Posted in: Star Trek, TV | Tagged: paramount, Pavel Chekov, star trek, star trek: the animated series, Star Trek: The Original Series, walter koenig

Star Trek Icon Walter Koenig on Original Series "Caste System" & More

Walter Koenig reflects on his Star Trek: The Original Series run, the "caste system" that was in play, post-series struggles, and more.

Walter Koenig is Star Trek royalty these days as one of three surviving primary cast members of The Original Series, along with William Shatner (Kirk) and George Takei (Sulu). Though Pavel Chekov wasn't part of season one, Koenig's character was embraced for the bulk of the series even when he was cut out of the cast of The Animated Series (due to budget constraints); his sole contribution was writing the episode "The Infinite Vulcan." He returned for films starting with 1979's The Motion Picture and appeared in the next six films, including The Next Generation crossover in 1994's Generations (with Shatner and James Doohan, who played Scotty). He and Takei lent their voices in the Paramount+ era on Picard and the animated Lower Decks, respectively, but in Koenig's case, playing Pavel's grandson Anton Chekov, the Federation president in the Picard series finale. The actor reflected on how the Gene Roddenberry series was structured during its run on NBC when it premiered in 1966.

Walter Koenig on Taking What You Can Get on Star Trek

"We really were operating under a caste system … where you had the stars, and then you had supporting actors," Koenig told IGN. "And it was just an unspoken sense that the stars, the two or three people who drove the stories, and who [had] 80% of the screen time. Those were the people that you acknowledged first and foremost. The supporting actors, depending on the series but certainly in general, were just… it was sort of self-explanatory that we would be there to support them. We were there as the expositional characters, the ones who helped push the story but not really given the opportunity to probe who they were as characters. That wasn't as important as it was to get to know the stars."

Koenig was grateful for what he could get knowing TOS would always primarily focus on Shatner, Leonard Nimoy (Spock), and DeForest Kelley's (Bones) characters. "[They] got most of the screen time, got most of the attention, and we accepted it," he continued. "That's the way things went. And I think Bill [Shatner] had grown up with that sense, and his popularity was so immense, and he was an extremely talented fellow. And so he, I think, just unconsciously accepted the way things were. […] So there was less recognition for us. During the years we were shooting, I never felt left behind because I never anticipated more than that. I felt very lucky that I had been cast in a situation where I would get a check every week. It was quite amazing to me. […] It was only when we started doing the fan-driven conventions that we began to suspect that the fans really, really enjoyed our participation."

The actor, who would also be part of another iconic sci-fi series in Babylon 5 later in his career, didn't initially pick up on Roddenberry's vision at first. "I didn't understand how profound it was in terms of the way people related to it and the humanity that was part of this show," he said. "It was a perspective that we embraced […] Gene Roddenberry created the show to talk about how people could be better than they were and how we could live in a future which was better than what we were experiencing at the time. But mostly, I was just pleased to be working."

Unfortunately, that "Star Trek" success didn't follow Koenig after its cancellation following the third season. "Everybody thinks if you're an actor, and certainly if you're an actor and on a television series, you must be doing very well," he said. "Well, I was barely making more than minimum the first season. The second season I was on the show … I had a contract. I was paid a week's wage whether I worked a day or a week. So I made a little bit more. Whereas I made $10,000 for the whole year in 1967, I made $11,000 in 1968. Well, that'll only go so far."

That doesn't mean the actor wasn't working at all. "And the phone didn't ring," Koenig recalled. "I just didn't have any opportunities. I think I had a few years where I was doing guest-starring roles, and as I look back at it, as I have over the years, and wondered why it stopped happening … Well, it happened because I looked younger than I was, which meant that I could play teenagers and they wouldn't have to hire a teacher [on set]. That was number one. And having that opportunity, I got to make some fairly significant contributions as a guest actor. So the time came I turned 30. I still looked young, but not compared to somebody who was really 18 or under. And so the work slowed down significantly. In fact, the year before Star Trek, I had a very tough time getting any roles. Star Trek in 1967 just resurrected my career and became the principal source of revenue and popularity and creativity for me."

For more, including Koenig's work in the Star Trek films, Shatner beef, and his favorite Chekov moment which happened in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, you can check it out here.

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