‘Star Trek’ actress beams into Lansing for Capital City Comic Con

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). 

“We’ve assembled a great guest lineup and a dealer hall packed with amazing vendors and artists. Also, as always, kids get in free so families can experience the whole show together. That’s the kind of community event we set out to build,” Capital City Comic Con co-owner Bryan Harris said. “As big ‘Star Trek’ fans, we’re excited to host Elizabeth Dennehy. As Shelby in the episodes ‘The Best of Both Worlds Parts I and II,’ she was at the heart of one of the most pivotal moments in ‘Star Trek’ history, and she reprised this role in season three of ‘Star Trek: Picard,’ bookending Shelby’s story. Having Elizabeth and Tawny Newsome, who plays Beckett Mariner on ‘Lower Decks’, with us during ‘Star Trek’s’ 60th anniversary makes this an especially engaging year for fans.”

Becoming an actress was a natural fit for Dennehy, especially given her family history. Her father founded the Amityville Community Theater in Amityville, New York, where she and her siblings were drafted into playing bit parts in plays, including “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” and “The Tempest.” 

“My father constantly went back to the theater,” she said. “He did TV and film to support himself because when you do theater, you get paid very little money. If you did a movie, it would support the family while you took a huge pay cut to do theater.

“Theater for a lot of us is our first love,” she continued. “I know there are actors who’ve never done theater, but for a lot of us, we always come back to theater. The appeal is nobody’s editing you. You’re on stage and living right in front of the audience, whereas on TV and film, you’re at the mercy of the editors.” 

Dennehy spoke reverently about her father, who died in 2020 at age 81. 

“We miss him very much. He was a force — a huge, huge force. I’m very impressed and proud of the fact that he pursued his dreams and didn’t let anything deter him,” she said. “He did a movie, ‘Driveways,’ which came out after he died. It was a while before I was able to watch it, but it was comforting to hear his voice again. He was a wonderful role model and great inspiration of what life can be like if you follow your dreams.”

Dennehy’s TV career began in 1988 on the soap opera “Guiding Light.” Since then, she has appeared on “NYPD Blue,” “Boston Legal,” “Murder, She Wrote,” “Chicago Hope,” “The Lazarus Man” (starring Michigan State University alumnus Robert Urich), “The Mentalist,” “Rizzoli & Isles,” “Medium, and “Charmed.”

She recently appeared in “Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1,” an epic Western directed by and starring Oscar winner Kevin Costner, her father’s “Silverado” co-star. 

Being unfamiliar with “Star Trek” ultimately served her well when playing the ambitious, no-nonsense Shelby in the aforementioned “Best of Both Worlds” episodes.

“You have to put yourself in my shoes: Having never seen the show, I was completely oblivious,” she said. “I came in and had no clue — ‘Oh, you’re Riker? I thought Riker was the bald guy.’ I’m grateful because if I did know, I think I would’ve been afraid to be too brash and bold and sassy. Because I was oblivious, I was like, ‘You’re in my way. I have a job to do. Stop wasting my time.’”

Considered by fans and critics to be the best “The Next Generation” episodes, “Best of Both Worlds” cemented the Borg as Capt. Jean-Luc Picard’s (Patrick Stewart) greatest nemesis. Shelby joins the crew and butts heads with Cmdr. William Riker (Jonathan Frakes). The Borg transforms Picard into Locutus, who decimates most of the fleet. In the end, they rescue Picard, and Shelby leads a task force to rebuild the fleet. 

Part one of “Best of Both Worlds” was the third-season finale, while part two was the fourth-season premiere. 

“Something people don’t realize is that we had no idea what would happen and how it would end,” Dennehy recalled. “Frakes and I had to prepare for any eventuality: Do we fall in love? Do we kill each other? Is Shelby really a Borg in disguise? We filmed these side-eye glances in case Shelby turned out to be the bad guy. There was this sense anything could happen. I’m glad it was suspenseful and people were riveted.” 

Dennehy was never asked to reprise her role as Shelby — something she would’ve gladly done — until 2023, appearing on the penultimate episode of “Picard.” Now a fleet admiral, Shelby is in command of the Enterprise–F. When the Borg hijack the ship, Shelby is presumably killed. However, her fate remains unclear. Not even Dennehy knows if she’s dead, pointing out nobody ever saw a body.

“I have no idea,” she said. “I really hope not.”

For Dennehy, it’s an honor to be remembered as Shelby. 

“She was fun and feisty,” Dennehy said. “I remember on the set, Frakes said, ‘You have absolutely no idea what’s gonna happen to you, do you?’ And I said, ‘What are you talking about?’ I had no idea about the conventions, the fanbase; it took me by surprise, that’s for sure.” 

She’s astounded by Shelby’s popularity after her two appearances on “The Next Generation.”

“I can’t believe it,” she said. “It’s really moving to me that people care so much. When they brought me back for ‘Picard,’ it was so great. I was amazed. Absolutely amazed!”

Dennehy is excited to appear at Capital City Comic Con. 

“I’m looking forward to meeting all the wonderful people and partying with them!” she said. 

She remembers attending her first convention in St. Louis. 

“I was so scared. I thought people would think I was an imposter because I wasn’t a lifelong ‘Star Trek’ fan. Even though it’s just a role, it’s very real to some people,” she said. “People could not have been nicer. Nobody was out to get me because I wasn’t a fan before. People were just really, really lovely and welcoming and kind. I was incredibly relived by that.”

However, fans weren’t shy about telling Dennehy they didn’t like how she treated Riker.

“Because I was oblivious, I was able to play Shelby’s brashness and fearlessness, not caring if I was liked, not caring if I was stepping on someone’s toes, not waiting for the man’s permission,” she said. “When I’d go to cons 30 years ago, people would say they hated me. I’d say, ‘Yeah, but was I right? I had a job to get done. He was wasting time by standing in my way and being fearful and being doubtful. I was gonna steamroll over him.’”

That’s not the case today.

“Now, over 30 years later, people at conventions tell me they love me because I wasn’t waiting for the man’s permission, I wasn’t making him feel it was his idea when it was my idea and allowing him to take credit for saving the day,” she said. “Shelby was a woman ahead of her time. I think why she’s popular is because you feel that three-dimensionality about her. You can be irritated by her yet respect her at the same time. People can still have two very conflicting thoughts about the character, and that tension is very alluring.”