[CON] Jennifer Lien Convention Review
Sashi Alexandra German
Sunday May 27, 2001
Guest: Jennifer Lien (Kes, Star Trek: Voyager)
By Sashi Alexandra German <sa...@feith.com>
(C) Copyright 2001 Sashi Alexandra German, <sa...@feith.com>
All Rights Reserved
What can one say about Jennifer Lien other than - at least she has improved
as a convention guest over the past few years. Before coming to this
convention I had been warned by many people that Lien as a guest was a
disaster... That she answers very little when people ask questions... that
she has no opinions on anything, has no sense of humor and has often had her
on stage time cut sometime by half because there have been so few questions
for her because... well... she really didn't answer questions with more than
a "yes" or "no." She has been widely considered the worst of the Trek
convention guests.
But I tried to go into this with an open mind and see for myself just how
bad she could be... and what I saw was a woman who was NOW able to answer
questions with more than one syllable and actually have a sense of humor. My
impression is that she had simply learned over her convention appearances to
deliver more than mono-syllable answers. Anyway, something had changed and
it was for the better. She was much more animated than had been reported
before and was more forward spoken.
She was introduced by fellow convention guest Roxann Dawson (B'Elanna
Torres). She wore a yellow sweater with a shawl over a long black dress. Her
hair was wild and curly. She was on stage for less than half an hour (as
expected by many).
STAR TREK:
A child asked what it was like to be thrown off the show? "As an actor
you have to realize that it happens. You take your knocks and keep going."
Had she been able to pick the Holographic Doctor's name, what would she have
named him? Lien responded that she really knew the HoloDoc as "Zimmerman or
Schweitzer. He picked Joe??"
In the episode "Tuvix" how would she have ended the dilemma? "I felt
separating them seemed to be the only way."
If she were offered to work on a new Trek as a different character, would
she do it? Lien said she didn't really know... she had no idea if she would
be doing any more acting at all.
She welcomed the character in the episode "Warlord." "I liked that
different play on the character."
Lien was asked about her current curly hair and was that what was used
toward the end of 3rd season? She said her hair was naturally curly, but
that a wig was used on the show. Sometimes the wig allowed her to get away
without wearing the pointed ears.
Was anything the same when she returned for the 6th season episode
"Fury"? Lien said that everyone was very nice and people seemed really
relaxed in their roles. She enjoyed doing "Fury", "I felt it was interesting
character change." "Fury" was her favorite episode of all of Voyager, "It
was nice to be back... going away and coming back."
Was there a particular favorite actor on Voyager that she liked working
with? "It would be unfair to answer that."
Are there any jokes or funny moment that she remembers from the set?
"Well my wig once caught on fire - no, just kidding. But it could have
happened."
How much of Jennifer was Kes and visa versa? She said it was a fine
balance between her and the character. "It was my body and my voice that
made Kes, but things were done to change that." (??)
Was she ever prepared for the instant fame that Trek gave her? "I don't
think of myself as famous, but it is overwhelming. Any attention for what
you do is overwhelming."
When she read the script for the audition what was her impression of the
character? Lien said "Righteous, but not too self-righteous. I wanted that
important distinction." She wanted someone who had a limited lifespan would
be interesting to play. "A goofy mix of naivety and other things for the
character. I thought it was neat being an alien."
Was playing an alien making her bring more to the role than just acting?
"No, I knew the writers would take care of that with the writing of the
stories and characters."
There was a reception for the convention guests last night and she said
she saw Kate Mulgrew and Roxann Dawson there... it had been a long time
since she had seen them.
OTHER:
What has she been doing lately with her time? Lien said she had dropped
out of acting for awhile and had been taking some classes and is just
continuing to do that. She said right now she is exploring everything...
"Getting two years out of the way" and then maybe specialize in something
else. "Very general."
Lien was complimented on her voice and the various voiceover work she has
done over the years. She said she had done work for "Men in Black" (animated
series?) but wasn't considering doing more in the future.
On the Superman cartoon voiceover work, that was just a small role and
something her agent had set her up to do.
Does she prefer voice acting to stage? No.
She recently worked on an American history film and enjoyed it, "It was a
good project."
She has recently done an independent film (which I didn't get the name
of) but is still looking for a distributor for it.
Did Lien ever appear in a film named "Hoofey"? No, she was not in it.
PERSONAL:
Is from Iowa but is originally Norwegian.
Poetry and fiction are her favorite things to read, as well as some
science fiction. She couldn't pin down any exact favorites. However she did
say that so far she had read none of the Star Trek novels out there.
Does she prefer roles in comedy or drama? "Both are good, both are roles,
characters... it's really hard to choose."
Does she have a website? No, but Lien said she has an email address that
she never checks anyway.
Are there any particular acting parts that she enjoys doing more than
others (and genre)? She said she simply liked doing any role.
What was her acting\training background? Lien said she started acting 14
years ago in theater and did that for four years and also did some tape and
video work. She then did some soap opera work, took some acting classes,
some workshops and then came to California. While working on "Phenom" she
studied more to improve her skills. Just recently she took an acting class
that encompassed much of what she had learned over the years. She may not
have been acting lately, but she has been practicing the talent. "I never
stray too far away from it."
Has she always wanted to do acting? "It's fun. I do it because it's fun."
Has anyone ever inspired her? Lien said that she felt she had been "very
lucky to work with great actors who had been very giving, generous and
professional and extremely talented." She felt she was lucky to get on
Voyager for three years, "I considered it a unique experience to be on
something for so long" because that was longest she had ever worked in
acting before.
(C) Copyright 2001 Sashi Alexandra German, <sa...@feith.com>
All Rights Reserved.
Permission to duplicate electronically, for nonprofit posting on an
electronic fora or for other reading enjoyment, is especially granted, AS
LONG AS THIS COPYRIGHT NOTICE IS PRESERVED AND NO CHANGES ARE MADE TO THE
MATERIAL. No other reproduction in any form is authorized without prior
permission from this copyright holder (and that's not hard to get! All you
do is ASK!).
--
Sashi Alexandra German
sa...@feith.com
Dear Starfleet, Hate you, hate the Federation, taking Voyager -- Janeway
-*~'`^`'~*-,._.,-*~'`^`'~*-,._.,-*~'`^`'~*-,._.,-*~'`^`'~*-,._.,-*~'`^`'~*-
SASHI ALEXANDRA GERMAN -- sa...@feith.com
-*~'`^`'~*-,._.,-*~'`^`'~*-,._.,-*~'`^`'~*-,._.,-*~'`^`'~*-,._.,-*~'`^`'~*-
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