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When Kes gained godlike powers and left the
U.S.S. Voyager at the start of Star Trek: Voyager's
forth season, most of us thought that that would be the last we'd
see of the Ocampan cutie-cum-deity. So it was a pleasant surprise
when Kes returned to the fold in the sixth season episode "Fury"
- although, as we soon 
discovered, it
was slightly less than pleasant for the Voyager crew. Paul
Simpson and Ruth Thomas track down Kes' real life counterpart
Jennifer Lien and find out what she's been up to in her time away
from Star Trek.
Fun is something that the young Ocampan, Kes, probably didn't
have a lot of prior to joining the crew of the U.S.S. Voyager.
But it's something that Jennifer Lien, who played Kes for three
seasons on Star Trek: Voyager, has quite definately been
having over the past few years. Over a leisurely lunch in an
Italian restaurant in the heart of picturesque Old Town Pasadena,
a few miles east of Hollywood, the actress speaks softly but
firmly about her life working on the U.S.S. Voyager, and how her
horizons have broadened since she parted company with the crew in
the autumn of 1997. She's certainly no longer the childlike and
fragile figure who was brought on board the ship at the end of
the pilot episode, "Caretaker", 1994, and was
initially the youngest member of the cast. Working outside the
protected environment of a weekly television show has given the
actress a new perspective on life.
Jennifer Ann Lien was born in Illinois in August 1974, the
youngest of three children. Acting is something she always wanted
to do, and luckily she was encouraged by her family. "It was
fun," she recalls. "I respected a lot of people in the
acting business. I started when I was about 12, and kept on going
from there.
Lien joined the Illinois Theater Center at the age of 13, where
she had roles in several productions, including Miranda in The
Tempest and Bianca in Othello. She first appeared
in front of cameras in a dual role, playing twins for an
industrial film for Amurol bubble gum. However her first big
break came when she auditioned for the part of Hannah Moore in
the US daytime soap Another World at the age of 16,
which was followed by another regular role, as Roanne in the
highly successful television series Phenom.
Looking back on those days, Lien can't choose any particualr role
that gave her a special buzz. "All of them had something
that did something for me," she says carefully. "There
was nothing that was really important or stood out. I can't
really pick one out of them."
The role that shot her to stardom, of course, was as Kes on the
forth Star Trek series, Voyager. Lien's mother,
Delores, had been a fan of Star Trek: The Original Series,
so Jennifer had grown up with the show around her in reruns. But
she never imagined that one day she would actually be a member of
the cast.
Lien was one of the early selections made by the producers, and
she recalls the descriptions they gave her when she joined the
cast: "Kes left her home planet, having rebelled against the
planet's leaders. She doesn't want to stay there anymore. She had
to go, and decided to join the Voyager crew along with the Neelix
character."
That was the start of three years of adventures, during which Kes
and Neelix became closer, then drew further apart, and the
Ocampan became the holographic Doctor's trusted nurse and aide.
Did she have any inkling when she started where the producers
were going to take the character? "No," she says
bluntly. "I found out when I got the scripts".
Unlike some of her contemporaries on the show, Lien did not lobby
for changes to the way her character was being drawn, nor did she
find at times that Kes was acting in a manner that contravened
the notion that Lien had of her alter ego. "I thought the
writers were doing a good job," she points out, "and I
felt my contribution was more in acting, and not in
writing."
One thing she is certain about is that she liked the character of
Kes, and she thinks carefully before adding, "I don't think
I've ever played a character I didn't like."
Kes departed Star Trek: Voyager in the second episode of
the forth season, "The Gift", and most people
believed that this was the last time they would see her. She had
entered a higher realm of consciousness after nearly decimating
Voyager, and her final act was to push the crew a further 10,000
light years in the right direction towards home - and right away
from the Borg. However, it seems everything did not go exactly as
the Ocampan had expected, and Kes made a highly dramatic return
to Voyager in "Fury", one of the
closing episodes of the sixth season. "The producers wanted
me involved in it," Lien explains, "and they wanted to
use my appearance to move the story forward."
The three years that had passed between "The Gift"
and "Fury" saw Lien take on a number of other
roles, maturing both as an actress and as a person. The result of
this was that she wasn't so willing simply to accept what the
producers had planned for her in the script when they made their
approach. "In the beginning, I had them redo part of
it," she explains. "I felt uncomfortable with it. I
wanted it to go a certain way, and they did respond."
