Editing Galaxy Quest (section)

=== Casting ===
Following Parisot's assignment as director, Allen was quickly cast as Nesmith,<ref name="thr dec2019"/> and had to choose between ''Galaxy Quest'' and ''[[Bicentennial Man (film)|Bicentennial Man]]''. The ''Bicentennial Man'' role went to [[Robin Williams]].<ref name="MentalFloss"/><ref name="io9"/> Allen said he was a big sci-fi fan and had hoped the role would launch a second part of his career as a sci-fi actor.<ref name="io9"/><ref name="thr dec2019"/> Some of Allen's sci-fi knowledge was put to use during production: for example, when the crew is about to land on an alien planet, Allen brought up the issue of a breathable atmosphere with Johnson and Parisot; this became dialogue for Fleegman and Kwan in the movie.<ref name="thr dec2019"/> About his role, Allen said he based his performance more on [[Yul Brynner]]'s [[Ramesses II]] from the 1956 ''[[The Ten Commandments (1956 film)|The Ten Commandments]]'', and less on [[William Shatner]] as [[James T. Kirk|Captain James Kirk]] from ''Star Trek''.<ref name="io9"/>

[[Alan Rickman]] was selected to be Alexander Dane, who played the alien Dr. Lazarus. Rickman had been interested in the part not so much for the sci-fi elements, but because of the humor. He said "I love comedy almost more than anything. This really is one of the funniest scripts I've read," and that "actors are probably the only professionals who send themselves up. We actually have a sense of humor about ourselves."<ref name="starlog 2000">{{cite magazine | title = Galaxy Quest | first = Bill |last = Warren | date = January 2000 | magazine = [[Starlog]] }}</ref> While the original script made Dane a [[Order of the British Empire|ceremonial knight]], Rickman suggested the title would be too much for the character, and this was dropped, though he remained listed as "Sir Alex Dane" in the credits.<ref name="io9"/><ref name="MentalFloss"/> Rickman also provided input into the [[prosthetic]] piece that Dane would use to play Lazarus, saying "it was important for it to be good enough to convince the aliens who believe we're the real thing, but also cheesy enough to imagine that it was something he applied himself".<ref name="io9"/> Rickman's sense of drama came into play during initial reads and script revisions. Rockwell said that Rickman "was very instrumental in making sure the script hit the dramatic notes, and everything had a strong logic and reason behind it".<ref name="thr dec2019"/> The scene where Dane, as Dr. Lazarus, gives a final, powerfully emotional speech to Quellek, played by [[Patrick Breen]], used Rickman's sense of drama, according to Rockwell.<ref name="thr dec2019"/> Rickman was initially annoyed with Allen's excitement over his role,<ref name="io9"/> but eventually the whole cast bonded over the film.<ref name="thr dec2019"/> Dr. Lazarus' catchphrase, "By Grabthar's Hammer", was written as a temp line in Gordon's script; Gordon planned to replace "Grabthar" with something less comical, but the line stuck as the production crew started using it around their offices and had it printed on t-shirts.<ref name="MTV"/>

Weaver had loved the script since her first read when Ramis was the director, stating "that great sort of ''[[The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)|Wizard of Oz]]'' story of these people feeling so incomplete in the beginning, and then during the course of this adventure, they come out almost like the heroes they pretended to be in the first place".<ref name="MentalFloss"/> She particularly loved the part of Madison: "to me she was what a lot of women feel like, including myself, in a Hollywood situation."<ref name="thr dec2019"/> In addition, she had long wanted to work with both Allen and Rickman.<ref name="io9"/> Once Parisot replaced Ramis, Weaver lobbied Parisot to cast her, insisting that Madison needed to be blonde and have large breasts to capture the humor of a sci-fi production.<ref name="thr dec2019"/> She was surprised when she got the role.<ref name="io9"/> Weaver said that this role, given some of her personal insecurities, was closer to "telling the truth about myself and science fiction" compared to her performance as Ripley in the ''[[Alien (franchise)|Alien]]'' films.<ref name="thr dec2019"/> She wore a blonde wig (which she kept after production) and an enhanced bosom, which many of the crew said gave Weaver a new personality. Weaver often left the set in costume and returned to her hotel to admire herself,  saying that she "loved being a starlet".<ref name="MTV"/>

[[Tony Shalhoub]] originally auditioned for Guy Fleegman until [[Sam Rockwell]] was cast. Shalhoub was cast as Fred Kwan<ref name="io9"/> and worked with Parisot to develop the character. Kwan was loosely based on [[David Carradine]], who was a non-Asian in an Asian role in the television series ''[[Kung Fu (1972 TV series)|Kung Fu]]''. Additionally, it was rumored that Carradine frequently acted while [[Substance intoxication|under the influence of drugs]]. Although Shalhoub could not overtly portray a "stoner" in a PG-13 film, he insisted that Kwan should always be shown eating to subtly reference the stoner stereotype.<ref name=MTV />

