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Gene Roddenberry’s Star Trek became a pop cultural phenomenon upon release back in the ‘60s. Despite only lasting three seasons, the story of space exploration in the future and diplomatic missions became extremely engaging to fans and the core cast like William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy became legends.
The original series had always been a story of three: Shatner’s Kirk, Nimoy’s Spock, and DeForest Kelley’s McCoy. The latter reportedly faced the brunt of the stardom as he only got typecast in McCoy-esque roles after his tenure in Star Trek. The actor mentioned that he was taken by surprise as he felt he had the most human character in the series.
Actor DeForest Kelley regretted one thing about being a Star Trek actor
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William Shatner has been in multiple shows such as T.J. Hooker, The Practice, and its spinoff show Boston Legal. Leonard Nimoy went on to appear in the Mission Impossible TV series and voiced Galvatron in the iconic animated film Transformers: The Movie. However, both could not escape the shadow of Star Trek as they became synonymous with it.
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Shatner has since doubled down on the brand recognition he received and has written several books and directed documentaries on the show. Nimoy too has written two autobiographies named I Am Not Spock and I Am Spock. He even reprised the role of Spock Prime in J.J. Abrams’ reboot of Star Trek.
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However, the one actor who was surprised by his own typecasting was reportedly DeForest Kelley. Kelley played Dr. Leonard McCoy in the original series and was a pretty well-known name before his tenure in the space opera. However, he reportedly began to be typecasted after the show, which surprised him as he felt he had a very human character (via Star Trek.com),
McCoy was the most human character in the whole group…I thought, ‘McCoy is still kind of an ordinary human being walking around out there and I don’t think there will be any problems at all.’ I was the most surprised man in the world when I was caught right in the same trap … if you can call it a trap.
DeForest Kelley reportedly felt that Shatner and Nimoy would face the brunt of the typecasting as they had very specific roles, especially Nimoy as he had a distinct look as a Vulcan. The actor only featured in a few shows and films before returning to the franchise in the six original films.
Despite ruining his chances, DeForest Kelley has nothing but appreciation for Star Trek
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Actor DeForest Kelley was a working actor when he was cast as Dr. McCoy in Star Trek. The actor was known for antagonists or ‘heavies’ on TV and spent most of his career before the space opera playing these one-off roles. While that was one level of typecast, Kelley mentioned that he found them more interesting than the heroes.
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After Star Trek, however, the actor reportedly began receiving similar roles of irritable yet professional characters that took him by surprise. Still, Kelley paid his respects to Star Trek, saying that it gave him a lot of recognition and honor. He said,
It’s been a mixed blessing. I’ve enjoyed the role tremendously and, as the years have gone by, I have considered myself very fortunate to be a part of this show, which has become the phenomenon that it has. Many actors never get the opportunity to even be in a successful series, and here I have had the opportunity to be a part of what has become something most unusual in this country.
Apart from the original series, DeForest Kelley reprised his role in Star Trek: The Animated Series and the six original films featuring the OG cast.
Star Trek is available to stream on Paramount+.
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire