<Table> <Tr> <Td> "</Td> <Td> I was only one of two people who auditioned for the part, which is quite extraordinary . Considering that this has so materially affected the last 35 years of my life...a couple of hours after I auditioned I heard that I had gotten the role . </Td> <Td>" </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="3"> </Td> </Tr> </Table> <Tr> <Td> "</Td> <Td> I was only one of two people who auditioned for the part, which is quite extraordinary . Considering that this has so materially affected the last 35 years of my life...a couple of hours after I auditioned I heard that I had gotten the role . </Td> <Td>" </Td> </Tr> <P> Koenig played Ensign Pavel Chekov, navigator on the USS Enterprise, in the original Star Trek television series (starting in Season 2) and in all of the films featuring the original cast (including Star Trek Generations). One of only two actors to audition, he was cast as Chekov almost immediately primarily because of his resemblance to British actor / musician Davy Jones of the Monkees . Show creator Gene Roddenberry hoped that Koenig would increase the show's appeal to young people . As the 30 - year - old's hair was already receding, costume designers fashioned a Davy Jones - style "moptop" hairpiece for him . In later episodes, his own hair grew out enough to accomplish the look with a comb - over . (The studio's publicity department, however, falsely ascribed the inclusion of Chekov to an article in Pravda that complained about the lack of Russians in Star Trek .) Roddenberry asked him to "ham up" his Russian accent to add a note of comic relief to the series . Chekov's accent has been criticized as inauthentic, in particular Koenig's substituting the "w" sound in place of a "v" sound (e.g., "wodka" for "vodka"); Koenig has said the accent was inspired by his father, who had the same difficulty with the "v" sound . </P> <P> Most of Koenig's fan mail indeed came from children, and the high volume of letters contributed to him soon receiving a contract as a regular cast member; this surprised Koenig, who had been told that Chekov would be a recurring role . When the early Season 2 episodes of Star Trek were shot, George Takei (who played Sulu) was delayed while completing the movie The Green Berets, so Chekov is joined at the Enterprise helm by a different character . When Takei returned, the two had to share a dressing room and a single episode script . This reportedly angered Takei to the point where he nearly left the show, but the two actors have since become good friends, to the point that Koenig was the best man at Takei's wedding in 2008 . </P>

Who played chekov on the original star trek
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