Robert Beltran and Ethan Phillips Peoples Chat 10/12/98
Star Trek has a history of featuring Native American stories, so we knew that we wanted the character of Commander Chakotay to share
that same Native American heritage and conflict," says Voyager co-creator, Michael Pillar. "The challenge was finding an actor who
could believably portray the strength and maturity of Chakotay, who is an anchor for the crew and can handle just about anything thrown at
him. After a very long auditioning process it came down to Robert Beltran and another actor who was 10 years his senior. We finally
decided on Robert because he brought a certain sexual chemistry, dry casual wit and quiet confidence that not only made the character work,
but also added so much to the role."
Beltran, the seventh of 10 children in a Mexican-American family, has a long history of receiving rave reviews from producers and fans alike.
After graduating from Fresno State with a degree in Theater Arts, he moved to Los Angeles and quickly landed a role in Luis Valdez's
Zoot Suit. Since then he's appeared in films such as Eating Raoul, Gaby and Nixon. Before claiming the role of Captain Janeway's
fearless First Officer and ex-Maquis Leader Chakotay, Beltran also guest-starred on numerous series and played the lead in HBO's
Midnight Caller.
Seen as presenting a positive role model for Latin-Americans, Beltran founded the East Los Angeles Classic
Theater Group , where he frequently directs. His work there helped earn him the 1997 Nosotros Golden Eagle
Award, presented to artists whose work presents positive Hispanic images to the world.
Born and raised in Bakersfield, California, Beltran currently resides in Los Angeles.
Ever dream of hiking the Appalachian trail from end to end? If so, then perhaps some day you might hike right
into an ebullient, charming, somewhat scraggly Talaxian who harbors the same life-long dream. A devoted
hiker, bird watcher and amateur botanist, John Phillips (he changed his name to Ethan so he wouldn't be
confused with another actor by the same name), was born and raised in Long Island, New York, the only boy
of six children.
After receiving a Jesuit education in New York and attending Boston University, where he graduated with a
degree in English Literature, Phillips went on to Cornell University, where he received Master of Fine Arts
degree.
While Phillips "cut his acting teeth" in critically acclaimed Broadway and off-Broadway productions like the
Lincoln Center production of My Favorite Year, he is probably most recognizable (sans his Talaxian
make-up of course) from his extensive television appearances, including five seasons as the Governor's press
aide in Benson and scores of television shows, including the Emmy-winning HBO mini-series From the Earth
to the Moon.
Philips can also be seen on the big screen acting alongside Alec Baldwin in The Shadow, Mel Gibson in Man
Without a Face and John Travolta in the upcoming A Civil Action.
A published playwright, Phillips's original work, Penguin Blues, has been produced more than 150 times
throughout the U.S. and Canada.
Ethan, who lives with his wife, Patricia, and their two dogs Frank (a West Highland terrier) and Lucy (an
Australian cattle dog), has high hopes this season for Voyager's cook, morale officer and budding
ambassador, Neelix. "I think it would be nice if they [the producers of the show] came up with another love
relationship for Neelix," Phillips told Star Trek Monthly. "It would be a very sweet show. I don't see anything
coming down the pipeline yet, but the possibility exists, . . . maybe there will be some female hedgehogs
waiting around for him. We'll see!"
PEOPLE Online: Hello everyone,
PEOPLE Online: welcome to the People Auditorium.
PEOPLE Online: We're really excited about our Star Trek doubleheader tonight
PEOPLE Online: In just about fifteen minutes we're going to be talking to Voyagers's Robert Beltran.
PEOPLE Online: So send in your questions now!
PEOPLE Online: Send them in early and often!
PEOPLE Online: Venture where no one has gone before!
