Dwayne Johnson Reflects on That Time He Was in STAR TREK: VOYAGER and Shares Big Appreciation for Jeri Ryan
Believe it or not, Star Trek sits among the many pop culture worlds that Dwayne Johnson has stepped into over the years. His time there was short, early in his acting career as he made the leap from WWE superstar to Hollywood performer, yet it left a mark on him.
In a recent interview, Johnson looked back at his appearance on Star Trek: Voyager and highlighted the person who made that experience unforgettable… Seven of Nine herself, Jeri Ryan.
Ryan’s journey with the Star Trek franchise goes back a long time. She first joined Voyager in its fourth season, debuting in 1997 as Seven of Nine, a character who immediately changed the landscape of the series.
Seven was a former human assimilated by the Borg and later freed from the Collective, leaving her with lingering trauma that set her apart from nearly every other character in the franchise. Outside of Captain Jean Luc Picard, few characters had confronted the psychological aftermath of the Borg in such a personal way.
Seven’s storyline evolved into one of the show’s emotional powerhouses. By Season 6 she was leading major episodes, including the fan-favorite Voyager chapter Tsunkatse. It was here that Johnson stepped into an alien warrior role that perfectly matched his physical presence at the time.
In Tsunkatse, Johnson appears as the Pendari champion, a fierce competitor in the brutal intergalactic combat sport of the same name. Seven of Nine and Tuvok are abducted during a research mission and thrown into this violent arena, where Seven faces the Pendari champion in her first fight.
Johnson delivered exactly what viewers expected from him at the time and even slipped in some recognizable wrestling flair during the showdown.
Looking back on that experience, Johnson couldn’t praise Ryan enough. In an interview with Moovy.dk he said, “The crew, the cast, everybody was so awesome, but very specifically, Jeri Ryan was AMAZING.
“She was so welcoming and warm. I had never done anything before in terms of acting. I come from the world of wrestling, and in a way, that is performance – but, cues, marks, dialogue and all that was still very new to me. But Jeri was so amazing and so cool and gorgeous and blew me away how just wonderfully welcoming she was.”
Johnson explained that Ryan’s attitude stood out in a field where not everyone was thrilled to see a wrestler crossing into acting. “Jeri was never like that. She was f—ing cool, man. People always remember how you treat them.”
I love seeing Johnson talk about his time on Star Trek: Voyager with such appreciation.
Via: Trek Movie