Kate Mulgrew reflects on Star Trek: Voyager’s 25th anniversary ahead of virtual reunion event

The cast of Star Trek: Voyager

Star Trek: Voyager is celebrating its 25th anniversary and the cast will be reuniting online tonight to raise money for the Actors Fund, an organization dedicated to assisting performing arts and entertainment professionals. Kate Mulgrew spoke with TrekMovie.com recently to discuss reuniting with her castmates during the COVID-19 pandemic, how quarantine has affected her life and the idea of returning to the screen in the role of Captain Janeway.

“This will be a reunion, but I feel like I just saw them,” Mulgrew said, referring to Star Trek: The Cruise, which took place in early March. “[The Cruise] was just a great party that lasted all night long. So I feel that I’ve spent some quality time with them all. But it’ll be fun to do this Zoom with them.”

After the cruise, things took a dark turn for Mulgrew as she became ill, leaving her bedridden and concerned she might have contracted COVID-19. “Afterwards, I got very, very sick and thought I had caught the virus,” Mulgrew said. “I was convinced that I had it because I was in bed for almost a month. But I had my antibodies results last week and they are negative!”

The veteran Star Trek actor is looking forward to seeing her co-stars and has one topic she definitely wants to discuss during tonight’s streaming event. “I would love to talk about acting,” Mulgrew said, “The future of acting. How we feel about it going forward…I think we should talk about what acting has meant, what it means, and what it means to people.”

Regarding COVID-19, Mulgrew went on to say that “acting is more than just acting”. “In situations like this,” she said, “you see that it is an imperative in the culture...Star Trek signifies hope. Of course, the parallel is terrific, isn’t it? A capsule lost in a dark and dangerous place, the Delta Quadrant, could really be a wonderful comparison to where we are now. The planet is jeopardized...and how will we survive? We survive with art and this is an art that we cannot practice while we are contained like this.”

That “containment” has already led to the cancellation or postponement of many Star Trek events around the world. When asked if Star Trek Las Vegas will go on as planned, Mulgrew doesn’t see the convention happening this year, saying “I don’t think so. And too bad for us, too, because it was [...] supposed to be an anniversary tour.”

With Star Trek: Voyager actors Robert Duncan McNeill and Garrett Wang seeking to revisit the Captain Proton holo-novel, Mulgrew was asked if she would consider reprising her role as Arachnia, Queen of the Spider People. “That could be fun,” Mulgrew said. “That was probably the greatest fun I had in the seven years on Star Trek.” She was quick to point out, however, that while she says “the memory is sublime”, she hasn’t been approached about it.

When asked where the character of Captain Janeway might be twenty years later, Mulgrew was fond of the idea, saying “I think it would be wonderful to explore Janeway’s continued love of adventure and perhaps even, love of power…There are any number of things that could be delicious to dip into. But I don’t think it is going to happen. I am not saying that summarily, but time’s a-wasting, you know?”

Read the full interview with Kate Mulgrew at TrekMovie.com. The Star Trek: Voyager 25th anniversary reunion event is streaming live tonight, Tuesday, May 26th at 8pm ET. Viewers can contribute to the Actors Fund for an on-air shout out from the cast. Visit starsinthehouse.com for more information and to watch the event live. Of course, you can always catch the entire cast in episodes of Star Trek: Voyager, streaming now on CBS All Access.