TV Guide: We are here with Nana Visitor, Colonel Kira Nerys of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Welcome Nana!
Visitor: Hi everybody! Good to talk to you! When you are doing 16 hours a day on a set, your actual acting time is probably an hour and that hour makes the other 15 completely worth it.
picard75062: What was the most enjoyable thing about doing DS9?
Visitor: I am not sure I can qualify it, but I can list a few enjoyable parts: the acting, the community, and the regular work.
Klogh: I have just a couple of questions, first off, Now that DS9's run is finished, what are your plans for the future? And two, is there any truth to the rumor of a completely Klingon series in the works?
Visitor: I wouldn't know about a new series but I have heard the rumor. All Klingons all the time might be too much, in my opinion. My plans - I would like to do some comedy since I haven't done a lot of it in 7 years. But it would all depend on the piece.
WbMstr7of9: Nana, we have enjoyed your portrayal of Kira since the DS9's beginning. How has the role changed your life?
Visitor: I changed the original concept of Kira and strangely enough Kira changed me. I had to think in someone else's head and it is a head that I respect. Her ethics and commitment to what she believes in made me rethink my own life, and I did change.
jfdj1: Why are they canceling DS9?
Visitor: I don't know. It was always the understanding that we wouldn't go more than 7 years. It was a magical cut off point. I know we were still doing well in terms of ratings. I don't know if we lost a lot of actors or if people were just burned out. I know I wasn't burned out.
alienfaaque: Will there be any spin-offs from DS9?
Visitor: I don't know. You probably have heard more rumors than I have. But I would think the new series would involve a whole new set of people.
suzygirl1969: Do the wrinkles on your nose bother you?
Visitor: They did at first because I could see them out of the corners of my eyes and I used to get itchy. But after 2 years of it, I felt funny when I didn't have it on. I got used to it.
derrek_koopa2000: DS9 can't go on because the story is over, right?
Visitor: If that means "does the 2 hour finale conclude everybody's story" then no, that is not true. It certainly changes life on the station - but the story could continue in one way or another.
Captain_Picard_I: Did you watch any Star Trek prior to being cast for DS9?
spiderkin: DS9 aside, what is your favorite Star Trek Series?
Visitor: My favorite Star Trek series (aside from DS9) is the original. When I was a dancer in NY, I would cook dinner and sit and watch Star Trek on channel 11 and then go to the show. That was my routine for a long time.
FACTOR1X: What's your favorite pastime?
Visitor: Cooking with my family close by, with my boys running through my kitchen.
Eponine_98_98: Just wanted to say love the show!! How is the baby?
Visitor: The baby is great. He is no baby anymore - he is 2 and a half. He is really tall!!! And very smart and charming. Very much like his father.
sweetiehoneypie: Who do you think is the most fanciable male in Star Trek?
Visitor: The one I got!
Phasic: Do you have any plans acting-wise now that DS9 is over?
Visitor: Just to wait for a good project to come up. I would love to do some comedy.
dakhur_central: Are you planning to continue with television, or return to the theatre?
Visitor: I wouldn't mind doing some theater, but I would love to do some more TV.
QuarksLady: What's the most important value you want your kids to learn?
Visitor: I don't know if it is a value, but I already talked to my 7 year old about growing up to be an honorable man. And that kind of says it all to me.
Dash_The_Lost_WebSurfer: How did you and Alexander Siddig first start to date? I know you two are married.
Visitor: We had been friends since the pilot and I was married at the time and he was friendly with my husband as well. And when we split he moved in with Siddig, we remained friends, and Sid and I did too. And Sid used to bring all his girlfriends over to dinner and I would tell him what I thought of them all. We were really friends, and then suddenly it changed and it moved very quickly after that. We suddenly had a house, and family and a child.
Vanilla_May: How do you become an actress?
Visitor: My parents were in the theater and I thought I would be a writer, but when I graduated from High School, I got into Princeton I also got a job in theater in Summer Stock. I thought I would work for the year and defer college. And I just kept deferring it for 5 years. And I just decided that I am doing what I wanted to do, what do I need to go to Princeton for?
