Gates McFadden appeared as Dr. Cathy Ryan in The Hunt For Red October, and she explains her disappointment at not continuing on to star in the Jack Ryan sequel films. McFadden is currently starring in Star Trek: Picard season 3, reprising her iconic role as Dr. Beverly Crusher alongside the full cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation. But while TNG was still on the air in 1990, McFadden had a brush with the burgeoning Jack Ryan movie franchise with her cameo at the start of The Hunt For Red October.
In an exclusive interview with Screen Rant about Star Trek: Picard season 3 and season 2 of her podcast, InvestiGates: Who Do You Think You Are?, Gates McFadden was asked about her brief appearance as Cathy Ryan in The Hunt For Red October, and how disappointing it was Gates didn't continue in the Jack Ryan sequel films. Read her response below:
Oh, me too. But that was Alec Baldwin. He asked for too much money, and they said no. But I was supposed to. I would have gone on and done the second movie. That's why it was a tiny part in the first one, but it was going to be a bigger part in the second one. But then they just said [to Alec], "Nope, we're not paying you that money." And they went and they cast Harrison Ford, so they couldn't have the same woman playing his wife. That hurt.
