Actress Jeri Ryan played Seven of Nine in Star Trek: Voyager. The former Borg was reduced to the antagonistic community and then rehabilitated among the Voyager crew, headed by Captain Janeway. The show saw Seven deprogram from her Borg days and learn to become more human with the help of the crew.
Ryan reprised her role after many decades in Star Trek: Picard. The actress had reportedly been offered a chance to return multiple times but had claimed that the Terry Matalas run show had a proper reason to include Seven and had given the character a journey. She even won the Saturn Award for her role.
Jeri Ryan Revealed Why She Returned To Play Seven of Nine In Star Trek: Picard
The show Star Trek: Picard saw the return of Patrick Stewart as Captain Jean-Luc Picard and as the seasons went on, the rest of The Next Generation cast reprised their role, thus reuniting them after years. Fan favorites like William Riker, Data, and Deanna Troi returned in a guest or recurring capacity, giving the fans one last look at the legendary crew.
One more iconic character joined the gang, albeit she was not from TNG. Jeri Ryan, who played Seven of Nine in Star Trek: Voyager returned in a recurring capacity in the first season before being promoted to the main cast in seasons 2 and 3. The legendary Seven had returned to Earth after Voyager and had joined the Fenris Rangers.
When asked why she chose to return to the franchise after almost two decades, Jeri Ryan mentioned that she did not really have a choice. She said to The New York Post,
Yeah, resistance was kind of futile, I guess. It’s really a kind of delightful surprise to be excited to play her again. I thought that I was done. I’d said goodbye to her, and I’d moved on and that was it.
The actress, however, continued on her journey to become a human after facing the trauma of the Borg and by the end of Picard, becomes the Captain of her own Enterprise ship.
Jeri Ryan Made Sure That She Retained Some Aspects Of Seven From Star Trek: Voyager
From her days as a Borg, Jeri Ryan’s Seven of Nine has come a long way. When she reprised her role in Star Trek: Picard, she was quite different from her Voyager days. Years had passed and Seven had faced considerable challenges, joining the Fenris Rangers, and situated at a time in the future where her kind was not too welcome.
When asked how she managed to keep the soul of Seven intact without compromising on the growth the character had no doubt gone through, Jeri Ryan stressed keeping some of the physicalities of the character. She said to NYP,
There are physical choices you make as an actor. How a character moves and sits, how they walk, stand, and hold themselves. Even though she’s much freer, much more human, and much more casual than she was last time we saw her, I wanted to make sure there were a couple of physical things that were identifiably still Seven that the fans could say, ‘Oh, there she is.’
Ryan specified the iconic head-tilt of Seven that was instantly recognized by fans. The actress stayed on till the end of Picard and even won the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Television Series. She had also won the same award for Voyager.
Star Trek: Voyager is available to stream on Paramount+.
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