Yasniknikov: Was it awkward seeing your husband kiss Nicole, while at the same time you were playing the character of someone who was in love with Odo (Rene Auberjonois)?
Visitor: I wasn't there on the set. When I saw the 2 hour finale, I saw the first scene where they are in bed together and being an actor, I understand the whole dynamic and truth of the situation, but believe me, that doesn't stop me from leaning over and pinching him real hard - and then giving him the thumbs up.
Phasic: Was the last day on the set of DS9 quite emotional?
Visitor: It was very emotional. And as the TV Guide interview pointed out, it was mostly my tears. It was really hard to say goodbye to this job. I loved this job, but everyone was really really affected.
WbMstr7of9: Was there anything you'd wanted to do as Kira that you never got the opportunity to do during DS9's run?
Visitor: Not much. Except I would have liked to have more female friends, or go into battle with more women. It happened one time with Terri Ferrell, but it was not a scene that they revisited.
KessAndKaren: I had the pleasure of meeting you at the Federation Con in Bonn, Germany two years ago. I wish you and Sid the best of luck for future projects and am looking forward to seeing you both in Berlin in September.
Visitor: That was one of my favorite conventions. It was truly a highlight of the past 7 years and I would appreciate it if you could convey to the people of Germany, if you buy my home address on the internet and send me things, I will not sign it. That is the only thing I won't do. I will not sign things that come to my home, so if you can get that word out in Germany, I would appreciate it.
WbMstr7of9: Where can we send fan mail in the future?
Visitor: I have a service that picks up my mail at Paramount. So send it to Paramount Domestic TV - 5555 Melrose Ave, LA, CA 90024. I think that is the zip.
chrisbrad: Are you planning to visit the UK soon?
Visitor: Yes. Barring changes of plans due to work, we hope to be in the UK in late July. You are up late in the UK. Go to bed!!
scwong888: Are you and Sid coming to Australia again?
Visitor: We have no plans to, although it would be absolutely lovely to.
o_Chief: I was wondering what your plans are now that DS9 is over. And also, would you consider doing a DS9 movie or appear in a Next Generation movie if presented with it?
Visitor: When I was offered DS9, Rick Berman, the producer, called me up because I refused the job based on my manager's advice at the time. He was so persuasive that I got rid of my manager and took the job. Suffice it to say that if Rick Berman approached me with anything again, I would consider taking the job.
KNIGHTWOLF_2001: Looking forward to seeing you and your husband in Idaho Falls, Idaho this Sunday. I hope we aren't too boring for you!
Visitor: I am looking forward to it too. It will be the second time Sid and I have performed Love Letters so I am not thinking of being bored at all. We have never been on stage together so I am anxious to see how this turns out.
Lotus_esprit_turbo_challenge: Do you feel Star Trek had bettered your career in any way?
Visitor: I have never thought of having a career per se. I just work as an actor. So for 7 years, I have done some really satisfying work.
WbMstr7of9: Do you and your husband have any plans to work together in any kind of future project?
Visitor: This play, Love Letters, which we are doing in Salt Lake City and Idaho Falls, is happening. So we are grabbing this opportunity.
QuarksLady: Do you and/or Sid read fanfic?
Visitor: No. I don't. Basically because the books that I love to read, I only get a paragraph into it before I fall asleep. My time with 2 boys is limited. But I'm sure at one time I will be able to curl up to a whole bunch of it.
WbMstr7of9: Were you at all surprised when Kira was promoted from major to colonel at the beginning of the seventh season? Or had you been lobbying for a promotion for a while?
Visitor: I had been lobbying for a promotion and it meant a lot to me, strangely. I know it is just fictional TV, but damn I wanted that promotion.
cheile: I loved the Odo/Kira romance - it was so well done. What was your favorite of the Odo/Kira episodes?
