Star Trek My Interview With Walter Koeing (Chekov)

Star Trek My Interview With Walter Koeing (Chekov)

From Forbidden Realms Late Night Show With Gary by Night Dreams Talk Radio

April 21, 2026 · 47 min

About this episode

Walter Koenig discusses his role as Ensign Pavel Chekov in Star Trek and his experiences in the science fiction genre.

Koenig began playing Ensign Pavel Chekov, navigator on the USS Enterprise , in the original Star Trek television series in the second season, and continued in the role in all of the films featuring the original cast, including Star Trek Generations .Koenig was unfamiliar with science fiction before being cast on Star Trek . [7] One of only two actors to audition, he was cast as Chekov almost immediately primarily because of his resemblance to British actor and singer Davy Jones of the Monkees . Show creator Gene Roddenberry hoped that Koenig would increase the show's appeal to young people. The studio's publicity department, however, falsely ascribed the inclusion of Chekov to an article in Pravda that complained about the lack of Russians in Star Trek . [6] [ failed verification ]As the 30-year-old's hair was already receding, costume designers fashioned a Davy Jones-style "moptop" hairpiece for him. In later episodes, his own hair grew out enough to accomplish the look with a comb-over. [8] Roddenberry asked him to "ham up" his Russian accent to add a note of comic relief to the series. Chekov's accent has been criticized as inauthentic, in particular Koenig's substituting the…

People in this episode

Guest: Walter Koenig

Topics covered

  • Star Trek
  • science fiction
  • entertainment
  • television

Keywords

  • Chekov
  • USS Enterprise
  • Gene Roddenberry
  • Davy Jones
  • Pravda

Mentioned in this episode

Products: the USS Enterprise, Enterprise

Books & works: Star Trek My Interview With Walter Koeing, Star Trek, Star Trek Generations, The Green Berets, The Infinite Vulcan "

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