Rockwell, who wanted to develop a more serious dramatic acting career, initially considered declining the role after he was cast. He eventually recognized that several successful dramatic actors had done comedy roles early on, and his friend [[Kevin Spacey]] persuaded him to take the part.<ref name=MTV /><ref name="thr dec2019"/> He was the last of the main actors to be cast.<ref name="thr dec2019"/> Rockwell fashioned Fleegman after cowardly characters from other films, such as [[John Turturro]]'s Bernie in ''[[Miller's Crossing]]'', [[Bill Paxton]]'s Private Hudson in ''[[Aliens (film)|Aliens]]'', and [[Michael Keaton]]'s "Blaze" in ''[[Night Shift (1982 film)|Night Shift]]''. Rockwell drank a lot of coffee before certain scenes to help create the over-excitement and jitters associated with the character.<ref name=MTV /> Rockwell's character's name, Guy Fleegman, is a homage to Guy Vardaman, a little-known actor who worked extensively on ''Star Trek'' either as a [[stand-in]] or in bit roles.<ref name="io9"/> Rockwell and Shalhoub improvised some dialog to contrast Fleegman as an alarmist while Kwan was always nonchalant.<ref name="thr dec2019"/> [[Daryl Mitchell (actor)|Daryl Mitchell]] had worked with Parisot on ''Home Fries'', and Parisot felt he was the perfect choice to play Webber.<ref name="thr dec2019" /> [[David Alan Grier]] was the second choice.<ref name="MTV" />

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[[Justin Long]] was cast as Brandon, and it was Long's first feature-film role.<ref name="MentalFloss"/> Long had just completed a pilot for a television show under casting director Bonnie Zane, who suggested Long to her sister [[Debra Zane]], the casting director for ''Galaxy Quest''.<ref name="thr dec2019"/> Long said he was nervous auditioning as an unknown actor at the time, competing against [[Kieran Culkin]], [[Eddie Kaye Thomas]], and [[Tom Everett Scott]].<ref name="MentalFloss"/> Parisot had given Long a copy of ''[[Trekkies (film)|Trekkies]]'', a film about the ''Star Trek'' fandom, to help prepare for the character.<ref name="thr dec2019"/> Long based his character on a combination of [[Philip Seymour Hoffman]]'s Scotty J. from ''[[Boogie Nights]]'' and the [[Comic Book Guy]] from ''[[The Simpsons]]''.<ref name=MTV />    [[Paul Rudd]] auditioned for a role.<ref name=MTV />

One of the first "Thermians" to audition was [[Enrico Colantoni]]. Colantoni loved the script and spent time before his audition developing the behavior he thought the Thermians should have.<ref name="thr dec2019"/> Parisot said that at the end of Colantoni's read, the actor offered a possible voice for the Thermians. Parisot immediately loved the voice and used it to establish the nature of the Thermians for the rest of the casting process.<ref name="ign thermian">{{cite web | url = https://www.ign.com/articles/2019/12/27/2276785 | title = Galaxy Quest: How the Thermians Were Born | first = Tara | last = Bennett | date = December 27, 2019 | access-date = December 30, 2019 | work = [[IGN]] | archive-date = December 30, 2019 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20191230222145/https://www.ign.com/articles/2019/12/27/2276785 | url-status = live }}</ref> Colantoni led how the Thermians would act, which he called "happy Jehovah's Witnesses" taking everything in with "love and acceptance".<ref name="starlog 2000"/> Other actors cast as Thermians included [[Jed Rees]] and [[Rainn Wilson]] (his feature-film debut). According to Debra Zane, they had "a difficult time finding an actress to play a Thermian. Ultimately, Zane was so impressed with [[Missi Pyle]]'s audition that she sent the casting tape directly to Parisot, with a note stating "If this is not Laliari, I will resign from the [[Casting Society of America|CSA]]."<ref name="io9"/> [[Steven Spielberg]], also impressed by Pyle, asked for Laliari's role to be expanded, which developed into the romance with Kwan.<ref name="io9"/><ref name="MentalFloss"/> [[Jennifer Coolidge]] was the second choice for the role.<ref name=MTV />

Actors cast as Thermians went to "alien school" to learn how to move and talk, since they were "basically giant calamari hiding in human shape", according to Parisot.<ref name="ign thermian"/> The walk was inspired by how the [[marionette]]s were articulated in the series ''[[Fireball XL5]]''.<ref name="cnet documentary">{{cite web | url = https://www.cnet.com/news/galaxy-quest-cast-warmly-recalls-1999-sci-fi-classic-in-new-documentary-never-surrender/ | title = Galaxy Quest cast warmly recalls the sci-fi classic in new documentary | first = Bonnie | last = Burton | date = November 26, 2019 | access-date = December 30, 2019 | work = [[CNet]] | archive-date = December 31, 2019 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20191231005402/https://www.cnet.com/news/galaxy-quest-cast-warmly-recalls-1999-sci-fi-classic-in-new-documentary-never-surrender/ | url-status = live }}</ref> Other idiosyncrasies were developed by the actors during this training,<ref name="ign thermian"/> and several of their lines came out of improvisations.<ref name="cnet documentary"/> Wilson's role as Lahnk was to have been larger in the film, but the actor was double-booked for an NBC pilot in New York City. He received a crash course on how to act like a Thermian from Colantoni, Rees, and Pyle, but still was nervous around the A-list actors leading the cast. Wilson said that a deleted scene involving Lahnk, released with the film's home media, was wisely cut given how nervous he was, flubbing his lines several times.<ref name="ign thermian"/>