Visitor: My favorite aspect of the romance is that we started as friends and it was a mature relationship with understanding and lots of space for each person to be their own person. I didn't want it to turn into a romance - I wanted it to be just a friendship between a man and a woman but I think it turned out very nicely.
voyagerlady13: What was your favorite episode for the entire series?
Visitor: If we were going to send an episode out to space, I guess it would be Duet.
ScouserMouse: Have you met both William Shatner and Patrick Stewart, and if so who is the coolest?
Visitor: Yes I have met them both and Patrick is definitely charming but I would have to say, because I watched the original so many years, my knees got a little weak meeting Captain Kirk.
tomboy_g: How did you like playing the other characters, like the Intendent or Col. Komananov or K.C.?
Visitor: I loved it. That was the ginger of the show, that I got to do riffs and I absolutely loved it.
Fablez: How much of Kira's storyline were you able to influence or suggest, and what would you like to do with her if she were ever revived in a later movie?
Visitor: First of all, I have to say that I very much trust Kira in these writer's and producer's hands. I would call and hash it out if I didn't feel it was truthful. And sometimes I won the battle and sometimes I didn't, but I felt I had an obligation to Kira to try.
x1j111800: Did you have any directing aspirations like your fellow DS9 actors?
Visitor: No, No, No. I am a backseat director and I drive some directors crazy because of that, but I am interested usually only in my character.
WbMstr7of9: Are there any episodes or scenes you'd like to disappear in a secret vault and never see the light of day again?
Visitor: Yes! There is a whole show. The one where I turn into a rock. I didn't enjoy any bit of that.
CHASKA56: What do you see yourself doing 20 years from now?
Visitor: I see myself acting, maybe having some kind of side business, having lots of young and old people around. Possibly serving them dinner. Having a few stay the weekend. That sounds pretty good.
KNIGHTWOLF_2001: Truthfully, are you or Siddig getting "burned out" with the convention circuit yet? I would! You are a stronger person than me!
Visitor: If the focus of a convention in my mind was me, I would have gotten bored after the first one. But everyone at the convention is looking at me, but I am looking out at different people each time. People with different life experiences. Being a person who is fascinated with others, I eat the experience up.
MagiMasterX: How is Worf doing? Do you keep in touch with him?
Visitor: He comes over to the house all the time for dinner. He loves my cooking and is over here all the time.
MS_DKSCULLY: What is your favorite TV show to watch when you aren't working, besides DS9?
Visitor: A sitcom. Any old sitcom, even a bad sitcom.
WbMstr7of9: Many fans are clamoring to hear you sing again. If you were asked, would you lend your voice to an album?
Visitor: Ha! I would be very careful about that. Unless I can provide a really high level of quality, I feel I am taking advantage of an audience. I have been asked to sing at a club, and some day I will do that, but right now I feel that what I have to offer isn't worthy of an album. Not yet, maybe someday.
Merlin_85_98: How was it the first day on the set?
Visitor: I remember it so vividly. It was Avery Brooks and me. It was the scene where he comes into the office and finds me hot under the collar. It was a huge crane shot and was exhausting and completely exhilarating.
kwatts86: Do you have an official Nana Visitor web page? Could I start one?
Visitor: There actually is one. I have never seen it, but it is out there.
XxXx_ICED_XxXx: What is your greatest inspiration?
Visitor: It has always been my mother. She is 85 and still works because she feels she still has something to communicate - she is a dance teacher. I remember being a tiny girl and she would convey to me the wonder of a flower or a bee. She has remained child-like in her wonder but very strong for her family. She is a total inspiration.
roswellborn: I have long enjoyed the show - and I've always been glad to see Kira's strengths - thank you!
Visitor: Thank you very much. And to everybody out there, there has never been a time when I haven't totally enjoyed talking to you all. And once again it has been a pleasure.
TV Guide: Thank you Nana Visitor for chatting with us tonight. Best of luck and please come back soon!
Visitor: I would love to, thank you.