Actresses Who Were Almost Cast As Star Trek's Beverly Crusher Before Gates McFadden

Cheryl Gates McFadden was a dancer before she was an actress. She studied theater in college (she has a Bachelor of Arts degree) and lived in Paris for a spell, performing with the celebrated movement coach Jacques Lecoq. In New York in the 1970s, she taught dance at various colleges, and formed her own theater troupes and comedy companies. In the 1980s, she landed a few high-profile gigs serving as a choreographer and movement coach on "The Muppets Take Manhattan" and "Labyrinth." She can be seen giving her commentary in a making-of documentary on the "Labyrinth" DVD. 

McFadden, however, exploded in popularity in 1987 when she was selected to play Dr. Beverly Crusher, the chief medical officer on board the USS Enterprise on "Star Trek: The Next Generation." McFadden (who was just going by Gates back then) didn't get to do much dancing on "Star Trek," but she was given a mature, morally resolute character that rounded out the show's ensemble nicely. Dr. Crusher was also a would-be love interest for Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart), and McFadden matched Stewart's energy well, creating a great balance with her co-star. She played the part for six seasons (she was replaced in "Next Gen's" second season by Diana Muldaur), and McFadden would reprise the role years later on "Star Trek: Prodigy" and "Star Trek: Picard." 

McFadden was always the preferred actor to play Dr. Crusher, but she did have to beat out a few other performers for the role. A famous 1987 memo written by "Star Trek" producer John Ferraro to Paramount TV president John Pike (handily published on the Slice of Sci-Fi website) revealed all of the "finalists" for the main "Next Generation" roles, and some of the runners-up were fascinating. Wesley Snipes was being considered for Geordi La Forge, for instance, and Yaphet Kotto might have played Captain Picard. 

For Dr. Crusher, Ferraro was considering Anne Twomey and even Jenny Agutter for the part. 

The casting directors of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" were clearly looking for an actress who looked a very certain way, as runner-up Anne Twomey looks a lot like Gates McFadden. Both actresses have red hair, and both have a similarly professional demeanor. The Paramount memo noted that McFadden was the clear favorite, but that she may not have been able to commit, as she was acting in a play at the time and might not have been able to schedule any potential "Star Trek" episodes. 

Twomey had, at the time of her "Star Trek" auditions, just starred in the Wes Craven robot flick "Deadly Friend," playing one of the lead character's moms. That same year, she was also in the journalism-based political satire "The Imagemaker," opposite Michael Nouri. Prior to her film career, Twomey received a Tony nomination for her lead performance in a 1980 production of Tom Topor's play "Nuts." The play was later adapted into a feature film starring Barbra Streisand.

On TV, though, Twomey was hugely prolific. She appeared in dozens of TV movies, and had small roles on major TV shows. She was in five episodes of "L.A. Law" and two episodes of "Seinfeld." She also played five different roles on five episodes of "Law & Order" and its spin-offs. She would go on to be a recurring character on "First Watch." Twomey retired from acting in 2003, and is presumably living happily with her husband, actor John Beford Lloyd.

British actress Jenny Agutter was only 12 when she made her film debut in "East of Sudan" in 1964, but her talent was quickly recognized by filmmakers everywhere, and she soon appeared in Robert Wise's "Star!" and the friendly family film "The Railway Children." She rose to prominence in Peter Weir's 1971 drama "Walkabout" and with Michael Anderson's sci-fi classic "Logan's Run" in 1972 (of which she remains one of the few cast members still alive). Agutter was the crush object of many an adolescent boy, and she continued to land high-profile roles in multiple notable films. At the time of her "Star Trek" audition, American audiences might know her best as one of the leads in John Landis' 1981 horror film "An American Werewolf in London." She had already won a BAFTA award for her role in "Equus," and an Emmy for the TV movie "The Snow Goose." 

All this was in addition to a prolific TV and stage career. She worked with the National Theater Company in her native England, as well as the Royal Shakespeare company. Most of her work was done throughout the UK. In 2012, she re-entered American theaters with a supporting role in Joss Whedon's superhero blockbuster "The Avengers," and in Anthony and Joe Russo's "Captain America: The Winter Soldier." Her most recent film was the late-stage sequel "The Railway Children Return." 

Agutter would have made a fine British counterpart for Patrick Stewart — of the eventual main cast of "Next Generation," only Stewart and Marina Sirtis are British – although she is not as gregarious a performer as Gates McFadden. It's also possible that she was too big a star for "Star Trek," and that she show would not have been able to afford her salary.