Before they were famous. Trek guest spots by future celebs

[jamestyler]

Jason Alexander. Christopher Lloyd. Mae Jemison. Stephen Hawking. The Rock. Those are just off the top of my head. I'm sure there are more.

The Rocks a odd one. He was a huge star at the time but it was his first (if I remember rightly) acting gig.

Going back to the original topic... Ashley Judd and Lois Lane are the only ones I remember. Though I can't remember if Terri Hatcher was doing Superman at the time or not. I've blotted out most of that show from my memory.

 

[trilbymonkey]

Robert Duncan McNeill in Masters of the Universe, playing alongside a young Courtney Cox

 

[trilbymonkey]

Oh wait, I got it backwards... Interesting, anyway!

 

[Finn]

Jason Alexander. Christopher Lloyd. Mae Jemison. Stephen Hawking. The Rock. Those are just off the top of my head. I'm sure there are more.

The Rocks a odd one. He was a huge star at the time but it was his first (if I remember rightly) acting gig.

Going back to the original topic... Ashley Judd and Lois Lane are the only ones I remember. Though I can't remember if Terri Hatcher was doing Superman at the time or not. I've blotted out most of that show from my memory.

No. I believe Superman (Lois and Clark; The New Adventures of Superman, actually) premired during TNG's final season, that that episode with Teri Hatcher was definitely not in the seventh season.

 

[trilbymonkey]

Don't think Kirstie Alley was well known before she did TWOK.

I'm not sure on that one but I did notice her character was played by someone else in TSFS

 

[jamestyler]

No. I believe Superman (Lois and Clark; The New Adventures of Superman, actually) premired during TNG's final season, that that episode with Teri Hatcher was definitely not in the seventh season.

Wow... I thought it was made a few years earlier. Cheers

 

[Therin of Andor]

Strange how you see people getting their start in Trek, but not often vice versa, i.e, big stars doing Trek. I mean, we've had Oscar winners Louise Fletcher, F. Murray Abraham, Joel Grey, etc, but little others.

Whoopi Goldberg, James Cromwell... Cromwell's price should have went up when he won for "Babe" but he'd already promised a return visit to ST.

Frank Langella has been nominated for an Oscar, but went uncredited in his three DS9 episodes.

I'm not sure on that one but I did notice her character was played by someone else in TSFS

ST II was Alley's movie debut, hence her "Introducing..." credit.

ST III was Robin Curtis's movie debut, hence she also received an "Introducing..." credit.

Persis Khambatta received a "Presenting..." credit in TMP because she'd already made some motion pictures in India.

 

[Therin of Andor]

Little Nikki Cox (Sarjenka in TNG's "Penpals") grew up to play Mary Connell in "Las Vegas".

 

[steevo]

Famke Janssen in "A Perfect Mate"
Teri Hatcher in "The Outgrageous Okona"

Brenda Strong in "When The Bough Breaks"
Steven Culp in "Nemesis" -well, in the cut original ending.

 

[I am not Spock]

^Yeah, i knew several Housewives veterans were on Trek. Thanks for those.

Culp did show up in Enterprise as well, but I don't recall if that was before or after his Desperate Housewives stint. Mark Moses from that show was Jonathan Archer's dad as well, in 'Broken Bow'.

 

[jamestyler]

Strange how you see people getting their start in Trek, but not often vice versa, i.e, big stars doing Trek. I mean, we've had Oscar winners Louise Fletcher, F. Murray Abraham, Joel Grey, etc, but little others.

Whoopi Goldberg, James Cromwell... Cromwell's price should have went up when he won for "Babe" but he'd already promised a return visit to ST.

Frank Langella has been nominated for an Oscar, but went uncredited in his three DS9 episodes.

I'm sure Kelsey Grammer and David Ogden Stiers could be thrown in there. Though a general audience would most likely know them from their TV work.

Culp did show up in Enterprise as well, but I don't recall if that was before or after his Desperate Housewives stint. Mark Moses from that show was Jonathan Archer's dad as well, in 'Broken Bow'.

It would have been before. Hayes was in a handful of episodes in what? Second of third season? Then off to Desperate Housewives where the pilot aired late 2004.

What I thought odd about that deleted Nemesis scene though is that Enterprise didn't just steal the XO, Archer suddenly had Picards new chair transported form the late 24th century.

 

[erastus25]

Strange how you see people getting their start in Trek, but not often vice versa, i.e, big stars doing Trek. I mean, we've had Oscar winners Louise Fletcher, F. Murray Abraham, Joel Grey, etc, but little others.