The original story for Fury was created by Voyager's
executive producers, Rick Berman and Brannon Braga, and the final
teleplay penned by Brian Fuller and Michael Taylor. Lien was keen
to see some changes in Kes' character, after all Ocampans only
live for nine years, so she had been gone for a third of her
lifetime - and certainly Kes' dramatic entrance, crashing her
shuttle into the ship and deliberately causing mayhem and
devastation as she heads for the warp core, is very different
from anything seen before. At the end of "The Gift"
Kes departed Voyager because she didn't want to cause any more
problems for her friends; in "Fury", she's out
for revenge for what she believes the crew did to her.
No such dramatic motivation affected Lien when she returned to
Paramount Pictures stages for the first time in three years.
"It was fine," she comments on her feelings as she
worked once more with her old colleagues. "It was great to
be in an episode like that. nice to see a lot of people, and
catch up. It was a lot of fun."
Make up supremo has remarked that Lien's old pair of ears still
fitted her from her original appearances, and Lien herself laughs
as she says, "It wasn't as hard as I'd anticipated. I wasn't
in them as long as I'd normally been for the show."
By the end of "Fury", Kes is more a peace woth
herself than she started off, closer to the original portrayal of
the character. But how much of that spirituality came from Lien
herself? Kes is a very caring, loving, down to earth, sensible
person: would Lien describe herself in that way? " I think
the character was very endowed, but I'm not really," she
says slowly. "I think I'm normal, whereas that character has
those virtues to a very heightened degree, because she was raised
in that sort of culture. I don't have those virtues to that
height. My emotions are lower."
Although Lien says she prefers working in television,
"because I liked the schedule", her career path since
she left Voyager has taken her more towards movies than
the small screen. The work she's done in that time - including American
History X, alongside Deep Space Nine's Avery
Brooks, and the independant film SLC Punk! - has been
very varied; did she set out to get as many different experiences
as she could? "Well, luckily, I got them, whether I wanted
them or not," she laughs. " I was happy because it did
vary so much. It was great. There was so much change and it
couldn't have been better really."
She recently attended a screening of her most recent independant
film, Rubbernecking. "That's still looking for a
distributor," she points out, "so if you guys have any
idea of anyone...! It's a film about being stuck in Los Angeles
traffic. It's funny - it's a humourous film."
Humour was also a key part of her involvement with the animated
spin-off from the Will Smith / Tommy Lee Jones SF movie, Men
in Black, for which she voiced the part of Agent 'L'.
"I was there for two seasons," she recalls. Her
workload on the show varied from week to week: It would depend on
how much I had to say. It might take an hour to record, it might
take two hours. I liked it. I thought it was funny, intelligent,
witty and very well done." Voiceover work has continued to
keep her busy, with additional stints on comedy series The
Critic and Duckman, as well as more serious
adventures of Todd McFarlane's Spawn.
Lien tries to keep abreast of what's going on in the
entertainment industry. "I'd like to get to the theatre more
often," she admits. "I read a lot of plays as opposed
to going to them. I don't really go out too much to theatre. I
watch television or go to the movies. I see a lot of films."
She is very eclectic in her tastes - she admits to liking every
type of music (there's not one she can think of she's not into).
She still plays the trombone, which she started learning in her
high school band - although she giggles at the thought that she
might be any good at it. She watches comedies or dramas on
television with equal ease, and will pick up a book of plays of
any description. "There isn't a type I don't read," she
offers.
So has she found any roles during her studies that have really
grabbed her and fired her up to play them? "I think in
everything there's been some part that I'd like to do," she
confesses. Her recent reading has included a compilation of
audition pieces, used by actors to demonstrate their range.
"What I find most interesting is how political people
are," she says. "It's really quite astounding how the
arts can give you that venue to speak those things."
Her theatrical reading, and her early grounding in Shakespheare,
have obviously been things that inspire the young actress, as
does music. "Art inspires me as well," she adds.
"People inspire me. Actors inspire me. Food inspires
me!"
