Jeri Ryan (Seven of Nine) will always be grateful for the fan support she received on Star Trek: Voyager, even if she was terrified beyond belief at her first convention.

"The first one was very scary," said during an appearance on The Rosie O'Donnell Show last night (via MediaTrek). "I pulled up to the hotel where the convention was being held, got out of the car, walked into the lobby and saw a dozen Klingons, full-on Klingons in makeup, speaking the Klingon language and toasting me with bloodwine, and I turned around and got in the car. I said 'I can't do this.'"

How did the actress work up the courage to go back and face the bat'leth-wielding warriors? "I just realised it's just like the passion of football fans who paint their faces different colours and put cheese on their heads in the middle of winter with no shirt and that sort of thing," she said. "It's just, this is their way to connect, and they're great. There is no more loyal, passionate group of people than Star Trek fans."

Ryan was fortunate enough to get the Boston Public gig straight after Voyager ended, something that has given her all-important job security. "I didn't like [the acting business] until I had a steady job because if you're an actress and you don't have regular work you live in your car, you're always driving to auditions and things like that. Now that I have a base where I live, and a base where I work, I really do like it."

The full 7-minute 8.1 MB Real Media clip, in which Ryan also talked about the challenges of working on Boston Public, can be downloaded here at MediaTrek.com.

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