BR: We are on this afternoon with a wonderful actress. You know her as Major and later Colonel Kira Nerys on Star Trek Deep Space Nine. She also has a host of other credits including Dark Angel, Wild Fire, the re-imaginated Battlestar Galactica (that one was one of my favorites), Friday the 13th, Frasier, so many more.

I am pleased and honored to welcome Nana Visitor to the inaugural of the Blue Report backstage.

Nana, Welcome.

 

NV: Thank you so much

 

BR: When we really appreciate you taking some time for us. I was just telling you a little bit ago, when we announced that you were going to be our first interview, we had questions coming out of the woodwork from fans.

 

NV:Excellent.

 

BR: First question, one of mine is, were you a sci-fi fan before your role as Colonel Kira?

 

NV:You know, in my life, I didn't know the term 'sci-fi fan'. Did I watch Star Trek? Oh yeah. But it was just one of the things I looked forward to. I'd watch it before I went to work, every day. It was on Channel 9 here in New York City, at 6 o'clock, and so I'd watch it, and get out to the theatre in time for half hour.

 

BR: You know, Kira was as tough as they come. Where did you find the strength to play her so spot on?

 

NV: (laughs) There are plenty of people in my life that would just laugh at you right now, and go, "Ooooh god, if only she was less confrontational." There's certainly a spark in me, it was in my mother, has nothing to do with our size or our ability, but a certain thing that is just, backing down isn't something I like to do.

 

BR: One of our fan-submitted questions, and I'm actually interested to know this as well, what did you like most about your mirror character on DS9?

 

NV:What I liked the most was delving into psychologically, what was the exact opposite of Kira? I love that kind of question and problem and package to unwrap. And that was the best part. And also the challenge to play her, and not tip it to the point where she became ridiculous. And always being a threatening character. That was really my favorite part of it.

 

BR: You guys got to delve into the mirror universe more than any other series in Star Trek, did you guys really enjoy getting to turn it on its ear like that?

 

NV:Absolutely. And when Alexander Siddig played the James Bond character, and you know what I mean by that, so much that it got us into trouble with the Broccoli people who were the producers of James Bond, and we couldn't do any more. I think that was going to be a re-occurring theme of him as the secret agent. And I LOVED that show, oh my god, that was so fun and silly to play.

 

If anyone as an actor gets to make an appearance from a hidden circular bed, I think they take the opportunity. 'Cause it's so silly, and so fun.

 

BR: I had not heard that they told him he wasn't allowed to do that anymore.

 

NV:Yup, they told the writers, write-off that, or we'll come at you.

 

BR: I can imagine they were like, 'Okay!'

 

NV:Yeah.

 

BR: What was it like to be on a Star Trek show that was on a station instead of exploring?

 

NV:The main effect of that is that we didn't have a good amount of the fan base behind us. And we knew it. We knew were the black sheep, and they wanted us to be explorers. Any journey outward is equal to the journey inward, and I think that that's kind of what we explored.

 

BR: It's interesting that you say that, because now so many years later when you're asking people "What is your favorite series?" most people will say Deep Space 9, and then will come up with one of the other ones. I know that's how it is for me.

 

NV:It definitely is a change, and Netflix has had a lot to do with that, I think. And to see young men, 14 years old, coming up to me at conventions and saying, 'Wow! I loved your character, I love your character so much' and I know that they're seeing it second, third, fourth time around. I'm glad. I'm happy. I think it probably speaks to these times more than it did to the time that we were doing it. And whenever, that's fine. We kinda knew we were doing something important. And we also knew that people weren't going to take it that way at that point. I'm just glad that we got to do seven years of it.

 

BR: Are you happy with the way the show ended?

 

NV:Yes and no. There are plenty of things I would've liked to have seen. I would've liked to have seen more time. I could imagine doing Kira a lot longer. But for my storyline, yes, I think it was the right one, that Rene and I, Odo and Kira, go back to their world. I thought very often, Odo and Kira showed what real gritty true love is, not the hearts and flowers kind.

