Ethan plays "Neelix" on "Star Trek: Voyager."

Question: Neelix has the MOST outstanding costumes of any Star Trek character I have ever seen! Is there a special place that the costume designers purchase the material for his costumes? If so, I would really like to find out where it is! Thanks!
sutnage

Ethan Philips: The costumes come from Central Upholstery and Curtain. 238 S. Stupid

Q: Do you or any other actor use Internet in your work?
Henrik

EP: I do not use the internet in my work. I've yet to really use the internet in my life. However, I am connected and on line in different ways. Ways that surprise me. Sustain me. Move me. My friend is on line and I sometimes surf with him. It's fun... lots of rumors. Lots of hate. Lots of fun.

Q: Is it hard to act with the Neelix makeup on? Roxann Dawson explained that you have to learn to act in a different way, but you have your whole face covered and she only has her forehead covered.
Henrik

EP: It's like having your head in a hot sticky box. I remember when I first put it on, Rick Berman, one of the people connected with the program, said to me, "How do you like it?" And I said, "Gee, it's not too bad." And he said, "Talk to me in four years." And now, four years have gone by and it's bad. It's difficult to act in it if you don't know how to act. Sometimes you may have to fight the fatigue and the heat that being in the make-up causes. That for me is the most difficult part. I have to learn to accept that Talaxians are a species who, when they wake in the morning, apply rubber and glue to themselves. It's a strange tradition, even a child just born, seconds after birth, immediately goes into a make-up chair. No one knows why they do this. I think it's silly, but this is the kind of species that I portray.

Q: If someone wrote you a letter would you write back, or have someone else do it for you?
Cheryl

EP: I answer all my fan mail myself.

Q: Hi Ethan, I love your character on Voyager! Are there any plans to give you a new love interest next season. It must be hard having your girlfriend Kes change into another entity and all!
Jonathan

EP: I was sad to see Kes leave. I miss her eyes. I miss her face. But, you know, what are you gonna do? She evolved. Jennifer Lien is an extraordinary actor, I still see her on a social basis. She is doing very well. I miss her an awful lot. She had an unedited and uncensored spontanious talent that worked on her partners when they performed with her.

Q: Hi, Ethan! How do you feel about Neelix's transformation from a soft-hearted but greedy con man to the eager-to-please little brother-type he seems to be right now?
Melisande

EP: Thank you for that question. That's very astute. Sometimes when you're in a series that goes on for a long time... and you go to work day to day... the arc of a character, how a character develops... can, believe it or not, be out of your control. You're not even aware of the changes, sometimes. I miss some of the edgy greediness, the con man quality you mentioned. He certainly is itching to please, isn't he? And a pleasure to itch. I think the con man quality, that's what I'm calling it now, may have been a defense, against the solitude of being a junk dealer, alone in the Delta Quadrant. Now that he has a family, another facet has emerged. He is an adaptive child in many ways. He wants to be liked. He is, after all, the strangest looking character on the ship. He feels isolated in that. I hope this makes some sense to you. I'm feeling it as I speak it. But the steel underneath comes out, depending on the situation. In the coming season we'll see some growth in this direction. Let's hope it's not pruned too fast. Thank you.

Q: Will we see more of you in the next season?
Trekster

EP: I think that a little of Neelix goes a long way. And apparently, so do some of the writers. No, seriously, we will see more of Neelix... a lot more. More than you can imagine. Unfortunately, it won't be on television.

No, seriously, what we'll see is Neelix when he appears on the show. When he doesn't appear, then he's not there. And we won't see him.

I do have one big show coming up. Unfortunately, it's not Star Trek.

No, seriously, it is Star Trek. And it's a darn good show that takes off a little from where the episode "Mortal Coil" left off. I'm very proud of it.It features an amazing performance by a little girl named Scarlet Pommers. It guest stars also other really good actors whose names I just can't remember right now because of my age. And my diet.