Which begs the question: with such a wealth of inspiration, would
she like to share her vision by becoming a director? "I
think I need to do acting a little more before I do that,"
she demurs, but admits that whn she's reading a play she can
often see exactly how she would block the action and move the
actors about the stage. "I think that happens naturally for
a lot of people ," she says, but does agree it is a talent
not everybody posesses. What she finds facinating is watching
someone elses interpretation of a scene. "You just wouldn't
think of it in that way," she says. "I might block it
one way, and they might block it in an entirely different
way."
While Lien might claim not to have Kes' spirituality, she
obviously cares deeply for others. Asked what her favourite word
is, she ponders for a few moments before saying, "I think
'love' is". She gives her support to charities helping
people suffering from AIDS and she has worked with the US group
Camp 40. "I want to be doing what I can for people who need
it," she explains. "I'm a big recycle freak. I like to
take care of the Earth. I recycle paper, bottles, cans,
everything."
So what does she see herself doing in 10 years time? "Still
working in the acting industry," she replies. " I can't
really change the world that much. I want to spend time with
people I care about, meet new people and do what I like."
When Jennifer Lien won the role of Star Trek: Voyager's
resident Ocampa, Kes, she was completely unprepared for what
followed, "I had no idea what I was 
getting into," she explains. "I was
familiar with Star Trek, I had no problem with it and I enjoyed
watching it, but I really wasn't aware of the magnitude of the
Star Trek phenomenon. I suppose that was lucky in a way, because
I didn't feel any pressure or anxiety whatsoever; it was all fun
and exciting.
I'm beginning to learn how people react to Star Trek and how
significant it is to a lot of them," she continues.
"It's really fascinating - it's just a incredibly vast
institution."
Born and raised in Illinois, Lien was just 13 when she performed
in local Shakespeare productions. She made her television debut
in Brewster's Place, before landing starring roles in
the daytime soap, Another World and the short lived
sitcom, Phenom. Shortly after that show's cancellation,
Lien read for the Star Trek: Voyager feature-length
pilot, "Caretaker". “I really enjoyed the story. I
liked the idea of playing a young, open minded and strong
character in a Science Fiction show. I was also excited by the
fact that Kes was one of a new alien race, which really opens
things up for future storylines; it meant anything could happen,
offering me the chance to learn and grow as an actress."
The 21-year-old actress insists that television isn't as
glamorous as most viewers imagine. "I start the day by going
through three hours of hair styling, make-up and wardrobe. At the
end of shooting, they put oil on my face and rip everything off.
I go home, grab a few hours sleep, and then have to get up at
about three o'clock in the morning and start all over again.
What's glamorous about that?"
"I lead the same life I lead before joining the show, except
I occasionally go to the studio and work," Lien continues.
"My lifestyle hasn't changed really; I don't get recognised
very often. When I'm not playing Kes my skin colour is different,
my hair is different and I don't have those ears, so I have a
great deal of anonymity.
Whilst the actress is aware that Kes, as an Ocampa, has a life
expectancy of little more than nine years, she is unconcerned by
the thought of her characters life-span might certail her tour of
duty aboard the starship.
"Who knows where I'll be or what I'll be doing in 10 years
down the road?" she says. "I hope I will still be
acting and it would be nice if I was still with Star Trek:
Voyager. If I wasn't, then hopefully I would be exploring
other avenues of my career that I haven't travelled down
yet."
Whatever Kes' future, Jennifer Lien couldn't be happier being
part of Star Trek. "It's a wonderful job to
have," she says. "I enjoy playing Kes and that makes
the work rewarding. The people I work with are fantastic and I'm
often very pleased with the storylines. I've also enjoyed getting
to know more about Star Trek - seeing how it works and
what goes into it.
It's a very positive experience for me and I know that I'm quite
fortunate to be in this kind of situation right now in my
life."
Jennifer Lien plays Kes, one of the alien crewmembers on Star
Trek: Voyager. "I don't think it's going to be business
as usual this season," she promises. 
"Everything
keeps changing, so you never really know what's going to happen.
The writers and producers and the team have really expanded and
developed my character in quite wonderful ways, so the viewers
and the entire creative team will be seeing some of those
developments this season. Every time I get a script, the
character has something different to offer, which is wonderful,
so I don't know what the status quo for my character would be.