PEOPLE Online: And after we talk to Robert Beltran, we're going to be talking to Kate Mulgrew
PEOPLE Online: that's at 9pm Eastern Time
PEOPLE Online: Good evening -- welcome to PEOPLE Online here at Yahoo! Chat
PEOPLE Online: We'll be starting our extravaganza in just a few minutes
PEOPLE Online: Tonight we're lucky enough to have 2 guests from a really wonderful show, Star Trek:
Voyager
PEOPLE Online: First we'll be speaking with Robert Beltran, who plays
PEOPLE Online: Commander Chakotay
PEOPLE Online: Then we'll be chatting with Kate Mulgrew, the one, the only, the magnificent
PEOPLE Online: Captain Kathryn Janeway
PEOPLE Online: If, for some reason, your question does not get answered here tonight
PEOPLE Online: be sure to go to our website at www.people.com, and head straight to our
PEOPLE Online: message boards. There, under the PEOPLE in PEOPLE topic
PEOPLE Online: you'll be able to post questions for Robert, for Kate and for the entire Voyager cast
PEOPLE Online: which we'll be sending onto them in a few days.
PEOPLE Online: They'll be responding to some of those questions (regrettably not all -- it would take them
forever!) and we'll
PEOPLE Online: be adding their responses to our site.
PEOPLE Online: In addition, on our site at www.pathfinder.com/people/sp/voyager/index.html
PEOPLE Online: you'll find photos and bios of all the major cast members
PEOPLE Online: It's a really fun site (if I must say so myself . . .I'm the editor of the site), and one that we really
enjoyed putting together
PEOPLE Online: So stay tuned, and be sure to get your questions into the queue
PEOPLE Online: We have a dedicated staff here at PEOPLE who are standing by to sift through them
PEOPLE Online: We're waiting for Robert to come online
PEOPLE Online: (I suppose he's beaming in from some far galaxy, or at the very least the San Fernando Valley
(;-)
PEOPLE Online: I'm sure you all realize that the season premiere of Voyager is coming up this week --
PEOPLE Online: Will there be any new characters? Any romances? Inquiring minds want to know!
PEOPLE Online: Welcome, one and all to PEOPLE Online's "Star Trek: Voyager" extravaganza
PEOPLE Online: We're celebrating the season premiere of one of our favorite shows, and we're glad to have
you with us. .
PEOPLE Online: Hi everyone, welcome to PEOPLE Online's chat with the stars of Star Trek: Voyager
PEOPLE Online: We'll be starting in just a moment
PEOPLE Online: So stay tuned!
PEOPLE Online: Hello everyone
PEOPLE Online: We're going to be starting very soon...
PEOPLE Online: So keep those great questions coming!
PEOPLE Online: Our guests are going into warp drive to be here!
PEOPLE Online: We're experienced a glitch, so please bear with us!
PEOPLE Online: Surprise everyone! A change in plans --
PEOPLE Online: Robert Beltran is unable to join us right now --
PEOPLE Online: but we have with us Ethan Phillips
PEOPLE Online: the talented actor who plays Neelix
PEOPLE Online: Welcome Ethan! Thanks for joining us on such short notice!
PEOPLE Online: We really appreciate your being part of our Star Trek Voyager extravaganza
Ethan Phillips: Thank you for having me.
PEOPLE Online: What's going to be in the cards for Neelix this season? I'm dying to find out!
Ethan Phillips: One of the episodes expands my role as the godfather to Ensign Wildman's child.
Ethan Phillips: It explores parenting, really, and the concept of how to be a good parent.
Ethan Phillips: How protective should a good parent be?
Ethan Phillips: How much should a parent let a child develop on his or her own,
Ethan Phillips: in terms of facing fearful issues.
Ethan Phillips: I'm trying not to give away the plot.
Ethan Phillips: But the little girl is confronted with possibility that her mother has died
Ethan Phillips: while her mother was on away mission
Ethan Phillips: and Neelix has to tell her.
chartres1 how long does it take to do the Neelix makeup?
Ethan Phillips: It takes approximately three hours
Ethan Phillips: and a little over an hour to remove it.
Ethan Phillips: It's sticky and it's hot.
stargazer_47: First, very early birthday wishes, Robert. Thanks to your website and Ya Me Voy, your fans
know you have a good singing voice. Any chance we will hear Chakotay sing in Season V?
PEOPLE Online: Ooops! Guess what? Robert Beltran was able to join us after all!
