Erin Gray Almost Became ‘Star Trek’ Captain Janeway and Fans Can’t Stop Wondering What Voyager Would Have Looked Like

Before Kate Mulgrew ever set foot on the bridge of the USS Voyager, the search for the franchise’s first female captain was a long and chaotic one, and ‘Buck Rogers in the 25th Century’ star Erin Gray was right in the middle of it. Decades later, the actress is opening up about what it actually felt like to chase one of science fiction’s most groundbreaking roles.

Gray has confirmed that she auditioned for the role of Captain Kathryn Janeway on ‘Star Trek: Voyager‘ in 1995, a part that famously went through two different actresses before the show even aired. Her name sits alongside a long list of recognizable faces who all wanted a shot at commanding a starship, and her recent comments are giving fans a much clearer picture of just how competitive that process really was.

Erin Gray’s ‘Star Trek: Voyager’ Audition Story

Nearly fifteen years after ‘Buck Rogers in the 25th Century’ ended, Gray saw a role she genuinely wanted, the chance to lead a starship crew as its captain. She had spent years as Colonel Wilma Deering opposite Gil Gerard, and according to a recent interview, she had to actively push just to get in the room for Janeway.

Gray has said she was not particularly familiar with the ‘Star Trek’ franchise going into the process, so her motivation was not fandom. Instead it came from years of playing women who existed mainly in support of a male lead, even when those women technically outranked the men around them.

In Janeway, Gray reportedly saw something rare for the era, a character who was actually the center of the story rather than someone orbiting it. That distinction is part of why she remembers fighting just for the opportunity to audition in the first place.

The role ultimately went to French actress Genevieve Bujold, who resigned while shooting the pilot, before Kate Mulgrew stepped into the part that would define her career for years to come.

The Crowded Field of Actresses Considered for Captain Janeway

Gray was far from the only big name in contention. Reports indicate the list of actresses considered for Janeway included Lindsay Wagner, Linda Hamilton, Joanna Cassidy, Susan Gibney, Nicola Bryant, Lynda Carter, Kate Jackson, Patty Duke, and Carolyn McCormick.

Susan Gibney reportedly went the furthest of the group without landing the role. She was said to be an early favorite of executive producer Rick Berman, and she filmed test scenes in full uniform on the mostly completed Voyager bridge alongside cast members who had already been hired.

Even with makeup applied to age her appearance, Paramount reportedly felt she looked too young to convincingly command a starship and passed on her a second time after Bujold’s exit. Karen Austin was also reportedly one of three actresses named in a January 1995 Los Angeles Times piece during the earliest stages of casting.

The sheer size of that shortlist reflects how much pressure Paramount was under to get ‘Star Trek’s first female captain exactly right, since the character was designed to be a genuinely groundbreaking addition to the franchise.

What Happened After Genevieve Bujold Departed the Pilot

Bujold was the first actress hired for the role, but production sources describe her exit as sudden. Shortly after filming on the pilot began, it reportedly became clear she was not the right fit for the demands of a weekly television schedule.

That left the production scrambling, and Kate Mulgrew was brought back in for the part that had already started shooting. Mulgrew went on to lead ‘Star Trek: Voyager’ for its full seven season run, becoming one of the most recognizable captains in the franchise’s history.

For Gray, the audition remains a meaningful memory even though the part went elsewhere. She has connected the experience back to her time on ‘Buck Rogers in the 25th Century,’ noting that her portrayal of Wilma Deering reportedly inspired real women to pursue military careers, something she says she never anticipated while filming the original series.

Fans Still Debate the Erin Gray as Janeway What If

Long running ‘Star Trek’ fan forums have kept the Erin Gray casting question alive for years, with debates popping up regularly about how different ‘Voyager’ might have felt with her in the captain’s chair instead of Mulgrew. Opinions in these threads are genuinely split down the middle.

Some fans argue Gray would have brought a softer, more approachable energy to the role, while others insist Mulgrew’s commanding presence was irreplaceable and exactly what the character needed to hold the crew together during a seven year journey home. Neither side seems close to changing the other’s mind.

What nobody disputes is that the casting process itself was unusually dramatic for a franchise built on stability, especially with a lead actress departing mid production before the show even premiered. That instability makes the alternate history conversations even more fun for longtime viewers to revisit.

Given how many recognizable names were reportedly in the running, it is easy to see why this particular piece of ‘Star Trek’ trivia keeps resurfacing across fan communities more than three decades later.

With so many familiar faces from ‘Buck Rogers,’ ‘Charlie’s Angels,’ and ‘The Terminator’ reportedly in contention for Janeway, would you have wanted Erin Gray commanding the USS Voyager instead of Kate Mulgrew?