First Contact

[RainKing]

Anyone have any good memories of having recognized Star Trek actors or actresses from previous work during one of the show's initial runs? And if so, how did this affect your first opinion of the casting? I ask because after thinking about it, I realized that there were actually just a few (throughout all the shows) that I knew ahead of time.

Almost everyone on earth knew who Captain Archer was before Broken Bow, but I had never seen Dune at the time (or anything else Patrick Stewart did prior) so even he was brand new to me. Neither had I seen Roots so I didn't recognize Burton either.

So, for me, the only Star Trek actors I recognized before their respective casting in a series are:

Captain Archer: Quantum Leap
Guinan: Lots of stuff
Wesley Crusher: Stand By Me
Kate Mulgrew: Remo Williams (I LOVED that movie as a kid)

And the one who promoted me to start this thread is Rosalind Chao - Keiko O'Brien. She played Arnold Jackson's teacher in Different Strokes and I recognized her right away. She was only in a handful of episodes but I had a big crush on her as a kid and was jealous that none of my teachers looked like that.

Oh yeah, just remembered... I also recognized Odo from Benson.

 

[T'Girl]

I'd seen Carl Urban and Zoe Sandana in other things before.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

I probably saw Reading Rainbow before I ever saw ST:TNG, given my age at the time.

 

[Richard Baker]

Kate Mulgrew was also 'Mrs. Columbo', a short lived spin off sereis from Peter Falk's 'Columbo'
then she was a commercial spokesperson for AT&T...

 

[trekker670]

I probably saw Reading Rainbow before I ever saw ST:TNG, given my age at the time.

I was born in '91, so I was raised on both RR and TNG. It wasn't until about 3rd grade that I realize the connection

 

[Nerys Myk]

I'd seen Carl Urban and Zoe Sandana in other things before.

I've never seen Carl Urban or Zoe Sandana in anything.

I did see Karl Urban in LOTR and Zoe Saldana in POTC.

LeVar Burton in Roots

Rosalind Chao in M*A*S*H

Patrick Stewart in Dune

Ethan Phillips in Benson

John Cho in Harold and Kumar

 

[Armored Saint]

Not even in American Pie (one of the two milf guys) or House (he plays a sadomasochist patient)?

 

[Captain Rob]

I was a big fan of "Spencer for Hire" and liked the spinoff "A Man Called Hawk". So I was happy when Avery Brooks got DS9. Didn't like his look and that he played his part like a pompous ass.
I remembered Patrick Stewart from "Dune" and from a really horrible movie called "Lifeforce" that came out in Summer 1985. The only good thing about that movie was the boss female space vampire that walked around naked all the time. And least we forget "I, Claudius" from the early 70's. I recently caught a reun of the series on PBS and was almost laughing at Patrick Stewart's wavy dark hair.
"Benson" was one of my favorite shows as a kid. We got both Odo and Neelix from that show.
Anyone else think that Scott Bakula looks a bit like ALF? Or is it just me.

 

[T'Girl]

Carl Urban or Zoe Sandana

My apologies to the Spelling Stasi.

 

[Nerys Myk]

Not even in American Pie (one of the two milf guys) or House (he plays a sadomasochist patient)?

Never saw the American Pie film and only a few episodes House.

 

[Ithekro]

I definately recognized Odo from being in Benson. And of course Archer from Quantum Leap. Sometimes guest stars from other roles. Sometimes I spot them later in roles that predated Star Trek, or in a few cases during. Especially when it came to Babylon 5.

 

[Smellmet]

Robert Picardo in Innerspace and Simon Pegg in Mission Impossible 3

 

[USS Triumphant]

Believe it or not, Shatner from The Twilight Zone. (I was born after the original run of either, but I saw Shatner's TZ appearance in rerun before I ever saw Star Trek in rerun.)

Levar Burton from Reading Rainbow.

Whoopie Goldberg from numerous things.

Rene Auberjonois from Benson.

Tim Russ from Seaquest 2032 (I missed that I had previously seen him on TNG and DS9 somehow, but I remembered his character from Seaquest).

Scott Bakula from Quantum Leap and Murphy Brown.

Zachary Quinto from Heroes.

Zoe Saldana from Avatar.

Karl Urban from Hercules and Xena.

John Cho from Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle.

Anton Yelchin from Criminal Minds.

And Bruce Greenwood from Nowhere Man.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

I probably saw Reading Rainbow before I ever saw ST:TNG, given my age at the time.

I was born in '91, so I was raised on both RR and TNG. It wasn't until about 3rd grade that I realize the connection

I didn't make the connection until an episode or Reading Rainbow where they visited the TNG set and showed Michael Dorn putting on his makeup.

 

[Finn]

TOS- Impossible as I wouldn't be born til about ten years after it ended
TNG- Probably Levar Burton as I'm sure I saw Reading Rainbow before TNG
DS9- None of them
VOY- I remember seeing the cast in a magazine before it premiered. Picardo was the only one I recognized.
ENT- Scott Bakula- DUH

 

[The Wormhole]

As a kid, I recognized most of the voices of Trek actors on Gargoyles. Though, even to this day I learn someone from Trek was there that I never realized before. That show practically was the second animated Trek series.

 

[NOVE9]

I remember robert picardo from total recall as the taxi driver.

 

[Shawnster]

Robert Picardo from China Beach and The Wonder Years

Wallace Shawn aka Grand Nagus Zek from The Princess Bride

 

[USS Triumphant]

Wallace Shawn aka Grand Nagus Zek from The Princess Bride

Oh, ya, but if we're not just doing main cast and are going to get into recurring or guest actors, we'll be here all day.

But then again, maybe being here all day is the point of community message boards for some of us.

Nevermind. Carry on.

 

[Captain Rob]

Jeri Ryan (in her 20's) was in an episode of "Matlock" clad only in a bikini. I think it was that her and her also bikini-clad girlfriend would go around seducing and ripping off older men at a beach resort.

And lets not forget Garak playing the psycho bad guy in one of the "Dirty Harry" movies.