Posted in: Paramount+, Star Trek, streaming, TV | Tagged: anton yelchin, paramount, Pavel Chekov, star trek, Star Trek Picard, Star Trek: The Original Series, walter koenig

Star Trek: Picard: TOS Star Walter Koenig on New Chekov Family Role

Star Trek: The Original Series star Walter Koenig discusses his cameo in the Star Trek: Picard series finale as Pavel Chekov's son, Anton.

While Star Trek: Picard has been unapologetic about season three being a love letter to the franchise's past billed as the official reunion of The Next Generation, it tapped into other legacy shows like The Original Series and Voyager. While sadly, we didn't get any original Deep Space Nine actors given the arc's focusing on the fallout from the Dominion War, we were treated to a special surprise near the beginning of the Picard series finale, "The Last Generation." The following contains spoilers.

An Unexpected and Welcome Return to Star Trek

Star Trek: The Original Series star Walter Koenig made a vocal cameo as Anton Chekov, the current Federation President and son of Pavel Chekov (the character he originally played who was introduced in season two of the 1966 NBC series). While he stayed for the bulk of its remaining series, he didn't return for The Animated Series but did so for the six TOS films and TNG crossover film Generations with William Shatner and James Doohan in 1994. He isn't the first TOS actor to return in the Paramount+ streaming era; that distinction belongs to George Takei, who reprised his role as Sulu in the animated Lower Decks. Koenig spoke about when he was pitched his return by Paramount.

"You know, I've had experiences with Star Trek along the way that were far more important, significant, and well worth telling," Koenig told The 7th Rule. "I was walking my dog. I read and ran to the top, and Todd said to me… this was the second time I'd seen him. He said, 'Oh, by the way, I think our line producer is going to get in touch with you.' I said, 'Really? What about?' He says, 'Well, they have something in mind for your character.'

"I was under the impression, for some reason, that it was going to be in the first episode of the new season and not in the last episode. Didn't make any difference to me, but initially, I didn't know that it wasn't even going to be a visual part; it was just going to be a voice-over. They did, in fact, call me, and they said, 'You could either come in, or we can come to your house.' I said, 'Come to my house,' so they did, three or four people: a cameraman, sound engineer, and line producer. We did it a couple of different ways. We did it with the Russian accent, and we did it without. The reason why we did it without the Russian accent is that it wasn't Pavel Chekov; it was Anton Chekov." Koenig wasn't aware if it was his son or grandson before the host clarified. Anton was a reference to his Kelvin timeline universe counterpart, played by the late Anton Yelchin. For more, including how the actor doesn't remember much else given how long ago it was recorded (since seasons two and three of Picard were filmed back-to-back) and trying to not dwell in the past, you can check out the interview below.

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