Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, October 4, 1994 TAG: 9410220041
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: IAN SPELLING
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The news was good: Lursa (Barbara March) and B'Etor (Walsh), the dreaded Klingon sisters who had snarled their way to popularity as recurring characters on "Next Gen" and "Deep Space Nine," would be featured in "Generations."
The first time Walsh got wind of this was in late 1993. Yet it wasn't until March 1994 that the two actresses were contacted by Paramount Pictures to see if they would be available for the movie.
Even then, Walsh, who'd returned to the studio to film a "Next Gen" episode, wasn't convinced she and March would appear in the film.
"All the 'Next Gen' cast had the script, and we knew we were in it, but nobody could talk to us officially," Walsh says during a telephone interview from her Los Angeles home.
"Being neurotic actors, of course, we were sure they were writing us out of the movie."
Walsh's worries were put to rest shortly afterward when she and March got the call to go before director David Carson's cameras.
So what can moviegoers expect from the lovely Duras sisters - who added spice to "Next Gen's" "Redemption" episodes and the "DS9" hour "Past Prologue"?
"We're up to our evil no-goodness, as usual," Walsh says, laughing. "We're linked with Malcolm McDowell's character, Soran, making a trade with him.
"He gives us a certain item we need, and we take him to this area where there's essentially a time warp [the Nexus]. Lursa and B'Etor are just trying to rule the world.
"That's always our objective, isn't it?"
The Canadian-born actress says she was pleased to have another chance to team with March, whom she first met at Canada's Stratford Festival years before their "Trek" work.
The two became good friends while collaborating to bring the Klingon sisters to life.
"There's a certain synchronicity about the whole thing," Walsh says. "We've become much closer doing this, and it's made playing the roles, which are interesting and fun, even easier for us.
"We're very different, but we work very well together, and I think that comes across."
In "Generations," Walsh is complemented not just by March, but by McDowell as the main villain, Soran.
"Malcolm was a hoot to work with," she says. "He's a terrific dramatic actor when the camera is rolling and a delight - very funny and playful - as soon as the cameras stop."
Walsh, who is single, was born in Winnipeg and reared in Vancouver, B.C.
After graduating from the University of Alberta in Edmonton with a fine arts degree, she spent 10 years acting on the stages of Canada.
She later appeared in Canadian-produced TV series (including ``War of the Worlds'') and the feature film "The Challenge" (1990).
After relocating to Los Angeles in 1989, Walsh continued alternating between the stage and screen, appearing in the L.A. Shakespeare Festival production of "Much Ado About Nothing," the TV series "L.A. Law" and the film thriller "The Crush" (1993).
Most recently she completed the film "Soft Deceit," a drama starring Patrick Bergin and Kate Vernon.
"It'll be shown at the London and Venice film festivals and hopefully be released here later," says Walsh, who thoroughly enjoyed her role as a police captain.
Following "Deceit," Walsh filmed guest spots on several TV shows, including "RoboCop" and "Forever Knight," all to air in coming months.
She'll next be seen with David Birney in "The Diaries of Adam & Eve," a touring stage show based on several Mark Twain works.
When not acting, Walsh can usually be found gardening, indulging her "gymaholic" tendencies, or, on occasion, attending a Trek convention.
"I feel really honored just to be a part of something that is such a huge cultural phenomenon, and I don't say that lightly."
Con calendar Oct. 14-16
Farpoint at the Marriott in Hunt Valley, Md., featuring George Takei, Nana Visitor. (410) 799-2869.
Contact 12 at the Ramada Inn in Evansville, Ind. (812) 425-2715.
Creation at the Tyee Hotel in Olympia, Wash., featuring John de Lancie (Oct. 15-16 only). (818) 409-0960.
I U ION PHO O: headshot of Walsh
by CNB