Q: When you started in Voyager, was it just another gig, or had you wanted to be part of the Star Trek universe for a while? Weren't you a Ferengi in TNG?
Jason

EP: It was a job and it still is a job. A very good job. I enjoyed the original series as much as anyone. I still catch it when it's on whenever I can. I did play a Ferengi, but my favorite Star Trek show remains Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

Q: What is it like to be a member of such a talented cast?
Q13

EP: Well, it's a privilege. You're only as good as the company you keep. The better the actors are around you, the more challenging and stimulating it is. It just helps the craft to be around excellence.

Q: Hey there, Mr. Phillips! What is the procedure of the grueling process of putting on the Talaxian Makeup? How long does it take to put on?
Orion

EP: This is an interesting question. One I've had the opportunity to answer on other occasions. It takes three hours to put it on. Sixty minutes to remove it. Probably another 45 minutes during the day in the chair with maintenance. I have to get up very early to be there. I get a half an hour before I go to bed. The birds are going "Shhhh!"

It's just hot. The make-up is just hot! It's sticky. It sucks. It feels awful. You can't blow your nose. You can't itch your face, pick your ear, rub your head... your whole head doesn't even breathe. You get headaches. It wreaks havoc on your skin. You can't hear when you're in it. The contacts hurt your eyes. You see in a tunnel. The fake teeth irritate the gums. On the other hand, I love it.

Q: Do you ever scare the waiter, or waitress when going to lunch in your Neelix costume?
Katie

EP: Often. I wear the make-up out whenever I get the chance. I love it so much. I try and sleep in it even. Once I kept it on for 2 months. Eventually it just fell off in great gluey globs. I'll garden in it whenever I get the chance. But seriously, Paramount owns the make-up and I can't even leave the lot with it. It stays here at Paramount.

Q: Since you play a cook on Voyager, I'm wondering if you are a good cook in real life and what is your favorite thing to make?
Marbeo

EP: I am a good cook. I especially enjoying making Lebanese dishes. Mid-eastern food of all kinds. My favorite is foul maddamas. There's a cookbook coming out that I co-authored and it's going to be filled with all the different meals you've seen featured on the shows. Throughout the years. All the actors have written their favorite recipes. Well, some have.

Q: Do you think Voyager will ever reach home?
Conor

EP: Yes I do.

We have lots of fascinating questions - it's difficult to choose which ones to answer!

Q: On a convention, Roxann Dawson said that Robbie McNeill was a child, and that he needs to grow up. Do you agree?
Henrik

EP: Without a doubt. He's a child. Especially when he's directing. :)

Q: What do you find is the most challenging aspect of playing the character "Neelix"
B'rtak

EP: Staying awake. I cannot sleep in the make-up and I'm there for hours and hours and staying awake is very difficult. The heat makes you tired. I'm 20 degrees warmer than anybody else. I've got a rubber ski mask cemented to my head. It's a mattress and I'm using it as a hat!!!! If I sleep on it it gets crushed and I'm back in the make-up chair and my make-up man's yelling at me... That's not good. You ever had a make-up man yell at you?

Q: I have allways wanted to know. How much money do the actors on Voyager make? By the way, do you happen to hove any good "leola root" recipes?
Brandon "11 of 5"

EP: I'll tell you all the salaries of all the actors, staring with Kate. Kate makes

* * * TRANSMISSION INTERRUPTED * * *

EP: and with Picardo, that about wraps up all the salaries. Now on to the leola root. Leola root is the most extraordinary edible in the universe. You could survive on it the rest of your life. It will supply all the nutrients you need. Add it to anything you want. Your favorite recipe, and it will make it better. It's hard to find. I know the Sudanese grow it and there is also a small farm in Northern Saskatchewan.

Q: Do people recognize you often in the street without your Neelix makeup?
Jason

EP: Rarely.

Q: What did you think of Australia when you came down for the convention and what will you remember most about the visit?
Rosa

EP: Australia is an easy-going place and the people have a good time no matter what they're doing. I like that. What I remember most is the emu steak. Stringy. Sweet. It sucked.