 

BR: What was your favorite episode?

 

NV:My favorite episode, and I'm sure people get tired of hearing me say this, but it's Duet. The writing, unbelievable! There were no special effects, no huge cast. It was just an exploration of racism that, I thought, beautifully done.

 

BR: What was your hardest episode to make?

 

NV:I would say Tribbles was hard, I was hardly in it, which I was so upset about. But I was in labor, during my scenes. I was trying to be too brave about being pregnant and on set, I didn't want anyone getting me a chair, I didn't want anyone treating me any differently, I didn't want it to interrupt my fierceness.

 

I remember, having to kneel down going, "wow, okay, all right." Going on and finishing the scene: I was in labor. Ha!

 

BR: Wow, that's dedication.

 

NV: (laughs) Some may call it stupidity, but there's a certain level of that, being an actor, any kind of artist, anyway, I think.

 

BR: I'm married, so I'm gonna call it dedication.

 

NV: (laughs) Good for you.

 

BR: Jeri Ryan always complained about the uniform on Voyager, claiming it was uncomfortable and slightly degrading. Do you feel the same way about yours? Or do you feel it was important given that the guys on the set also had to wear tight uniforms, or was it just sex appeal for space?

 

NV:If I didn't have the opportunity to be an ugly personality, to be wrong, to lie. To have real spiritual crises, then I would say, yeah, y'know what?  the uniform, the whole treatment was a problem. But in the end it just doesn't matter what I was wearing, because they let me be a complete, fully evolved sentient being.

 

BR: Has there been any talk about reprising your role in a sequel series or a feature film?

 

NV:No, never, never. There was like this call from above when we were doing the show going "YOU WILL NEVER DO MOVIES" So we were like no, we're never doing movies. And when people would ask me at conventions:

"Nope, never doing them." So I don't know exactly why, or how that came about, but we always just kinda knew that that wasn't in the cards. Armin Shimerman got to do something, but yeah, I don't know why.

 

BR: They've written so many great books after the end of the series that you figure, they could've come up with something.

 

NV:Yeah. Yes, I don't know. I'm sure they did all kinds of studies and figured out it's cheaper, better, make more money to do it another way.

 

BR: Sad, I tell you that right now. That's my own opinion, no, that's just not right.

 

NV: (laughs)

 

BR: Moving away from the series, I understand you've made quite a few appearances at conventions, like you mentioned. What is that like for you?

 

NV:It used to be completely overwhelming and leave me like a wet rag because I felt like I was taking in, I always felt like the point of the convention isn't so much for people to see me as for me to see them and to hear what the show meant to them, what they felt about it, and to look into their eyes and go "Okay, I get it, I see you, you spent a lot of time with me in different aspects in your life, different moods and now here I am and I'm gonna see you."

 

Psychically, that was exhausting. I guess I've gotten

better at it, because it doesn't take it out of me so much as it used to do. And my god, I feel like I'm, and I am in fact very often travelling to another continent to see old friends.

 

BR: Can you share an instance where you might have bonded with a fan emotionally? Something they said to you?

 

NV:There are so many instances, but there's a group of people who turn up to places I'm in and they've dwindled to a tight group of about ten. And they know just about everything about me, and I do about them. And it's one of those bonds that you just know, you have each other's backs.

 

And it's so funny. For years and years they would just show up, have relationships with each other, and talk to me maybe five minutes.

 

Until finally I started sitting down and going "Let's have a drink, let's have lunch."

 

What I'm trying to say is, they made absolutely no, never made me feel like I owed them anything. And so it's this thing that has happened over twenty years, and seeing them through their lives, through different passages, and them seeing me that way.

 

BR: You've been really busy since DS9's ending, what was it about acting that  ensnared you?

