60 Years Of Star Trek & Chekov with Walter Koenig

Walter Koenig takes us inside the creation of Chekov on Star Trek – from nearly not existing at all to becoming central to one of the franchise’s most iconic moments in The Wrath of Khan. He explains how he landed the role after being asked to play a life-or-death scene funny, and why that unexpected choice helped define the character. Walter goes deep on The Wrath of Khan, including Chekov’s pivotal role, working with Ricardo Montalbán, and why the film still stands as one of the strongest Star Trek stories ever told. He also reveals how close Star Trek came to cancellation, Gene Roddenberry’s constant battles with the network, and the realities of being typecast including long stretches of unemployment after the series ended. Walter talks about how writing helped save his career, how he ended up writing for Star Trek himself, and what it was really like inside the original cast hierarchy. Plus, Comic Con fandom 60 years later, The Trouble With Tribbles, The Voyage Home, and why – at 88 years old – he’s taking on the most challenging role of his life in the powerful new short film Mr. Fleischman.

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