Star Trek: DS9: Alexander Siddig hated the season 5 change to his character

Season Five of Star Trek: DS9 Nine revealed that Dr. Julian Bashir was genetically modified

While Star Trek: DS9 fans were a little more forgiving of this change to Dr. Bashir’s character, Alexander Siddig was not. In fact, he hated the idea of his character being turned into Data 2.0. And he wasn’t given a choice when the episode, Dr. Bashir, I Presume, was written nor was he made aware of it until right before filming was set to begin.

Choosing to make such a drastic change to Dr. Bashir was unsettling for Siddig, and he disliked it so much that he admits he sabotaged the efforts to make him more like a computer than a human.

Though producers might have dropped the overall story arc, there continued to be references to Dr. Bashir’s genetic enhancements throughout the course of seasons six and seven. While Siddig didn’t like the change to his character, it did open up more story lines and brought him to the forefront in several episodes which can’t be considered a bad thing for an actor.

However, having to play a part that he didn’t like had to be difficult. Perhaps if he’d been forewarned and given the opportunity to discuss it and potentially have some input, things might have played out a little differently.

Source: redshirtsalwaysdie.com