It's always interesting."
According to Lien, one of the most enjoyable aspects of the
series is the open door policy that allows the cast members to
bring their comments and criticisms directly to the producers,
and more importantly, have them listened to. "I could, and I
do know that some of the cast go to the writers and producers and
discuss their thoughts and ideas, and the writers are incredibly
open to suggestions. They really make the actors feel
welcome."
"I haven't done it yet, but it's nice to know that if I
decide to, the door is open. I think that creates a pretty open
atmosphere that's necessary for an hour-long episodic
environment, being able to communicate with the writers and
producers about an actor's concerns, and I know that I could go
to them. They don't send out a memo saying, 'We would like all
opinions', but we know we can go to them when we want."
"I've really had a lot of fun doing this show. I've
discovered a lot of different aspects to the character, and I
think they have too. I've encountered situations that I know if I
wasn't on Star Trek that I probably wouldn't have encountered.
I'm very happy, because I've had a wonderful time doing it, and I
think that everybody involved has done a great job."
As a cast member in the latest successful Star Trek
spin-off, Lien says being part of the biggest SF franchise of all
time has changed her career in a major way. "It's definitely
had an effect, because this is such an important part of my life.
As far as my personal development with what I do for a living,
it's really a wonderful place to go. It's been very supportive
and welcoming, and challenging as well. I don't think there are
any negatives as far as that's concerned. In the beginning, it
was a very different feeling, because it's kind of odd to have
somewhere to go all the time for nine to ten months out of the
year. Once that sets in, it's an unusual feeling for an actor,
having that opportunity and being lucky like that. It creates a
wonderful balance in one's life, I think; at least it has in my
life."
One of the most intriguing members of the Voyager crew, Kes is
part of a short-lived alien species called the Ocampa, Originally
brought on board as the girl friend of Neelix, the ship's
Talaxian cook and handyman, the character has continued to
develop in new and interesting ways. Recent episodes have seen
the continuing development of her rudimentary telepathic powers,
as well as a growing relationship with the ship's holographic
doctor, for whom Kes now works as an assistant.
As Lien recalls, she wasn't aware of many elements of Kes's
personality when she first auditioned for the part a little over
a year ago. "There's a conversation that usually takes place
between the actor and casting director, and a lot of them usually
ask if you have any questions. If you do, you ask them, so that's
a pretty typical process."
"I thought I had a pretty good understanding of the
character when I went in for that first audition. It was just a
general feeling that I had, and for most of the first season
right up to the end, I really wasn't able to put it into words.
Now, I just describe some of her characteristics, because that's
something that you discover as you create the character. Once you
become a little more knowledgeable of how you do your job, and
how you react in certain situations that the writers give you and
what you bring to it, you become more aware of what you're going
to feel."
"I feel that I had a certain understanding of what the
situation called for, in regards to Kes and how she interacted
with the other characters in the pilot episode. Along the way,
you also acquire other characteristics and not necessarily
eliminate others, but maybe not place as much importance on
them."
Like many of her fellow cast members, Lien said she was virtually
unaware of the media institution she was becoming a part of; in
retrospect, maybe happily so. "I 
have to say that I didn't understand the
magnitude; I wasn't aware of it, but in this case, I'm all in
favour of ignorance bliss. In this particular situation, not
knowing what I was getting into really helped me out. I was
familiar with Star Trek, but I'm still learning how big this is.
The magnitude of everything involved with it is pretty amazing,
and I wasn't aware of how expansive it really was."
As one of the show's resident aliens, Lien had to undergo the
complicated process of costume fittings, hair and make-up tests
as Voyager's team of behind-the-scenes people tries to
create a distinctive look for the character. "It was fun,
seeing these people who are so creative, doing what they do, and
I just happened to have some of the things they were using to do
what they were doing, and it was a lot of fun, and continues to
be fun whenever I have to go through a makeup or hair test. The
make-up and costume people, the hair artists; they're all very
talented, and it's fun to watch them do their work."
One area that went through a number of tests was Lien's alien
make-up, as the show's award-winning make-up designer Michael
Westmore tried different combinations of alien prosthetics.
Ultimately, the producers decided to go with a human-looking
character, whose alien heritage is immediately evident by a pair
of elaborately sculpted ears.
