Star Trek Monthly, the British magazine devoted to all things Trek, has an interview with Kate Mulgrew in its special 100th Anniversary issue.

During her conversation with Ian Spelling, Kate discussed her life since Voyager ended in May of 2001.  She spoke of the intensity of her husband Tim Hagan’s campaign for the governorship of the state of Ohio, and how politics differ from acting:

  "A campaign is nothing like acting, not even like taking a show on the road…It's night and day. It's unending and relentless. You start early in the morning and go to bed late at night. My husband must have constant grace under pressure, and he does,  and he's much more adept at that than I. But I must hold up my end. I must comport myself as a potential first lady would. And for a very opinionated, always outspoken person, this is not always easy for me. Of course, I am allowed to have my opinions. I am an actress, after all. But I must say, there are no immediate rewards to all this."

Kate also expressed her gratitude to her fellow actors, and particularly to her fans for their friendship and support, especially with regards to the fundraising Entertainment Extravaganza she held last August in Cleveland in support of her husband’s campaign:

"I have to tell you, 'The Extravaganza' was great," (Mulgrew enthuses.) "Boy, if I ever questioned what was most wonderful about my tenure on Voyager it's the friendships. All of these people, the actors and fans, came in on their own time and on their own dime and they were completely committed to the day, to the weekend, actually. Bill Shatner came up from Louisville. John de Lancie and his wife, Marnie, came in. Several of my fellow Voyager actors [including Robert Picardo, Garrett Wang, Robert Duncan McNeill and Tim Russ] came in, as well, and those who didn't, only didn't because they had work commitments.”

"I was not the least bit surprised to receive so much support from the fans. These people are used to me, to my philosophies and my politics. I don't know if everyone necessarily agrees with everything I say, but they respect my opinion, and for that I am grateful.

  "A lot of these people were absolutely willing to jump into the fray and be by my side when they understood that Tim was going to run for governor. And they've supported me on every conceivable level. This is the phenomenon of Star Trek, the truly phenomenal part of it. It's not that they're unusual people. It's not that they are extraordinary. It's that their allegiance is unusual and extraordinary and profound. It crosses all barriers. And it is done, from my point of view, with a very keen intelligence."

When asked about her portrayal of Captain Kathryn Janeway, Kate admitted she missed the character even now. She had several insightful comments about acting – particularly acting in Star Trek:

"I miss Kathryn and I miss the rewards of the work," Mulgrew says. "I'm not a politician. Campaigning is not natural to me. I am an actress. And to be able to do it every day for seven years was a great gift. I miss playing such a wonderful character every day. As deep as we went with Janeway, the truth is that I wanted to go deeper. What made this woman tick? How much did she give, personally, while out in space? I felt like I could have done the show for another seven years and still not known everything about her.   "You have to understand that Star Trek does not lend itself to a deeply, personally complex character or characterization. You know that it does not do that. It's a highly stylized genre and it is science-based. The dilemma is a moral dilemma and we're talking about events occurring in the 24th Century in the Delta Quadrant. So, of course, I cannot explore the nuances and the complexities of Janeway as I would an Ibsen heroine, for example. That is my natural desire as an actress, to explore, explore, explore. So many times I had to learn to discipline my desire and find ways around it."

When asked about her ‘promotion’ to Admiral in Star Trek Nemesis and whether it changed her approach to Janeway she replied:

"It was interesting: the uniform I put on was Admiral Janeway's uniform, not Captain Janeway's. There is a difference. It's not just a uniform to me. You've got to understand, these kinds of specifics are very important to the actor. Certainly, I am no longer the captain on the intrepid vessel that had been lost in space for so long. I am now the admiral - well and truly grounded and in a position of high command. So as the actress, even just for that hour or two I was there, I tried to take it to another level."

The entire article may be found in the January 2003 issue of Star Trek Monthly on newsstands now in the UK.