Editing Star Trek: First Contact (section)

==Cast==
''First Contact'' is the first film in the ''Star Trek'' film series in which none of the main characters from ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series|The Original Series]]'' appear.<ref name="Hochman-1996">{{cite magazine |last=Hochman |first=David |date=November 22, 1996 |title=Preview: 'Star Trek: First Contact' |url=https://ew.com/article/1996/11/22/preview-star-trek-first-contact/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170116125722/https://ew.com/article/1996/11/22/preview-star-trek-first-contact/ |archive-date=January 16, 2017 |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |access-date=August 15, 2021}}</ref> Rather, the main cast of ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation]]'' play the following characters:
* [[Patrick Stewart]] as [[Jean-Luc Picard]], the captain of the [[USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-E)|USS ''Enterprise''-E]] who is haunted by his time as a member of the Borg. Stewart was one of the few cast members who had an important role in developing the script, offering suggestions and comments.{{sfn|Kaplan|1996|p=22}} Picard's character was changed from the "angst-ridden character [viewers have] seen before", to an action hero type. Stewart noted that Picard was more physically active in the film compared to his usual depiction.<ref name="Hochman-1996"/>
* [[Jonathan Frakes]] as [[William Riker|William T. Riker]], the ship's first officer who leads the away team on Earth. Frakes said he did not have much difficulty directing and acting at the same time, having done so on the television series.<ref name=making/>
* [[Brent Spiner]] as [[Data (Star Trek)|Data]], an android and the ship's second officer, whose ambition is to become more human. Rumors before the film's release suggested that since Data's skin had been largely removed at the end of the story, it would allow another actor to assume the role.{{sfn|Kaplan|1996|p=32}}
* [[LeVar Burton]] as [[Geordi La Forge]], the ship's chief engineer who helps repair the ''Phoenix''. La Forge was blind, and had been depicted wearing a special [[VISOR]] to see. Burton had lobbied for the VISOR to be discarded, since it hid his eyes and restricted the actor's ability to convey thoughts and emotions. The VISOR was replaced in ''First Contact'' by ocular implants, which were shown to be artificial but otherwise unexplained.{{sfn|Kaplan|1996|p=22}}
* [[Michael Dorn]] as [[Worf]], the commander of the [[USS Defiant|USS ''Defiant'']] and Picard's former chief of security.
* [[Gates McFadden]] as [[Beverly Crusher]], the ship's doctor. In an interview before the film's premiere, McFadden said she considered women finally on par with the men in ''Star Trek'': "We've come a long way since [[Majel Barrett]] was stuck in the sick bay as [[Christine Chapel|Nurse Chapel]] in the [1960s] and made to dye her hair blond."<ref name="themirror-space girls">{{cite news|author=Grant, Brigit|date=December 12, 1996|title=The Space Girls; Women break male domination in latest Star Trek movie|work=[[Daily Mirror|The Mirror]]|pages=2–3}}</ref>
* [[Marina Sirtis]] as [[Deanna Troi]], counselor aboard the ''Enterprise''. Sirtis missed working on the television show, and was acutely aware that expectations and stakes for ''First Contact'' were high; "we were scared that people thought we couldn't cut it without the original cast", she said.<ref>{{cite news|author=Slotek, Jim|date=November 17, 1996|title=Generation Next; will the Star Trek franchise survive The Next Generation's first solo attempt at a feature?|work=[[The Toronto Sun]]|page=S3}}</ref>
