Keating On The Dangers Of Space Suits

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According to Dominic Keating (Malcom Reed) working on Enterprise isn't an easy ride. In a new interview, the actor spoke about filming in the EV suits the crew wear when they go out into space.

"Oh it's a hellish thing," he told Star Trek Monthly. "25 pound backpack, 17 pound helmet. It's weighted so that it pulls you back and cuts into your clavicle bone, and even with the padding they give us and all the effects they make to try and make it more palatable, it's a long day in the suit. You sweat buckets and if you have any kind of back issues, its gruelling."

"I have a particular left hand rhomboid issue, have done for years, and Scott [Bakula] (Captain Archer) I know has a tweaked nerve in his right side and you see the pain. I'm hoping that by series two, we've discovered some cute little mask that helps us breathe anywhere!"

Keating is aware that the pain is all worth it for the result. "But [the suits] look the money on the screen," he explained. "They've got full breathing apparatus in it, full battery packs, the helmets light up inside. It's the real deal."

The actor admits that his path in the career has been easier than for others on the set. "I've been acting for 13 years, I haven't had to wait tables since the second month I got going, and I've always made a living at it," he said. "And I thought that getting this job would be a sort of culmination of that. But actually, you know what it feels like? It feels like the beginning of something. It feels like a whole new beginning of my acting career and I feel really blessed and very excited."