Walter Koenig reveals why he left Star Trek: The Original Series in Season 3

Gene Roddenberry’s Star Trek: The Original Series premiered in 1966 and began the sci-fi saga of the adventures aboard the USS Enterprise and its crew. The lore expanded with many more movies and TV shows and became part of a pop culture phenomenon.

Characters like Kirk and Spock remain some of the most legendary figures in the franchise. While they are the main characters, the franchise would not be what it is without the supporting characters.

One such character is Ensign Pavel Chekov, the Navigator in the USS Enterprise, played by Walter Koenig, who joined Star Trek: The Original Series in season 2. Although he appeared in 2 seasons of Star Trek: The Original Series and several Star Trek movies, he had to leave the show for some time to work on other projects.

While appearing on The 7th Rule podcast, Koenig shared that he left for a month during season 3 to do a play. It didn’t affect the show much, as his lines were limited. He said,

"I left Star Trek in the third season. I left the show. Nobody thought it was going to be picked up anyway, so nobody really cared. I left for a month and I did a play outside of Chicago with Jackie Coogan, Charlie Chaplin’s old sidekick, and that was great fun."

He continued:

"And I didn’t miss being on the show because, at that point, it was really, ‘Aye aye, sir.’ And I still wanted to perform in my chosen profession with some dignity. Dignity of participation."

More on this in our story.

Walter Koenig revealed that he left Star Trek: The Original Series due to less screen time, and also wanted to focus on other projects

Walter Koenig’s Chekov is described as an exceptional man who also substituted for Spock at the science officer’s station, and during the film Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, he even played a pivotal role after he overcomes the creature controlled by Khan Noonien Singh, and later serves as the Enterprise’s Tactical Officer.

However, Koenig still felt like a supporting character as most of the attention went to Kirk and Spock. While his character was important, he mostly repeated the same line mentioned above. This is not the only time that he spoke about the screen time of the supporting characters. In a 2024 interview with IGN, he stated,

"It was just an unspoken sense that the stars, the two or three people who drove the stories, and who [had] 80% of the screen time. Those were the people that you acknowledged first and foremost. The supporting actors, depending on the series but certainly in general, were just… it was sort of self-explanatory that we would be there to support them."

He further added:

"We were there as the expositional characters, the ones who helped push the story, but not really given the opportunity to probe who they were as characters. That wasn't as important as it was to get to know the stars."

In the 7th Rule podcast, while reviewing the season 2 episode 'The Trouble With Tribbles,' he discussed how supporting characters received little attention because the focus was on the main characters driving the story. Therefore, he had to leave Star Trek: The Original Series for some time to work on other projects.

In the 1960s, they might not have known how big of an impact the series would make, and looking back, the supporting characters like Chekov and Scotty needed to have more screen time as they were part of the beloved crew of the Enterprise. However, even with limited screen time, these characters remain just as important and beloved by fans as the main characters.

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Also Read: Top Star Trek: The Original Series episodes, ranked

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