Both Berman and Piller sought to have Forbes sign on to portray Ro as a main character in the series, but she turned them down. She liked making occasional appearances on "The Next Generation", but did not want to tie herself down to a five- to six-year main cast contract at that point in her career. She was also apprehensive about the types of demands fan appearances made on the stars of that series, and did not want to undertake the level of appearances that would be expected of a main cast member in "Deep Space Nine". The producers of "Deep Space Nine" decided to create a new character to fit a similar mould, which resulted in the creation of Kira Nerys, who was played by Nana Visitor. This was designed to require as minimal a change as possible in the premise of the pilot at that time, which was already under production. During the course of the series, Forbes told interviewers that she was interested in making one-off appearances in the series if she liked the story and role.