(written from a Production point of view)
Janet Lee Orcutt (born November 1956; age 67) is a former stuntwoman who appeared as a J'naii guard in the Star Trek: The Next Generation fifth season episode "The Outcast". She received no credit for this appearance. Her costume was part of a lot which was sold off on the It's A Wrap! sale and auction on eBay. [1] Orcutt filmed her scenes with fellow stuntwoman Mary Peters under stunt coordination of Dennis Madalone on Tuesday 14 January 1992 on Paramount Stage 16.
Orcutt was born in Indiana and moved to Los Angeles to become a stuntwoman. As a successful swimmer and driver who earned several medals, she studied with Bob Yerkes and at Kahana's Stunt School. Her first film she worked on was the 1983 horror film Frightmare with Jeffrey Combs.
In the '80s she worked as a stunt performer in Lust in the Dust (1985, with Faith Minton),Vendetta (1986, with Marshall R. Teague and stunts by Janet Brady and Tony Epper), Munchies (1987, with Robert Picardo and Wendy Schaal), Cold Steel (1987, with stunts by Bernie Pock), as stunt double for Carol Lynley in the drama Blackout (1988, with Joanna Miles), Slaughterhouse Rock (1988), Critters 2: The Main Course (1988, with Scott Grimes and stunts by Chris Doyle, John Escobar, Al Jones, Lane Leavitt, and Noon Orsatti), Night of the Demons (1988, with stunts by Lynn Salvatori), the horror film Criminal Act (1989, with stunts by Phil Chong, Bill McTosh, and Jeff Smolek), the drama Red Surf (1989, with stunts by Chuck Borden, B.J. Davis, Chris Doyle, Ken Lesco, Irving Lewis, and Dennis Madalone), the horror film Family Reunion (1989), and the Beauty and the Beast episode The Outsiders (1989, starring Ron Perlman and with Greg Barnett, Tony Epper, and Armin Shimerman).
In the '90s, Orcutt performed stunts in Cry-Baby (1990, with Iggy Pop and Denney Pierce), The Guardian (1990, with Miguel Ferrer, Natalia Nogulich, and stunts by Simone Boisseree, Pat Romano, and Kym Washington), Circuitry Man (1990, with Jim Metzler, Barbara Alyn Woods, Dennis Christopher, and stunts by Chuck Borden, Tony Cecere, George Colucci, B.J. Davis, Chris Doyle, Ken Lesco, Dyanna Lynn, and Dennis Madalone), The Adventures of Ford Fairlane (1990, with stunts by Janet Brady, Kerrie Cullen, Tom Huff, Johnny C. Meier, Frank Orsatti, J. Suzanne Rampe, and Lynn Salvatori), the thriller A Time to Die (1991, with stunts by Red Horton and Joe Murphy), The Rocketeer (1991, starring William O. Campbell), Toy Soldiers (1991, starring Wil Wheaton), Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey (1991), Beastmaster 2: Through the Portal of Time (1991, with stunts by Jeff Cadiente, Matt McColm, and Branscombe Richmond), Basic Instinct (1992, with stunts by Sandy Berumen-Justus, Janet Brady, Gary Epper, Tommy J. Huff, Maria Kelly, and Manny Perry), The Nutt House (1992, with stunts by Chuck Borden, George Colucci, B.J. Davis, Chris Doyle, Linda Fetters, Maria Kelly, Gene LeBell, Scott Leva, Dyanna Lynn, Dennis Madalone, J. Suzanne Rampe, and Patricia Tallman), CIA Code Name: Alexa (1992), Army of Darkness (1992, with Patricia Tallman), Toys (1992), Nemesis (1993, with Cary-Hiroyuki, Marjorie Monaghan, Branscombe Richmond, and stunts by Maria Kelly, Jimmy Ortega, and Manny Perry), and Boiling Point (1993).
Orcutt, a former power lifter, specialized in high falls. While filming an episode of the television series Stuntmasters for which she had to jump two hundred feet out of a hot-air balloon in Ireland, her stunt went wrong. Orcutt survived this accident but had a C6-C7 cervical injury which left her quadriplegic.