There’s a very long thread about actors most well known for Star Trek appearing in other series, but I have been rewatching Star Trek: Voyager on Netflix lately and have been noticing the inverse – spotting actors who later went on to have bigger roles in some other program playing some small role on Star Trek. I’ve heard that it’s actually joke in Hollywood that every actor appears in Star Trek at some point in their career. So have you ever spotted any instances of this?
Tonight, inspiring this thread, I rewatched the Voyager episode “Gravity”. The actress who played the alien woman Tuvok and Paris befriend when they’re stranded on a harsh desert planet looked very familiar. Sure enough, she was Lori Petti, who played Lolly on Orange is the New Black. Ironically she didn’t have any scenes with Kate Mulgrew, who of course also is in OITNB and played Captain Janeway on Voyager.
Back in season 3 of Voyager, Sarah Silverman appeared in the two part episode “Future’s End”.
Jonathan Banks, Mike from Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, played an alien in an episode of Deep Space Nine, although I’d have to go look at his IMDB page to remember which episode. I have to admit I didn’t actually spot that one; I only learned about it from IMDB. I suspect he was wearing so much makeup he was hard to recognize.
The TNG episode “Half a Life” has David Ogden Stiers as the character Timicin. He was well known for portraying Charles Emerson Winchester III in MAS*H.
Right, but that was the inverse of the OP - a well-known actor who appeared in Star Trek. WildaBeast is looking for actors who appeared in a small role in Star Trek, then later went on to bigger parts.
Charles Napier, who played Adam in “The Way to Eden,” went on to have a long career in movies and TV, most notably in Dallas, The Blues Brothers, Rambo: First Blood, Part II, The Silence of the Lambs, and the Austin Powers movies. He’s one of those actors whose name you might not know, but you still recognize him immediately.
I’m sad to find that Mr Napier passed away in 2011, which seems like ages ago.
Ashley Judd’s very first acting credit (per IMDb) was as Ensign Robin Lefler in two episodes of TNG: “The Game” and “Darmok.” I’m not sure, but I seem to remember she was a short-term love interest for LaForge, but that might have been someone else.
I think most of the actors in ***TOS *** had been working for a while, but weren’t all that well known at the time. Examples include Marianna Hill, who went from being Dr Helen Noel to portraying the town floozy in High Plains Drifter, and Kim Darby, who went from “Miri” to co-starring in the original True Grit. I’d be hard pressed to name any other roles they’ve played.
The same goes for Robert Walker, Jr, who played Charles Evans in “Charlie X.” The only other role of his that I can think of off the top of my head is Ensign Pulver in the movie of the same name (which was actually filmed before his appearance on TOS).
Another example is Leonard Nimoy himself, who had been in the industry for years before landing his breakout role of Spock. (And the rest, as they say, is history.)
Shatner did not do a lot pre TOS. He did a few Twilight Zones and other shows. Afterwards he did TJ Hooker, The practice, Boston Legal, and other well known shows,
I think Nichelle Nichols was the closest thing to a newbie to appear on TOS. So far as I know, she had previously done only one episode of The Lieutenant, where she had received an “And introducing” credit.
Both Walter Koenig and George Takei had done television before, but probably weren’t recognized by a lot of viewers. The same could be said of Jimmy Doohan, who had been in the business for years.
Majel Barrett, aka M Leigh Hudec, had also spent years playing bit parts on TV (I remember her as a waitress in the original The Untouchables) before Roddenberry gave her the role of Nurse Chapel in TOS.
Ah yes, I remember his character in Voyager! I thought he looked familiar, but I couldn’t quite place him (I didn’t really watch That 70s Show that much), and I didn’t bother to look him up. According to IMDB he was in an episode of DS9 as well.
