Garrett Wang of Star Trek chatted with GayCalgary during his visit to Alberta for the Calgary Expo.

GC: We’re here with Garrett and of course he’s hosting Aliens Exposed at the Comic Expo this weekend.

Garrett: Yes.

GC: You’re a big Aliens fan. What did Aliens mean to you.

Garrett: I saw Aliens with my dad at when it came out at the movie theatre, which tells you how old I am, and it was probably the most crazy rollercoaster ride I’d been to in terms of a movie in my life up to that point. I loved it. I was a huge fan from the minute I saw it in the theatres. It’s also interesting because in terms of action/sci-fi/horror films very rarely do you have a woman as the hero. i mean, there were multiple heroines in that film. From Vasquez, the private on the front line with the biggest gun, on up to the reluctant hero of Ripley. Truly, it was a groundbreaking film. It’s interesting that James Cameron, it’s almost been his theme in a way throughout his career to have strong female characters. Which most of Hollywood would shy away from or wouldn’t touch with a ten-foot pole. So that’s a nice thing.

GC: He did a thing with the genre as well by introducing the idea of a horror film being a psychological thriller.

Garrett: Yes

GC: He kind replaced the killer aspect of a psychological thriller with an Alien.

Garrett: Yes!

GC: He put an entirely new spin on the genre that still resonates.

Garrett: Most definitely. It’s brilliant. The guys a genius. And he’s Canadian. Which is a great plug for Canada.

GC: You’ve been to Calgary Expo a couple of times and you’ve been to the Edmonton Expo as well. People love getting to talk to you, you’re such a friendly guy. Why do you keep coming back?

Garrett: I think I just like Canada a lot. I love doing conventions in Canada. More than US ones probably. But I come to conventions mostly because it gives me a chance to be myself. If you watch seven years’ worth of Voyager episodes you have specific idea of who ensign Kim is, but that’s not who Garrett Wang is. Parts of Garrett Wang are in Ensign Kim but I joke around way more than Harry Kim does. Harry’s a little too serious, you know? And that was my thing when I was on the show. I kept telling the writers "Come on! Let’s boost up the comedy here!" I wanted more comedic moments with the human characters because it seemed like on Voyager that they allowed all he comedy to go to the holographic Doctor or Neelix the Alien, but when it came to the humans they didn’t really come through. I felt. They lost an opportunity to really ramp it, because if you watch the original series they always had that little banter between Kirk, Bones, Spock. There was that lightness, that levity that always balanced out the life and death, the drama of each episode where everyone got a shot at doing some good humour. I think comedy is where it’s at. I really love to have comedy in every facet, whether I am doing a drama, horror or sci-fi. I love to have a comedic element in there, and that’s something I pushed for so hard on Voyager, which fell on deaf ears most of the time. We did the best that we could though.

GC: What’s coming up for you?

Garrett: I’m taking a self-imposed break from Hollywood really since 2005. It has been nine years since I’ve actively auditioned. The things that I have done throughout the years have been for friends that have called me up and asked for favours. Cameos and what not. But I will have to say the last couple of years I’ve felt the draw of entertainment pulling me back in and being creative. So, I’m sort of dabbling a little bit right now. The day before I came into Calgary I did a voiceover for American Dad and that was super fun and voiceover is a nice way from me to ease my way back in. Whether or not I continue acting or I produce anything else or write that remains to be seen. But let it be said that there are a few projects that I have in development right now

GC: Excellent! Thank you very much

Garrett: Thank You!

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Locale Calgary | Edmonton |

Person Garrett Wang |

Topic Celebrity Interview | Celebrity Video Interview | Calgary Expo | Comic Expo | Edmonton Expo | Star Trek | Star Trek Voyager |