As Enterprise engages on its epic trek across the Delphic Expanse, Dr Phlox’s human alter-ego, John Billingsley, exercises caution about the show’s new direction and reveals a guest role on Angel.

"To be honest, I think the doctor is taking a bit off a back seat in season three, given that the general nature of the show this year is more action-adventure oriented," John reveals from his LA home, and to the general dismay of his many fans. "As the one true character actor in the show, I’m not the one they use to throw punches or kiss the girls (sighs). Having said that, I think they’re doing a great job in satisfying the studio’s and UPN’s mandate to dial things up a bit. The conceit that we are in a different part of the galaxy in pursuit of the Xindi has given a little more latitude to make the show scarier and more exciting. And for me, it means that I have a lot more time off, and I’m getting a bit of work ‘on the side’ in other projects."

Taking a look at John Billingsley’s CV, once can’t help but be impressed by the range of ‘other projects’ that he’s guested on. For every The X Files and Freaky Links he’s notched up, there’s an equal number of prestige shows like The West Wing, The Practice and Six Feet Under. He also guested on StarGate SG-1 in Season Six’s The Other Guys a whole year before fellow crewmate Jolene Blalock essayed Teal’c’s new love interest, Ishta. "They expressed some interest in having me back again for another episode, but the problem is that I can’t confirm whether I’ll be available on such a day at such a time. With Jolene they’ve been pretty gracious - they allowed her to be female lead in a movie with Ray Liotta (Slow Burn) and that spread out across six episodes of our show. It’s one thing for them to let me do some stuff, but I’m not on the bridge."

"One of the ironies of an actor’s life is that you spend it trying to get on a show because it represents a consistent stabilising income. But then, as soon as you get on a show, some part of you will always pine for some other thing! I would love to do more film work and to a certain extent the producers are very amenable to letting me look around. They can’t always forecast their requirements of me week-to-week, so generally speaking I’m in a quasi-enforced semi-retirement!"

"I did recently do an episode of Angel and I’m chasing some other parts at the moment. I also did a movie called Out of Time, which is a crime thriller very similar to Body Heat. A small town sheriff, Denzil Washington, has a murder pinned on him and he plays the bulk of the movie trying to extricate himself. I play his best friend - an amoral chain-smoking hard drinking good-hearted layabout. It’s a summer popcorn movie and Carl (Devil in a Blue Dress) Franklin did a wonderful job with the slight material available." It’s a far cry from Franklin’s regular role as Dr Fred Walters in The Fantastic Journey.

John tells us about his role on Unleashed, Angel’s Season Five’s third episode. "I play an authority on werewolves (Dr Royce) who it turns out is actually a bad guy who is attempting to deliver a werewolf that the gang is trying to protect. He wants to deliver her to a secretive club of gourmands who eat werewolves and other exotic beasts. (Spoiler alert!) At the end I’m personally turned into a werewolf, which means I’ll get eaten too – there’s poetic justice! Thank God you don’t see the transformation on screen, though I must say that they make a pretty good werewolf on that show. It was a full body suit on these sprung platform heels that drive the body forward as if it’s about to spring - the guy looked about seven feet tall."

Ant what was the best aspect of working on Angel? "Oh, the food," he smiles. "Every set I go on is pretty much the same – ‘What’s on the craft service (catering) table?’ Angel is shot right next door to Enterprise so I was able to stay in my own trailer, but I could also avail myself of the catering truck. Enterprise don’t cater our shoot – we get our meals form the commissary and by the time the van arrives the food is cold. I always had to walk past Angel’s barbecues every day, muttering under my breath – ‘What have they got today, the b******s!’ It’s funny, but as a guest star on a show like Angel it’s like being invited to a party where you don’t know anybody. People are generally nice, but you have to bring yourself to the table as someone who’s prepared to join in."

Much has been written about Enterprise’s third season makeover, and John gives his on take on the new direction. "My own taste would lead me towards wanting more episodes that are either more ruminative and philosophical or dealing with contemporary issues in a metaphorical way," he readily admits. "I’m personally not intrigued by the concept of a show that is just ‘slam bang pow!’ They’re probably right in their belief that some portion of the audience can be reclaimed by upping the action adventure quotient, but I can’t get terribly riled up about anything as far as the show’s direction is concerned. I love the folks I work with, I learn my lines, I show up and do what is asked of me, but beyond that I don’t worry about it."

The retooled Enterprise launched Stateside mid-September, and all eyes were on those important ratings. "I’m curious, as everyone else is, to see how it’s received, but I’m pretty good at not concerning myself with things that are outside of my control. There’s no doubt that the numbers with the show are low, and I really don’t know whether or not those numbers are going to climb up again. You have to ask yourself the question whether or not there is a brand new audience out there for Enterprise, or any show in the Star Trek canon, at the moment. I would suspect that the opportunity to grab that audience is in the first season, and to hike the numbers up we need to reclaim the core audience that dropped off along the way. That alone might be enough to make everyone sufficiently happy but I don’t think there’s going to be any huge dramatic increase in viewing figures."

Last season on Enterprise, John got the opportunity to go to work with his Wife Bonnie Friedericy, who was playing the Borg-ified Rooney in Regeneration. It’s an experience that he hopes to replicate (or should that be assimilate?). "I always like to work with Bonnie. I’ve said many times before that I want her to play one of the three Mrs Phlox’s, but I guess that until we get out of this evil quadrant of space it’s not going to happen. Didn’t she make a really scary looking Borg? We actually had some pictures taken of her in full Borg regalia and me in my partial Borg make-up. We thought that it could feature on this year’s Christmas card." Season’s greetings from the Borgingsley’s!

While this was their first dual outing as Borgs, John and Bonnie have both shared the prosthetics make-up chair before. "We both had roles on G vs E where we both played demons and had to wear make-up." And did Bonnie’s stint as a Borg give her a better understanding of the full extent of John’s make-up ordeal? "Believe me, I’ve NEVER hidden from her what I go through!" he bellows. "She knows exactly what I feel about the whole process. She’s there when the alarm goes off at 4:00am on Monday morning. Sitting in the make-up chair is fine because it’s not uncomfortable or unpleasant and I just sit there and read a book. However, it does extend my working day by three hours."

I ask John whether he has ever fantasised about being a Denobulan. Think of the fun he could have with that huge grin, massive tongue, three wives and only six nights sleep a year. "I’d pass on the six days sleep a year – I’m in love with sleep and nothing give me more pleasure than a catnap in the afternoon. As for the three wives thing, I can’t really comment on that because my wife is sitting here next to me in the lounge. I really wanted her to play all three of my screen wives. In fact, I could play all the Denobulan guys and she could play all the girls. They could have all looked like us, but that’s been blown now that we’ve met wife number three."

Finally, can we expect any new Denobulan traits this year? In previous shows we’ve discovered traits like his nasty toenail habits. "There doesn’t seem to be any room for quirky this year. It’s all ‘pedal to the metal’ in finding the Xindi and God forbid anybody should crack a smile. We’ve been dialling up the drama and everything else has fallen by the wayside, so I’m afraid that there’s no new quirks for Phlox. You haven’t seen my tongue unfurl, or that twelve-foot smile. Of course, at some point they’re going to have to deal with the matter of my Denobulan genitalia. They’ve been back-burnering that too for three years." So, because Phlox has three wives, he…err… "Exactly!"