Q: What do find, commonly among the entire cast of Voyager, is the most difficult aspect of taping an episode?
Christopher

EP: I think people find the technobabble is a problem often. Guest stars find the hours difficult. They're long and when you're in make-up, like many guest stars are, they're difficult. But we've got a terrific crew and that helps the time pass easily.

Q: Will we ever see the show "Good Morning, Voyager" (the little TV-like-show Neelix was doing) again? It would actually be funny if Neelix would host a type of Variety Show and get the crew doing some schtick!
Al_BMSH

EP: Thank you for asking that. It was actually called "Briefings with Neelix." I don't think we'll see it anymore. I enjoyed doing it, it was a natural arena for Neelix, being a host.

Q: I love the most recent Star Trek movie: First Contact. I've seen it many times. I was wondering, when Picard and Lily go into the holodeck, and the 2 Borg follow them in there, they are greeted by a little man that seems to have similar features as Neelix.
Kevin

EP: That little man was me.

Q: When will Seven and Neelix get it together?
Sebastian

EP: They're getting it together as we speak. Ouch! Damn Borg implants. I call her Seven by Thirty Six by Twenty Four... But seriously, you know she was discovered in a Seven-Eleven. The funny thing about 7 of 9 is that when she first showed up on the show it was 10 of 10 and she was in a tutu getting out of a 2x4. She'd just come from a production of 7 Brides for 7 Brothers. I call her Miss Nine.

Q: Is Neelix part of you or you are part of Neelix? I mean can such a character as Neelix influence your own personality? For example have you improved your skills as a cook since Neelix came to your life?
Ruzena

EP: No not really. Not at all. I guess... no. It's just a job. You know? I mean, Neelix is all me. I animate him with my voice... my body... my imagination. So, he very much reflects what I feel. I endow him with all my manners, but he doesn't influence me...when the make-up comes off, I'm no longer Neelix. You know what I mean? I cooked before I started playing Neelix and I'll continue to cook after I finish playing him, somewhere along the line of season 14 or 15. Maybe we'll have as many seasons as we have shuttlecraft.

Q: Will you consider directing a Voyager-episode? Have any of the other actors directed an episode?
Henrik

EP: Yeah, Tim Russ, Bob Picardo, Robbie McNeill have all directed episodes. LeVar Burton, Jonathan Frakes and Andy Robinson have, but I have no desire to direct.

Q: Hi there! Are you guys all serious when you're filming,or do you act insane?
#1 fan

EP: We act insane all the time. Yesterday on the set, I started calling Robbie "Tom" and he started calling me "Neelix," all the time, even when the cameras weren't on and we just pretended that we were really these guys and it drove everybody nuts. They got really fed up with it but we wouldn't drop it. We're always having some kind of funny riff going on.

Q: When is the new season of Voyager going to begin? (By the way, you are my favorite character of all 4 star treks!)
Dennis

EP: October 14th and thank you for that compliment.

Q: So, that line you had in the movie "Jeffrey"- is it true?
timeerkat

EP: Completely true. I was type-cast. In fact, we had to strip for the audition so they could be sure.

Q: what was the episode of Voyager you had the most fun doing
Morwen

EP: I'd have to say that I probably enjoyed "Fair Trade" or maybe "Jetrel" which I didn't enjoy making but I'm very proud of.

Q: Did You have any influence on the creation of the Talaxian make-up?
Norwegian Bajoran

EP: None whatsoever.

Q: Have an address or e-mail address I write to?
#1 fan

EP: Paramount Studios, 5555 Melrose, Los Angeles, CA 90038

Q: Do people reconize your voice or your face more often in public?
Kessa

EP: It depends. I've done many different episodes of television where I haven't been Neelix and I get recognized for that. The 20-odd feature films I've appeared in as well. But the voice does get recognized, no doubt about that. By the way, being recognized in public was something I thought would be really cool when I was younger, starting out. I no longer think that.

