Patrick Stewart’s Jean-Luc Picard has certainly seen a lot through his time in the Star Trek franchise. Having traveled the vastness of space and experienced all that life has to offer, it is safe to say that fans have seen him in a variety of different situations. One of the most iconic, however, has to be The Perfect Mate chapter of his story.
Being the 21st episode of season 5 of Star Trek: The Next Generation, it featured Famke Janssen in the role of Kamala. What many may not know is that the actress was also offered another role after playing Stewart’s unwilling life partner. She was offered the role of Jadzia Dax in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.
While many would jump on the opportunity to play a central character in such a high-profile franchise, Janssen had other plans.
Famke Janssen Was Given a Chance to be More Than Just Patrick Stewart’s Love Interest
In an excerpt from Star Trek: The Next Generation 365, it was revealed that Famke Janssen’s time in the franchise could have been a lot longer, had she wished it. While it is well known that she played the role of Kamala in The Next Generation, circumstances give her the opportunity to do a lot more with the franchise. Her role in the 1987 series was not very long, appearing for only one episode.
However, during our time there, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine was also being made and the creators were having a difficult time casting Jadzia Dax. The actress happened to walk past the right room at the right time, and enter the radar of the show creators.
Being cast as two different characters was not an unheard practice in the Star Trek franchise. However, rejecting an offer to join something so successful seems to still be unique to Janssen.
Famke Janssen Had Other Priorities
Even though being offered a role in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine was an opportunity for an actress who was just starting out, Janssen had her priorities straight. In the book, she revealed her reasoning behind rejecting the offer, and it is safe to say that it was a smarter decision. She confessed that she wanted to be able to do feature films and not be bound by the requirements of playing a lead in a hit series.
Rather than becoming the poster face for a series so early into her career, she wanted to explore her talents as an actress. Even though she understood the weight of what she was rejecting, she did not want to do a job just for the sake of acclaim.
I wanted some kind of guarantee that I could do feature films on the side. […] And while I felt [‘Deep Space Nine’] was a great opportunity, I felt I would get lazy as an actor if I didn’t keep challenging myself with different parts.
Janssen mentioned that taking such a path would have hindered her, and she would have preferred staying in her comfort zone rather than pushing herself. She went on to star in the X-Men franchise as Jean Grey and was even part of the James Bond film, GoldenEye.
Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine are available for streaming on Paramount+.
