I like to think of myself as the Rutger Hauer of this show Star Trek: The Next Generation. But then I like to think of myself as Rutger Hauer in real life: strikingly handsome, irresistible to women, an intergalactic enigma.

So it was a really pleasant surprise when [Independence Day] turned out to be a successful film. I don't know if you've heard that they're going to be re-releasing it next Fourth of July in 3-D. I've actually only seen it once, and it was in Hawaii, in a little theater in Oahu shortly after it was released. But Roland Emmerich is a really smart guy, and he makes really fun movies to watch.

I was, like, "Wow, is this ever going to happen again? Am I ever going to work with another bunch of people I get along with this well?" And then, sure enough, Threshold was just a great bunch of people, and I thought, "Hey, I could hang with these people for a long time!" But, unfortunately, it was 13 episodes and we were out of there.

It's fun to do something different. And there are things you can do in a small palate that you can't necessarily do in a larger role. You can go a little further and do things you could never pull off for any length of time, but you can do for the short run.

I really enjoyed Eddie Bracken. He told me a great story. He did The Odd Couple on Broadway, replacing Art Carney, and he said, "Art Carney did it for six months and I did it for three years, and I don't think anyone I've ever spoken to saw me. They all saw Art Carney."

Timing is everything, as you know.

And the basic sort of thrust of Star Trek being about equality and tolerance and things I believe in deeply.