Star Trek's Harry Kim Actor Had A Disgusting Body-Shaming Incident On Voyager
According to actor Garrett Wang, "Star Trek: Voyager" could be a pretty unfortunate work environment in the sense that the behind-the-scenes staff weren't above making nasty remarks about the actors. In Mark A. Altman and Edward Gross' "Star Trek" history book "The Fifty-Year Mission: The Next 25 Years" (via Redshirts Always Die), Wang — who played Ensign Harry Kim on the show — described a particularly nasty body-shaming incident, courtesy of executive producer Brannon Braga.
"Well, Garrett, if you and your fellow actors go down the same path of eating the way you have the past two years, we're going to have to change the name of the show to 'Star Trek: Voyager — Pigs in Space,'" Wang described Braga saying when the actor asked about a line he felt was insensitive.
The hurtful comment came when Wang confronted Braga about Robert Duncan McNeill's (who played Tom Paris) line that Wang felt was a none-too-subtle personal insult. "Promise me one thing, Harry," McNeill had to say. "If we make it back alive ... you'll work out."
Garrett Wang and Robert Duncan McNeill were both body-shamed by the production
This isn't the only time Garrett Wang and Robert Duncan McNeill have addressed the body-shaming comments. On the pair's "The Delta Flyers" podcast, they recapped the Season 4 episode "Demon" and pointed out multiple lines of dialogue where their characters mocked each other's weight — something both actors agreed was intended as personal. This behavior went beyond Braga and the writers, too. The costume department actually provided Wang and McNeill with girdles they could wear under their costumes. "It was a razz on both of us, and it went on for a while — like, getting in shape," McNeill said about the situation.
The pressure caused Wang to exercise more in an effort to avoid future mockery. "This ['Demon'] script was the reason I went to the gym," he said. "Reading this script, I said, 'No. This is ... You're not going to make any cracks at me in any future episodes.'"
The "Star Trek" franchise is famously fond of its skin-tight bodysuits and tightly tailored uniforms. It appears that on "Star Trek: Voyager" at least, these sometimes came with a side order of unwelcome attention during filming.