Jan 13 2009
Guest Stories: John de Lancie Slept with Gene Roddenberry to Get the Part of “Q” (at least that’s what HE said)
No matter what series of Star Trek you may call your favorite, you have probably heard of the character “Q.” Who could possibly forget the frustratingly funny, and wonderfully omnipotent antagonist from three different Star Trek series? The actor behind Q is John de Lancie, an incredibly talented individual with a slew of film, television, and stage credits to his name.
I’ve met a lot of Star Trek actors over the years. Some are charming. Some are a bit uptight. Some laugh and joke with fans. And some act like they really don’t get what all the fuss is about.
That is John de Lancie.
Although polite and kind, he seems genuinely bewildered as to why he attracts a line of eager fans looking to shake his hand and hand him $20 for an autograph. John is an actor. Acting is what he does for a living. To him, it seems like just as much of a regular job as a dentist or a plumber.
But John isn’t a dentist or plumber, and he’s not just any old actor. He’s the man behind a much beloved character on a widely popular science fiction show with a large, dedicated fan base.
I had a chance to see John de Lancie a few years ago at a convention, and this is the story.
At the convention, I actually got to see the entirety of John de Lancie’s Q & A session. Fans lined up on either side of the ballroom to ask their questions. One of the very first ones was “How did you get the part of Q?”John de Lancie has probably been asked this a million times, but he kindly explained the whole ordeal like it was the first time he had ever been asked that question.
The story went like this: John had been asked to come in to audition for Star Trek: The Next Generation and do a read for powers that be. He agreed after much prodding, and afterward, one of the people in the audition room had come out to tell John what a nice job he had done. He even said something to the effect of, “you make my words sound better than they are.” It was Gene Roddenberry. At the time, John had no clue who he even was. But needless-to-say, he got the part.
Fast forward forty minutes into the future. John has answered dozens of questions at this point, and done so patiently. He then turns toward one of the microphones for the next question, and there stands an out of breath fan (it was as if he had just run into the ballroom). Now, I’m paraphrasing here, but basically what the fan said was this: “Sorry I missed the first part of this, so I hope this question hasn’t been asked already. How did you get the part of Q?”
Without missing a single beat, John de Lancie replies (in a completely serious tone): “I slept with Gene Roddenberry.”
He then went right to the next fan with a question, with the audience laughing so hard that many had tears in their eyes (myself included). The tardy fan was left standing there - jaw on the floor and eyes wide.
John de Lancie is AWESOME.
(Note: You can see my first “Guest Stories” entry about meeting George Takei by clicking here.)
OK, that one was great! I always hated Q (LOL)… but loved the guy who played him! John is great!
I also have an interest in conventions, having worked as a stagehand at conventions for years… some more interesting than others, obviously.
PG