Jason Alexander. Christopher Lloyd. Mae Jemison. Stephen Hawking. The Rock. Those are just off the top of my head. I'm sure there are more.

READ the TITLE! Jason Alexander, Christopher Lloyd, Stephen Hawking and The Rock were all already well known ( though Christopher Lloyd was to a lesser extent).

Der...you're right of course. Funny thing is that I usually HATE when people don't pay attention to the thread topic and post unrelated garbage...and then I go and do it myself!

 

[Red Ranger]

Susan Howard, Kang's wife Mara in Day of the Dove, later went on to star as Donna Krebs, Ewing half-brother Ray Krebbs' wife in Dallas. -- RR

 

[Trek Survivor]

Christian slater in start trek 6.

Read the title people! BEFORE they were famous. Christopher Lloyd, Christian Slater etc don't count!!

 

[jamestyler]

The comments by and replies to I am not Spock's post aren't really people not reading the topic. Just replies to his comment that future stars seem to be more common than current stars on Trek.

Maybe a little off topic - but clearly people are reading the title, just that poster had something else to add and replies are commenting on both

 

[I am not Spock]

Thanks for clarifying, jamestyler!

Actually, when I read the responses to my thread, it seems there have actually been plenty of famous Trek guests, both pre-fame and post-fame.

Still, I wish we would get even more 'massive name' stars. I almost wish Tom Hanks got the Cochrane role in FC, even though James Cromwell is quite well known, and he played the part really well.

I suppose Eric Bana is a pretty well known name in the new movie.

 

[Captaindemotion]

^Yeah, i knew several Housewives veterans were on Trek. Thanks for those.

Culp did show up in Enterprise as well, but I don't recall if that was before or after his Desperate Housewives stint. Mark Moses from that show was Jonathan Archer's dad as well, in 'Broken Bow'.

I'm going to go off-topic, but it's related to the DH-ST connection. I read an interview with Felicity Huffman, Lynette in DH, where she said that she auditioned for a role in Trek but was turned down. I got the impression it was as a regular. The only ones I can think of that she might have suited would (and which fit time-wise) be Janeway or Kira.

Technically, Steven Culp doesn't meet the title criteria - before doing NEM or ENT, he had played RFK in the movie 13 Days (opposite the new Captain Pike, Bruce Greenwood, who played JFK) and he was in the West Wing.

Most of the big names - Alley, Hatcher, Dunst, Jansen, Collins - have already been mentioned. Of course, the thread also depends on what you mean by 'celebs.' Actors like Penny Jonson Gerald or Gregory Itzin were in Trek before becoming more recognisable in 24; ditto Michelle Forbes and Homicide. Bill Campbell was in TNG as The Outrageous Okuna before starring in The Rocketeer and The 4400. But are any of them celebs?

You could say that Colm Meaney meets the criteria. He was a recurring, nameless character in TNG for some time, before becoming famous in movies like The Commitments or Far And Away, then his character became Chief O'Brien, obviously becoming one of modern Trek's best loved characters. Even Alexander Siddig is arguably better known for his post-Trek work - roles in Syriana, 24 and Spooks (MI5 as it's called in the US) have brought him to a wider audience than DS9 ever did.

There's also Clint Howard, brother of Ron. Not really a celeb, but he's quite recognisable through his cameo's in all of little bro's movies. He played Balok in TOS' Corbomite Maneouvre, then would go on to star in Gentle Ben. He also turned up in ENT as a Ferengi.

 

[erastus25]

You could say that Colm Meaney meets the criteria. He was a recurring, nameless character in TNG for some time, before becoming famous in movies like The Commitments or Far And Away, then his character became Chief O'Brien, obviously becoming one of modern Trek's best loved characters.

Don't forget the Nic Cage classic Con Air!

 

[MeanJoePhaser]

Jason Alexander. Christopher Lloyd. Mae Jemison. Stephen Hawking. The Rock. Those are just off the top of my head. I'm sure there are more.

The Rocks a odd one. He was a huge star at the time but it was his first (if I remember rightly) acting gig.

Right, cuz wrasslin' aka "sports entertainment" is real.

 

[Admiral Bear]

There's also Clint Howard, brother of Ron. Not really a celeb, but he's quite recognisable through his cameo's in all of little bro's movies. He played Balok in TOS' Corbomite Maneouvre, then would go on to star in Gentle Ben. He also turned up in ENT as a Ferengi.

Clint Howard was also in DS9's Past Tense, the double episode where Sisko, Bashir and Dax are transported back to Earth during the Bell riots due to a transporter accident aboard the Defiant.