 

NV:I would say the first thing that ensnared me was an ability to stage to be absolutely present, to be able to stop time for yourself, because you are feeling every atom of your being in a particular moment. And trust me, mediators know this, it's as powerful as a drug. And you feel, I felt, on stage, an incredible acceptance, a willingness to be seen, to expose myself as the weaknesses and strengths that I am. It took me a while to be able to feel that way on film, but I got to feel that way on film as well. That was what I loved. I don't love sitting in a Bangor waiting to work, I don't love being in make-up at 5 in the morning, I don't love all the things around it, and some of the people sometimes that the business attracts for the wrong reasons, or for their own reasons, what am I judging. And I'm pretty much a person who likes to stay by herself for the most part, so all the stuff that goes along with being an actor isn't my favorite part. Just recently found out how to stop time like that outside of work. When you don't need work as much, or you don't need it in the same way, it gets much more interesting,

so I feel like my work is going to become much more interesting in the future

 

BR: What are the differences between acting on a traditional drama series versus that of a science fiction show?

 

NV:Science fiction show, well, our show, it's just longer. You also have to realize that you're facing the end of a planet or a species just about every show. So you have to be kind of like a New York City policeman in terms of - and I don't mean this politically because of what's been happening lately -

you need to be toughened to the realities of the world and to other people's suffering. You need to have a clear eye about those things. When science fiction becomes funny to me is when people over react. That's when it becomes

science opera and that just doesn't work.

You can't start screaming and crying because the world's going to blow up. You have to do something about it.

 

BR: I understand we're going to see you on the big screen this year in Ted 2?

 

NV:Yes, oh my God. Seth McFarlane, is one of - I'm so enamored of his work. I don't like raunchy humor, frankly, but I have never seen someone so talented in my life. If everyone could experience working in a scene with five characters and it's just you and Seth McFarlane, you know what I'm saying? He's doing 4 people. And it's as if - I mean - he's unbelievable.

I've never seen anything like it, and I'm a huge fan of his.

 

BR: What else have you got going on?

 

NV: I've written, actually I've not told anyone this yet. I've written a play. I'm going to start doing readings of it in the spring, a two-person play, and see what happens with it. It's very exciting to me because I've always written, but I've never organized it into a play before.

 

BR: Definitely have to keep an ear out for that one, I'll tell you that right now (chuckles).

 

NV:Thank you.

 

BR: I was looking on your website yesterday, and one of the things you like to do is one of the things I like to do, and that is cooking! You put cooking videos on your website, where did that idea come from?

 

NV:Cooking has been a part of my life because of my mother. She was an unbelievable cook. When I tell you we had five course meals every night, I'm not kidding. She did it effortlessly, and she did it with so much love that it's definitely been one of the ways I show my family love, and a reason to gather around the table. I mean if you're going to gather around the table, it might as well be incredible food.

 

BR: Is there somewhere where people can find your favorite recipes?

 

NV:When I was living in New Mexico I had a blog, and actually a catering company, and a bakery called Un Petit Morceau. It was a BlogSpot - http://nanasunpetitmorceau.blogspot.com/ - but when I left New Mexico, I left the blog. It just didn't feel the same to me. I didn't have a garden that I was getting my vegetables and my herbs out of anymore. Life changed, I'm living in New York City now and my passion has become the play. I still cook of course. Oh my God, I'm telling you, it is so worth getting one of those silly vegetable things that makes chips - you know?

 

BR: Yeah.

 

NV:I got one of those things, and we had last night beer and homemade potato chips with bleu cheese dip. It is so good. It is so worth it making your own potato chips. Oh my gosh, yeah, definitely do that.

 

BR: Is there somewhere online that people can keep up with what you're doing?

 

NV:Well, I love to tweet, so I'm on twitter @NanaVisitor, and I also should have a Facebook page, but I'm just not a Facebook - and I have a lot of friends - and once in a while I'll try a recipe there or on my twitter account.

 

BR: That is awesome. Well, Nana, thank you so much for being with us today. We certainly appreciate it, and much success to you in the future.

 

NV: Thank you so much, and to you too.

**Special thanks to Tanya & Katrina for transcribing this interview**