* [[Alfre Woodard]] as Lily Sloane, Cochrane's assistant. Woodard was one of the first people Frakes met when he moved to Los Angeles. During a conversation at a barbecue Woodard said she would become Frakes' godmother, as he did not have one.<ref>{{cite web |title=Grand Slam XIII – Saturday Recap |url=http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/news/article/10196.html |website=StarTrek.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050318021029/http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/news/article/10196.html |archive-date=March 18, 2005 |date=March 15, 2005 |quote=I'll be your godmother |url-status=dead}}</ref> Through this relationship, Frakes was able to cast Woodard in the film; he considered it a coup to land an [[Academy Award]]-nominated actress.{{sfn|Frakes|2005}} Woodard considered Lily to be the character most like herself out of all the roles she had played.<ref>{{cite news|title=Her 'First Contact' with sci-fi|date=November 10, 1996|author=Ian Spelling|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|page=D7}}</ref>
* [[James Cromwell]] as [[Zefram Cochrane]], the pilot and creator of Earth's first [[Warp drive|warp-capable]] vessel. The character of Zefram Cochrane had first appeared in ''The Original Series'' episode "[[Metamorphosis (Star Trek episode)|Metamorphosis]]", played by [[Glenn Corbett]].<ref name="chicago tribune-cromwell">{{cite news |last=Spelling |first=Ian |date=December 6, 1996 |title=As Scientist, Cromwell Has Key Role In 'Contact' |work=[[Chicago Tribune]]|volume=150 |number=341 |page=9A |issn=1085-6706}}</ref> Cromwell's Cochrane is much older and has no resemblance to Corbett, which did not bother the writers.{{sfn|Kaplan|1996|p=29}} They wanted to portray Cochrane as a character going through a major transition; he starts out as a cynical, selfish drunk who is changed by the characters he meets over the course of the film.{{sfn|Braga|Moore|2005}} Although the character was written with Cromwell in mind, [[Tom Hanks]], a big fan of ''Star Trek'', was floated for the role by Paramount, though producer [[Rick Berman]] said it was never a serious consideration.<ref name="chicago tribune-cromwell"/><ref name="Pirrello-2021">{{cite web |last=Pirrello |first=Phil |date=November 22, 2021 |title='Star Trek: First Contact' Co-Writer Ron Moore Recalls Story Clash With Patrick Stewart |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-features/star-trek-first-contact-patrick-stewart-ron-moore-1235051675/ |website=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] |issn=0018-3660 |access-date=November 24, 2021}}</ref> Frakes commented that it would have been a mistake to cast Hanks due to his being so well known.<ref name=record/> Cromwell had a long previous association with ''Star Trek'', having played characters in ''The Next Generation'' episodes "[[The Hunted (Star Trek: The Next Generation)|The Hunted]]" and "[[Birthright (Star Trek: The Next Generation)|Birthright]]", as well as a role in ''[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine]]''.{{sfn|Nemecek|2003|p=325}} Cromwell described his method of portraying Cochrane as always playing himself. Part of the actor's interest in the film was his involvement in [[Steven M. Greer]]'s Center for the Study of Extraterrestrial Intelligence, which offers training for first-contact scenarios.{{sfn|Kaplan|1996|p=30}}
* [[Alice Krige]] as the [[Borg#Borg Queen|Borg Queen]], the controller of the cybernetic collective. Casting for the part took time as the actress needed to be sexy, dangerous, and mysterious. Frakes cast Krige after finding that she had all of the mentioned qualities, and being impressed by her performance in ''[[Ghost Story (1981 film)|Ghost Story]]''.{{sfn|Frakes|2005}} Krige suffered a large amount of discomfort filming her role; her tight costume caused blisters, and the painful silver contact lenses she wore could only be kept in for four minutes at a time.{{sfn|Nemecek|2003|p=330}}

Some of ''The Next Generation''{{'}}s recurring characters also appeared in the film; [[Dwight Schultz]] reprised his role of Lieutenant [[Reginald Barclay]] and [[Patti Yasutake]] briefly appeared as Nurse [[List of minor recurring characters in Star Trek: The Next Generation#Alyssa Ogawa|Alyssa Ogawa]].{{sfn|Nemecek|2003|p=322}} [[Whoopi Goldberg]] was not asked to return as [[Guinan (Star Trek)|Guinan]],<ref name="TStar-1996">{{cite news |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=October 2, 1996 |title=Whoopi's Star Trek love affair over |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/437562430 |url-access=subscription |work=[[Toronto Star]] |page=B6 |access-date=August 6, 2023 |id={{ProQuest|437562430}} |via=[[ProQuest]]}}</ref> a wise bartender whose homeworld was destroyed by the Borg.