By TRexx / 22:21, 21 February 2006 / People

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Robin Curtis is best known within Trekdom as Kirstie Alley's replacement for the role of Vulcan Lt. Saavik in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. Curtis also played Romulan mercenary Tallera/T'Paal in Star Trek: The Next Generation two-parter episode "Gambit."

While retired from the movie business since 1999, Curtis continues to make appearances at fandom conventions. Sci-fi author Stephen Euin Cobb interviewed the erstwhile Vulcan for The Future and You. Following are excerpts from that recent podcast...

Cobb: How did you get your role, the one that everyone here knows you most for?

Curtis: It was actually a very gentle process. I went in and I met the casting people at Paramount, and I had a very nice, congenial meeting, if you will, with the casting people. And, a day or so later, they set up a meeting with Leonard Nimoy. That's unusual, to have a one-on-one meeting with the person who's going to make the decision, as to whether or not they want to put you in their film.

Cobb: Did he give a lot of input on how to bring the character out, or were you already familiar with the Vulcans?

Curtis: Oh, no, he gave me a lot of input. I wasn't familiar -- I was familiar, certainly, with him, in The Original Series, but not to the extent that I felt remotely like I could play the part. I'm not the least bit Vulcan, nor is there anything "wry" about me, which is a word that he used often. The sense of Vulcan humor is wry one. There's nothing subtle about my humor, you know what I mean? Just the whole Vulcan mystique, I think, eludes me. I'm not the least bit logical, and "emotional" is my middle name; so, to be unemotional was a bit of a challenge. But, he guided me every step of the way, used terms like "a thousand years of wisdom behind the eyes." Those are things that although, you know -- I hate to claim that I have that, or achieved that -- those are the things I had strived to do in the project.

Cobb: Other than Leonard Nimoy, did anyone else mentor you a bit, kind of take you under their wing while you were with the...

Curtis: I would say the entire ensemble cast did, really. You know, I got to know these people quite well, just kind of hanging out on the set. Then I would see them, periodically, at the conventions. And they've always been there, to give me guidance had I needed it. They're good people, you know, and always there to extend some encouragement or a supporting word. Uh, you know, the people I'm talking about are Walter Koenig, George Takei, Nichelle [Nichols], Jimmie Doohan, and Dee [DeForest] Kelley. Lovely people. I didn't really get to know Bill Shatner very well at all, because he just kind of remained separate from everyone and elusive, somewhat. But, the rest of them are just great people; and approachable, and friendly, and very kind. Very kind to me.

Cobb: Was there any kind of, maybe, goofy incident or little anecdote that you could share?

Curtis: You know, it's funny, somebody asked that last night. There wasn't a whole lot of goofiness on the set of Star Trek III, unfortunately. It was a very, sort of, somber movie; and Leonard's first attempt at direction, and he had a lot of factors that he had to kind of balance: The original cast, with new cast members; the fact that he was now stepping out from the original cast and being their director. So, I didn't really observe a lot of the joviality that I know the last, like, the Next Generation cast speaks of a lot. I mean, they went to work and had a laugh riot every day. That was not the experience I had on Star Trek III.

Cobb: Let me ask you about the ears: Were they uncomfortable? I've heard different stories about that.

Curtis: Not at all. You could barely tell they were there, once they were glued to you. No, not at all. The only thing that was remarkable about the ears was their removal: They had to use a very strong chemical to take them off, every day. I was cautioned that I should rub Neosporin on my ears every night, because should the skin be broken in any way, that could really present problems; should it become infected, to have to re-glue, every day, those ears. But, no, they were completely... you couldn't feel them at all once they were on. They were just this weightless, nothing bit of latex stuff.

Cobb: I sure appreciate the interview. Is there any one thing you'd like to say before I go?

Curtis: Just "thank you." You know, really, Star Trek has been an enormous blessing in my life, for many, many reasons; but, most of all, just the enduring relationship. You know, the community you feel you have with a group of people. It's been wonderful, and I'm very grateful to have had this association, all these years. It's been a real enrichment to my life. You know, Gene Roddenberry started a very good thing, of which I'm grateful to be a very tiny, tiny part -- but a part that has meant a lot to my life. Thanks!

Listen to the complete MP3 podcast at The Future and You, featuring interviews with science fiction authors David Brin and Joe Haldeman; also Mike Treder, executive director of the Center for Responsible Nanotechnology.

Stephen Euin Cobb's sci-fi novel Bones Burnt Black is on sale in the U.S.A., Canada, United Kingdom, and Deutschland.