- [about her character, "Nurse Alyssa Ogawa", on Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987)] I told George Takei that Ogawa was his great-granddaughter, and he said, 'Not too great, please; I'm not that old!'
- [on how often she worked on Star Trek] I never knew when they'd want me. When I came back the second time I worked with Jonathan again, so I thought he was a good luck charm. After that there would be a month or two in between shows, and you never knew what they were going to write down the road. So there was no expectation on my part, which was probably a healthy thing; it wasn't until I got some thread of a storyline that I really allowed myself to feel a real part of the show; to be honest with you.
- [on how she got involved with Star Trek] I had been reading for the show for a number of other episodes and characters and they actually hired me at one point to be on the bridge, but I was doing a commercial and I couldn't get out of the contract; it was a multiple-day shoot and I had already gone on camera one of the days, so they weren't able to release me. I was heartbroken, because I really wanted to be on the show!
- [on how she got the part of "Nurse Alyssa Ogawa" on Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987)] There was a role in sickbay, so I read for it and got the part. I thought I would probably never come back because, on the show, everybody had aged and so I'd be a little girl when they went back to real time, but on the set, that day, Jonathan Frakes said, 'Oh, you'll be back!' Then, sure enough, a few episodes, later, they called me. I guess I got a little bit of help from above or something because, had they put me on the bridge, I probably wouldn't have been with the show long!
- In this business you're selling who you are to a large degree; although you're playing other characters you bring those elements to the table, and it gets very limiting if producers think that a character must have strong cultural traits or must be a man or a woman. But I've been very lucky in that at times I've been cast in a role that was perhaps initially intended for a man, and it's been very nice that they'll consider other options; same thing, I think, with the cultural issue in that very often a part wasn't necessarily intended that way but then they've been open enough to consider it.
- The episode that Gates directed, "Genesis", was fabulous, because I got to work with her as a director rather than just a colleague, and I thought how terrific. I was hoping that she would get to direct more episodes, and I'm sorry that we did that episode in the last year because, had it been any other year, I am convinced that she would have and should have directed a lot more. She was fabulous, and it was fun for me as an actor. It's always fun when a director knows how to get the best out of the other actors and really do a great job, and she has such a good visual eye. (When asked which of her Star Trek episodes stand out to her) 2017
- Well, it's going to keep me young forever! When I'm long gone, people will still be watching old episodes. There's a part of my vanity that thinks, "Hey, that's pretty cool." (When asked about her Star Trek experience many years later) 2017
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