Kanoot

Kanoot
Affiliation	Planetary Union
Occupation / Position	Unknown
Portrayed by	Ralph Garman
First Seen	Cupid's Dagger
Biographical information
Status	Alive
Home Planet	Unknown
Physical description
Species	Unknown
Gender	Male

Kanoot is a civilian living aboard the USS Orville. His profession and species are unknown. In February, 2420, he hosts karaoke in the Mess Hall.

Production

Kanoot was originally intended to be a series regular character, but was dropped after Ralph Garman suffered a panic attack while filming the Season 2 premiere, and replaced with Olix.

Unlike other alien characters on the show, the prosthetics were made from a digital scan rather than a mold. When Garman met with the make-up department, they explained the molding process for his prosthetic suit, and Garman suffered from anxiety stemming from claustrophobia. "As I'm sitting there," Garman recalled. "I can't breath. I start to shake. ... I said, 'This isn't going to happen. I need to leave now.'" Garman called Seth MacFarlane, but the showrunner mollified him by substituting the molding process with a laser scan of his bust.

The costume is mostly animatronic, including the eyes and moving tendrils. To fashion the costume on Garman, the chin prosthetic is applied first and then the large headpiece. Two men are needed to operate the costume's robotic pieces by radio: one to control the tendrils and the other to control the eyes. The costume was constructed over a span of two weeks.

Season 1

Garman fought through his anxiety while filming in the Kanoot suit for Cupid's Dagger, which he described as "hot" and "uncomfortable," with "pinholes" to see through. He asked for multiple breaks and MacFarlane gave him several shots of Jack Daniels.

Season 2

Garman returned to the set as Kanoot on February 27, 2019 for the opening scene of Ja'loja in Season 2. "I thought I had ... conquered that," he recalled about claustrophobia during Cupid's Dagger. He showed up with anxiety medication and a bottle of Jack Daniels. The make-up department put the Kanoot suit on, but he suffered a panic attack during filming.

Writers replaced Kanoot with the character of Olix played by Jason Alexander.

Trivia

• According to Howard Berger, Kanoot's costume was the most difficult to design.
• Two of Kanoot's as yet unnamed species can be seen on the Planetary Union Council in Sanctuary. In contrast to Kanoot, who has purple skin, these delegates appear with light blue skin.
• Kanoot was originally to appear in the Season 2 premiere episode, Ja'loja, but was replaced by Olix, played by Jason Alexander.

Appearances

• Episode 1x09: Cupid's Dagger