Correction! Yaphet Kotto had auditioned for Picard! Between Kotto and Perlman that would have been a kickass duo.
#Trek that never was
Offhand I can’t find where I’d read that Ron Perlman had auditioned for Riker, but both he and Frakes got their big roles at the same time (never having really seen North and South I can’t speak to that).
But that’s not as important as this http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Performers_considered_for_Star_Trek_roles if you scroll to TMP you’ll see that both Lance Henriksen and ANDREW ROBINSON auditioned for Decker!
realdarkmateria
realdarkmateria
The Star Trek: TNG That Could Have Been
This is what Star Trek: The Next Generation would have looked like if the final casting had gone a little bit differently. A selection of the actors considered for the pilot as mentioned in this memo.
spockvarietyhour
Stephen Macht (General Krim in DS9) was another candidate for Picard, while Yaphet Kotto (Alien) was a possible for LaForge and Ron Perlman was one for Riker…
*edit* Yaphet Kotto auditioned for Picard. Even better