<ref name="Hastie-1996">{{cite book |editor-last1=Harrison |editor-first1=Taylor |editor-last2=Projansky |editor-first2=Sarah |editor-link2=Sarah Projansky |editor-last3=Ono |editor-first3=Kent A. |editor-link3=Kent Alan Ono |editor-last4=Helford |editor-first4=Elyce Rae |last=Hastie |first=Amelie |name-list-style=amp |date=1996 |title=Enterprise Zones: Critical Positions on Star Trek |chapter=A Fabricated Space: Assimilating the Individual on ''Star Trek: The Next Generation'' |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780813328997/mode/1up |url-access=registration |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780813328997/page/115/mode/1up |chapter-url-access=registration|publisher=Westview Press |isbn=0813328993 |via=[[Internet Archive]]}}</ref> Goldberg only learned about the decision through the newspapers. "What can I say? I wanted to do it because I didn't think you could do anything about the Borg without [my character]", she said, "but apparently you can, so they don't need me."<ref>{{cite news |last= Janusonis |first= Michael|date=January 3, 1997|title=Whoopi Goldberg passed the Myrlie Evers test for 'Ghosts' role|work=[[The Providence Journal|Providence Journal-Bulletin]]}}</ref>

[[Michael Horton (actor)|Michael Horton]] appears as a bloodied and stoic Starfleet Security Officer; his character was given the name Lt. Daniels in the [[Star Trek: Insurrection|next ''Star Trek'' film]].{{sfn|Nemecek|2003|p=322}} As with many ''Star Trek'' productions, new, disposable "[[Redshirt (stock character)|redshirt]]" characters are killed off over the course of the plot.{{sfn|Frakes|2005}} [[Neal McDonough]] plays Hawk, the ''Enterprise'' helmsman who aids in the defense of the ship until he is assimilated and killed. McDonough was cavalier about his role as a redshirt, saying that since one of the characters in the deflector dish battle had to die, "that would be me".{{sfn|Kaplan|1996|p=30}} "Resistance is futile", the Borg's [[tagline]], was spoken by [[Jeff Coopwood]].<ref name="Janciewicz-2015">{{cite magazine |last=Janciewicz |first=Pat |date=2015 |title=Jeff Coopwood: Voice of the Borg |url=https://archive.org/details/Star_Trek_Special_Edition_2016_USA/page/n109/mode/1up |magazine=Star Trek: The Official Magazine |issue=2016 Special |pages=112–113 |publisher=Titan Books |issn=1357-3888 |via=Internet Archive}}</ref>

The film also features cameos by two actors from the sister television series ''[[Star Trek: Voyager]]'', which was in its [[List of Star Trek: Voyager episodes#Season 3 (1996–97)|third season]] at release.{{sfn|Nemecek|2003|p=325}} [[Robert Picardo]], who played ''Voyager''{{'}}s holographic [[Doctor (Star Trek)|Doctor]], was asked to appear as ''Enterprise''{{'}}s [[Emergency Medical Hologram]] after suggesting to producers that the two vessels should share similar technology.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/treks_picardo_reveals_tri|first=Trent|last=Moore|date=December 7, 2012|title=Trek's Picardo Shares Sly Trick That Won Him A First Contact Cameo|work=[[Syfy Wire]]|access-date=January 4, 2019|archive-date=November 18, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201118042717/https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/treks_picardo_reveals_tri|url-status=live}}</ref> Picardo's line "I'm a doctor, not a door stop", is an allusion to the ''Star Trek'' original series character Dr. [[Leonard McCoy]].{{sfn|Frakes|2005}} Picardo's fellow ''Voyager'' actor [[Ethan Phillips]], who played [[Neelix]], cameos as a nightclub maître d' in the holodeck scene. Phillips recalled that the producers wanted the fans to be left guessing whether he was the person who played Neelix or not, as he did not appear in the credits.<ref>{{cite magazine |author=Staff |date=August 2002 |title=Interview: Ethan Phillips |journal=[[Star Trek: The Magazine]] |volume=3 |issue=4 |publisher=Fabbi Publishing (US) |issn=1523-9195}}</ref> During production, there were incorrect rumors that [[Avery Brooks]] would reprise his role as ''[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine]]'' captain [[Benjamin Sisko]].{{sfn|Kaplan|1996|p=30}}