Q: Is your Neelix going to find a new romance in any upcoming episodes?
Art

EP: Yes. Unfortunately, it's gonna be a tricorder. But you're gonna like her.

Q: what was your favorite tv show when you were a kid?
Jake

EP: My favorite television show when I was a child was Star Trek (the original series) and I also liked Leave it to Beaver. Father Knows Best. Twilight Zone.

Q: After one of your productions, do you ever get or watch your own show?
Malik

EP: No, not a lot. Sometimes I'll catch them in reruns in hiatus. I'm always amazed at how good I am, what a terrific actor I am and how Neelix is arguably the most important character in science fiction in the last 50 years.

Q: As it is now 0.2.30 British Summer Time I will probably be asleep! But I would like to ask how the cast regard fan mail? Is it a nuisance at times? please answer truthfully! Also what does a fan mail manager do ? do they select in some way which letters
Barbara

EP: I will try to answer this truthfully. Every actor has a different attitude toward fan mail. I can only tell you mine. I appreciate it when I receive it through the correct channels. I answer it all if it arrives through the correct channels. It's always thoughtful, I think, for someone to take the time to tell you that they appreciate what you're doing. I never dismiss the fanmail. I don't know what a fanmail manager does. I assume they answer the mail instead of the actor, Maybe handing the actor a slew of pictures to sign and handing them particularly interesting letters to read. When you receive thousands of letters a year, they can become very repetitive. Still, I try to answer each one. I send a signed picture. That's what I do. If they enclose a stamped, self-addressed envelope and mail it to Paramount Studios. That's the correct channel I mentioned above.

Q: During the summer hiatus, would the Voyager cast members consider acting in a feature fim together that was not Star-Trek-based?
Bud

EP: I participated in Alien Voices productions, which Leonard Nimoy and John de Lancie put together. I don't suspect that anyone will offer the ST: Voyager cast a movie. To star us as other kinds of characters. Would that occur, I don't suspect everyone would even be available to do it.

Q: Do you think us fans are weird and obsessive with our fan-sites, and discussion groups, and conventions and so on?
Jason

EP: I don't think you're weird and obsessive. My feeling is, everybody's weird and obsessive in their own way. No one should judge anyone else's alternative reality or what they do to have a good time. I find Star Trek fans are the most non-cynical group of people I've ever met in my life.

Q: How do you hide the fact that you are tired and hot when you are in the scenes?
Mic

EP: Acting!! Coffee. Air conditioning. Sugar. Calling my wife on the phone. Hi Sweetie.

Q: How many more seasons will be Voyager be on the air?
Graham

EP: I would think two more seasons after this one.

Q: Is it difficult to film scenes when most of the special effects are put in later?
Vindaloo

EP: No. From having seen the shows and movies, we have a good idea of what they're going to look like, so we just endow the empty space with those images by using our imaginations.

Q: Do Talaxians really smell as bad as described in the book "The Caretaker"?
Gena

EP: Talaxians do not smell good, except to other Talaxians. I would say their odor is a combination of tar, okra and potassium.

Q: What is the name of the episode now being filmed?
Cleopatra

EP: The name of the episode is "Down Deep" directed by Rick Kolbe.

Q: Neelix is a wonderful character. Do you find it difficult to play such a happy character when you feel down on a particular day?
Karen

EP: That's a great question. It is more difficult when things in your life are not going well. ...to have to play a scene where the character is bouyant and positive. But again, they pay me to appear like the character is supposed to be, so I act the part. Hopefully, by doing a good job, it might affect my own life and make things less gloomy than they were before I did the scene. And here I go back to another question, in this way... Neelix could affect me, influence me.

I think we have to stop now. The typist has told me that if I take another question she will rip my head off and do a watercolor of the inside of my neck.

But I hope to come back another time and I thank you for your questions and I wish I could have answered all of them.