"They originally tried a forehead piece which went through
the middle of my forehead past my hairline to the top of my head,
but decided they didn't want to use it. Then they tried a few
other things that really didn't do very much with the
prosthetics, except the ears. They also tried different ears and
different wigs and makeup, so it was a pretty extensive
process."
The other alien on Voyager is Neelix, the love of Kes' life,
played by veteran character actor Ethan Phillips. Although Lien
says they only met just before the pilot started shooting, the
two actors managed to click fairly quickly. "I met him in
the wardrobe fitting I think, and then we had lunches with the
cast and the producers and directors. It was interesting, and we
all got to meet each other."
"I really like [Ethan] a lot. He's such a sweet, wonderful,
funny man and very talented. I just appreciate him in a great
way. I thought, 'My God, this man is really something!' so to be
able to work with him, it's like a gift when you get to work with
somebody like that. I liked him immediately."
One aspect of her character that Lien chooses not to dwell on is
the Ocampa's all-too-brief life span. While Kes's
short-lived-ness may be of some concern to the other members of
the crew, particularly Neelix, the actress says it's not
something one would actually worry about if it were a fact of
their own life. "It's been presented that my species only
lives for eight or nine years, so why would I think about
anything else? That's just the way it is, but who knows? If
there's a chance for a longer life, my concerns might
change."
Quizzed about some of her personal highlights from the first
season of the show, Lien says it's not easy to come up with a
list of favourite moments or memorable
episodes.
"I try not to think about it after it's done," she
explains politely. "I don't like to reflect back on things,
but I know that when I go home, I feel okay, and there's none of
that funny stuff going on inside about anxiety or beating up on
myself over something that happened. There's very little of that,
if any. That's what I feel, but I try not to look back over what
I've done unless it's brought to my attention by somebody who
wants to change it or comment on it. Then I try to reflect back
upon it, but I try not to do it afterwards. I still have to do my
homework, but that's focusing on what will be. I guess after it's
done and on film, I really don't think about it."
Being an important part of the Star Trek institution
means having to participate in the various viewer-related
activities that go with it, such as conventions and the obvious
mountain of fan mail. "It's continuously overwhelming,"
says Lien. "I'm an actress, that's what I do; that's my job,
but to have all this other stuff that goes with it feels a bit
strange. It is part of my job and I'm flattered by it as far as I
can be flattered in a very healthy way, but I just have to
understand that Star Trek is a pretty amazing thing.
Just by the nature of what it is and the entertainment factor and
the social factor, it's pretty incredible."
"The way I see myself benefiting from it and doing what I
can for it is by doing what I do in the best way I can. That's
acting, I'm playing my role and helping create a character. I
concentrate and do what I can with the other stuff like
conventions and the fan mail and interviews, because I think that
it's important to let the viewers and the fans and the people who
are interested in the world know that this is where we're coming
from, and this is the way you see things. Sometimes people care
about those things, and if they care, they should know. I do what
I can as far as that's concerned, but it's still sort of weird
that people want to know all about me. I really can't think about
it, because I'd be stumped for days!"
Lien also attended her first Star Trek convention
recently, an experience that turned out to be a pleasant
surprise. "I wasn't really scared, I was just curious about
what it would be like, and then I got out there and enjoyed it.
You can say, 'Look, these people enjoy the show,' and if someone
is interested in asking me questions, then that's okay, I can do
that."
"I didn't feel like I had to get out there and perform or
tell jokes and make them laugh. I just thought they wanted to
find out who's watching the show and their likes and dislikes, as
well as their ideas and suggestions, and that's very important.
These people care, and I'm very happy about that."
With the second season of Voyager well underway,
Jennifer Lien is still reluctant to think of her work in terms of
the number of years she might be sticking around. After all, the
Ocampa only live for nine years! Nonetheless, she's having a lot
of fun in the here and now. "I think the mere fact that I'm
able to do what I do makes me feel a certain amount of comfort,
but as far as the time is concerned, be it two weeks or five
years, I can't really associate time and comfort with each other.
I just know that I'm having a wonderful time, and the whole idea
is very exciting, and the experiences I've had have been
extremely rewarding and wonderful. Time is not an issue with me,
so I'm definitely not worried about it."