At the bottom of this article, you’ll find the leaked Star Trek: The Next Generation casting memo, complete with executive notes at the bottom. I’ll have to admit that I don’t know many of the actors that were considered, but I did a little IMDB search for a few of them.
Patrick Bachau (as Captain Picard) - You may recognize him as Professor Lodz from Carnivale, if you’re one of the five people who watched that epic show. In my opinion, he would have been way too… intense for the role. There’s something about Patrick Stewart’s performance that’s authoritative but also welcoming.
J.D. Roth (as Wesley Crusher) – Okay, I have to admit I’m not sure this is the same guy. If he is, then he’s moved on from his acting aspirations and become a producer, it seems. I just can’t picture young ladies swooning over this guy or signing up for his fan club. Plus, where would we be today without Wil Wheaton as a geek icon?
Wesley Snipes (as Lt. Commander Geordi) – Of course, I know who he is. Can you imagine how much that would have changed not only Star Trek: TNG but also how we viewed Reading Rainbow? It would have been a travesty.
Ben Murphy (as Commander Riker) – I had a HUGE crush on Riker. I would not have crushed for this guy. Bleh.
Denise Crosby (as Deanna Troi) – Deanna always reminded me of my mother. She had a foreign accent, darker features, and her name was, well, Deanna, which is how my mom’s name, although spelled Diana, is correctly pronounced. I just can’t picture the Counselor as a blonde, but I am glad Denise still became a part of the cast as the unforgettable Tasha Yar.
Check out the rest of the almost-cast in the letter below:
Juliana Weiss-Roessler is a writer living in Los Angeles. To read more of her writing, visit WeissRoessler.com. You can also follow her on Twitter: @jul_weiss.
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Juliana Weiss-Roessler is a writer living in Los Angeles. To read more of her writing, visit WeissRoessler.com. You can also follow her on Twitter: @jul_weiss. 
I love the idea of Jenny Agutter as Dr. Crusher – I couldn't stand Gates McFadden!
As much as I loved Crosby as Yar, I'd be interested to see how Rosalind Chao or Julia Nickson would've done in the role. Of course, to quote Mo Tancheroen, "Nobody's Asian on TV." Other than Sulu and Kim, there hasn't been a huge Asian presence in Star Trek as a whole, now that I think about it. (Oh, and Sato. I didn't watch Enterprise.) Not that that's any worse than any other sci-fi franchise.
And Reggie Jackson as LaForge? Like, Reggie Jackson the baseball player?! My mind is blown.
I read somewhere that they wanted Yar to be a tough, Vasquez type (from Aliens) so they brought in Marina Sirtis for the role and Crosby and her ended up switching parts.
Also…Ben Murphy for Riker? THE Ben Murphy, from Riding with Death, one of the most ridiculous MST3K movies of ALL TIME?!?! So glad they ended up going with Frakes.
All I can say is Kevin Peter Hall, RIP. While he might not have been a great Geordi and a very strange Data, he is someone I would have loved to see on the show. While I like Michael Dorn, KPH as a Klingon would have been Epic. For those who don't recall Mr. Hall, he was the original Predator, as well as Harry from Harry and the Hendersons. Without Make up he played a gentle giant with super powers on a old 80's show called Misfits of Science.