Are there any frustrations in appearing in a very long running TV series?

The obvious pitfall is if it happens to sort of consume your career to the point where you are unable to break out of that. I have been lucky, you know. I came to Star Trek already having been a part of a major piece of television history and portrayed a huge cultural icon in Kunte Kinte in Roots and had already had some experience of sort of staying one step ahead of that.

I’ve had a terrific career that has spanned twenty years and I think the key to that sort of longevity is being able to continually re-invent yourself and the work that I do in children’s television and having hosted and produced a children’s series for 18 years in this country, the work that I’ve done on Star Trek and now producing and directing and writing. It all, you know, goes toward helping me stay ahead of the box.