Over the last near-50 years, we've had some wonderful guest actors in Star Trek. Which are the stand outs for you? You are allowed to have one off guest shot actors, recurring actors, or even guest stars from the films For me, some of the highlights are: James Cromwell- Zefram Cochrane (as well as several other guest characters in TNG and DS9) Brad Dourif- Lon Suder (Meld, VOY) Tony Todd- various roles (Kurn, Hirogen in 'Prey', VOY, but especially as the older Jake Sisko in The Visitor, DS9) Vaughn Armstrong- various roles , one of his best known being Admiral Forrest on ENT Jeffrey Combs- Weyoun, Brunt, Penk, Krem, Shran, Tiron Joel Grey- Caylem, 'Resistance' VOY Christopher Plummer- Chang, TUC James Sloyan- various characters (Admiral Jarok, TNG, Dr Mora Pol, DS9, Dr Jetrel, VOY, etc) Benedict Cumberbatch- Khan, Into Darkness (Great actor) Marc Alaimo- Gul Dukat, DS9 (as well as many other guest roles on TNG) David Warner- St John Talbot, STV:The Final Frontier; Gorkon, TUC; Gul Madred, 'Chain of Command'
I would question Hawking's appearance, because he appeared as himself, but certainly it was a memorable event. Louise Fletcher (Kai Winn) AFAIK the only Trek actor to have won an Oscar by the time he or she appeared on the show. Andrew Robinson Marc Alaimo Jeffrey Combs Majel Barrett (Lwaxana Troi is annoying but unforgettable) Benedict Cumberbatch
Alaimo, Andrew Robinson, Fletcher, and Combs were great, but I often think they should not have been "guests," as the quantity and quality of their performances were too great. Instead, one-time performances I loved: Stephen McHattie (Vreenak, perhaps the coldest character in Trek) Christopher Shea (Keevan) David Ogden Stears (the story hasn't aged well, but he still gives a great performance) Theodore Bikel (Worf's adoptive father) Lee Meriwether (I am for Sulu) William Utay (Vanik) Terry O'Quinn (Riker's old superior, Adm. Pressman) Hallie Todd (Data's daughter) Richard Beymer (Bajoran resistance hero) William Windom (obsessed captain of Constellation) A few with multiple appearances as a new character: Paul Winfield as Dathon (myth-obsessed captain) Paul Boehmer as One (future Borg) Phil Morris (21st century astronaut, would have been great as a Ent regular) And my award for the most enigmatic performance ... MAX OMEGA!!!
Mark Lenard - as both Sarek and the Romulan commander Andreas Katsulas - as Tomalak. I've always thought that his would have been a great character to include in one of the TNG movies.
Ricardo Montalban (Khan, Space Seed/ST-II) Laurence Luckinbill (Sybok, ST-V) Malcolm McDowell (Soran, ST-Generations) Daniel Davis (Prof. Moriarty, Elementary Dear Data/Ship in a Bottle) Carolyn Seymour (Mirasta Yale, episode First Contact) Ray Wise (Liko, Who Watches the Watchers) Leland Orser (insane hologram, Revulsion) Kurtwood Smith (Obrist, Year of Hell) Michael McKean (Evil clown, The Thaw) Martha Hackett (Seska)
Some of my personal faves: Andrew Robinson Marc Alaimo James Sloyan Louise Fletcher Majel Barrett Jeffrey Combs Hallie Todd Michael McKean Martha Hackett Mark Lenard Scarlett Pomers Manu Intiraymi
Off the top of my head: Mark Lenard Carolyn Seymour Gary Lockwood Shannon Fil Michelle Forbes Kirstie Alley Suzie Plaxston
Andrew Robinson was terrific as Garak. My favorite DS9 character. Jeffrey Combs did nice work in his various roles as well.
Jean Simmons Paul Winfield James Cromwell Bob Gunton David Warner Alice Krige Ricardo Montalban Jeremy Kemp Ellen Geer Ronny Cox Gary Lockwood Arnold Moss John Colicos
Great concept. You could even break it out by season as if giving an actual award (the Trekkie?). TOS: Season 1: Mark Lenard as the Romulan Commander.
This is a difficult question to answer. Sometimes an actor can have a very small part, yet do amazing things. In that vein, I think of the gentleman who played "Uhura's crewman" in The Man Trap. He had, what, three lines? Two, maybe? Yet he conveyed such character, warmth and genuineness that it really is an outstanding performance to me. I'll keep thinking about it, though...
Hey, don't laugh, Ro! In spite of that episode's shortcomings, I really enjoyed seeing those two again!
To be honest, did too! But, I know that I'm one of the few people that think that. Actually, my only beef is that they didn't use a post-Nemesis Riker and Troi instead!