When auditioning for her most famous role, Lt. Cmdr. Elizabeth Shelby on “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” actress Elizabeth Dennehy didn’t know anything about the venerated science-fiction franchise.
“It was just another audition, like I’d been going out on for years and years. I never saw ‘Star Trek: The Original Series,’ I never saw ‘The Next Generation.’ I had no idea who these people were. I went in the room, read, was called back, and was offered the job,” recalled Dennehy, 65, of Los Angeles. “A misconception people have about the business is that I was fielding offers, and I was drawn to Shelby. When you’re 28 and new to town and your agent says you have an audition on Friday, you go. Brad Pitt fields offers and says, ‘No, I’m not drawn to this one; I’m drawn to this one.’ People whose names are below the title — journeymen actors who are not Tom Cruise or Brad Pitt — we go on auditions, and when you get asked to play the role, you say yes.”
Born at Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville, North Carolina, Dennehy — the eldest of five — moved to Long Island, New York, when she was 2. She is the daughter of the late Brian Dennehy, an award-winning actor whose credits included 1982’s “First Blood,” 1985’s “Silverado,” 1986’s “F/X” and 1990’s “Presumed Innocent.” Both father and daughter appeared in 1994’s “Jack Reed: A Search for Justice” and 2007’s “Welcome to Paradise.”
An alumna of Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York, and the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, Dennehy is married to James Lancaster, with whom she has two sons, Jack and William.
Dennehy will make her first appearance at Lansing’s Capital City Comic Con this weekend. Also appearing are actress Tawny Newsome (“Star Trek: Lower Decks”), voice actress Linda Young (“Dragon Ball Z”), actor Tony Moran (“Halloween”), comic book artist Dave Acosta (“ThunderCats: Panthro”) and Source Point Press publisher Dirk Manning, among others (see capcitycomiccon.com/special-guests for more details)…