Star Trek, while has done pretty revolutionary stuff with its writing, it has also taken some decisions that might be extremely backward. It has been common knowledge that the producers cast Jeri Ryan to play Seven of Nine in Voyager to attract a demographic of viewers to the show. And it worked, leading them to make a similar decision for Enterprise.
However, the model they cast for the role of the Vulcan T’Pol was fortunately a sci-fi fan and a huge fan of the franchise. Actress and model Jolene Blalock revealed that she was a huge fan of TOS and TNG as she was growing up and loved playing the character. However, she was reportedly not a huge fan of her previous modeling career.
Star Trek’s Jolene Blalock had a tough time in her modeling days
Set before the events of Star Trek: The Original Series, Enterprise explored the very first Starfleet ship that could do interstellar travel. While it was set a hundred years before the original show, several familiar alien species were found in Enterprise, including the Vulcans. However, the Vulcan aboard the Enterprise was far more pleasing to the eyes than her ‘successor’.
Jolene Blalock, who played the Vulcan science officer in Enterprise was a model before transitioning to acting. She had been featured in the galleries of both Maxim and Playboy and would go on to be named one of the sexiest women in the world by FHM magazine. She made her acting debut with the sitcom Veronica’s Closet.
While Blalock got her first glimpse of success as a model, she became more known due to her time as T’Pol in Star Trek: Enterprise. She spoke about her issues with her modeling career and how she was not too happy with the culture of the industry (via Looper).
I’m jaded by my experiences in the modeling industry. You’re never skinny or perfect enough and it was difficult mentally making the transition to acting.
While she had a better time as an actor on the show and loved her character, she still reportedly had some differences regarding her arc in the show.
Jolene Blalock was a lifelong fan of Star Trek and loved sci-fi
Several actors have gotten their dreams turned into reality when they got to work on Star Trek spinoffs after being fans of the original. Actors like LeVar Burton and Whoopi Goldberg were all fans of the show, with Burton even crediting the series’ depiction of Uhura to be life-changing as a kid and inspiring him to pursue a career in show business.
While the makers wanted a repeat of Jeri Ryan’s impact with Jolene Blalock in Enterprise, the model-turned-actress was reportedly a huge fan of the genre and actually grew up watching TOS and TNG. She said (via Trek Today),
Well, sci-fi/fantasy is always going to attract me, because it’s something that’s special to my heart…I grew up on the original Star Trek. Also, when I was in sixth grade, I would come home from school and watch the Star Wars trilogy back to back every day for the entire year. It’s something that brings humanity outside of itself.
She also mentioned that she loved the ability of T’Pol to ‘suck the air out of the room’ when she entered with her energy.
Star Trek: Enterprise is available to stream on Paramount+.
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