyager and is seen briefly in [#171 Endgame, Part One], playing kadiskot with Seven.

Neelix walks to the shuttlebay, [Homestead], what a regular correspondent of mine aptly named "Neelix's walk of honour"

I thought that [Homestead] was a really fine episode, because it was a surprise. Everybody assumed that the character would go with the crew after all these years, and he opted instead to have a family and a home among his own people. I thought that was a nice button on the whole character arc. I particularly liked the scene where I said goodbye to Kate Mulgrew - that was emotionally charged. Also Tuvok, because he was the first guy to greet me on the ship, back in the pilot; he was the last one to say goodbye to me before I went through the doors. So when he did that little dance step for me, it was a real gift - that was Tuvok acknowledging to Neelix that he respected him and was fond of it him. It was touching to perform. LeVar Burton directed that i.e. [Homestead], did an amazing job too. It was a stretch. We were from the turbolift outside the transporter room down to the main hallway, we banged a left, we went down past sickbay, we made a right, we went all the way down and out to the loading dock. That's the longest walk you can take in the hall without an interruption. It's a long take. That was a real farewell. It was an acknowledgement that it was over on screen, even before it ended, I mean I was leaving, and I said goodbye to everyone, and walking down that hall, not only was I saying goodbye to all the principals but it was lined with all the what they call the N.D.s, the extras, these people who had worked on the show for seven years, and they didn't have any lines but they were part of the family of that show, and I was basically acknowledging them too and saying goodbye to the stand-ins, and I was saying goodbye to the crew. And everybody was very caught up with it. It was a very strong moment on that show, very emotional, very emotional.

Neelix and Janeway exchange farewells, [Homestead]

(On attending the UK convention in Blackpool in July 2001) This'll be my third or fourth time over in the UK. My wife's family are from Glasgow, so we have a lot of relatives and friends to visit at the same time. I hear Blackpool's beautiful. I'm looking forward to it.

I was told by somebody who represented a group for disabled people that a lot of people who are physically challenged responded to Neelix. They related to the fact that he was different from everybody in a little way. I also heard that women like Neelix a lot, not as a sex object, but because of his feminine side.

Seven years is a long time. I don't think there too much more I could have done, or the writers could have done, really. You might say it had a beginning, a middle and an end. I think I've been very lucky to be able to do what I love (i.e. acting). What's not to love about getting to do what you enjoy and getting paid for it? [Star Trek Voyager] was a terrific job to have.

Janeway and the crew raise their glasses in a toast to Neelix [#80 Mortal Coil]

He's (Neelix) a great character - a little annoying at times, but I think he had a big heart, and he had some wonderful episodes with a lot of dramatic intensity. I look back on him with great fondness. He was a man with great generosity of spirit and heart. Well, I just hope that people appreciate what I did as Neelix. I'm the first Talaxian they saw. There may be more in the future. I hope that they think they find it to be a three-dimensional thing and that I did justice to the vision the writers had, and I hope they liked it, and I think they did.