Beyond the TREK Tree

[RobertScorpio]

Several stars of STAR TREK have done work outside of Star Trek...what do you think are some of the best acting jobs of your favorite TREK actors outside the realm of STAR TREK...here are a few of my choices..

William Shatner; I think his best acting job beyond trek is obviously DENNY CRANE. But before CRANE I would probably say that, for me, his best non-TREK work was his two stints on THE TWILITE ZONE. The guy who sees the Gremlin on the wing of the plane. And the other one where played a guy obsessed with a Fortune Cookie machine. INCUBUS was just, well, strange. His worst acting job OUTSIDE of Trek has to be that awful western he did where he played twins. Has to be the worst western of all time. Just terrible. I haven't seen THE INTRUDER yet, have any of you???

Nimoy...My favorite non-TREK role of his was his guest stint on Columbo. He plays a doctor who tries to kill grandpa Walton with dissolvable sutchers. Nimoy was really good in that.

Avery Brooks...American History X. That movie is really tough to watch because of the subject matter. But Avery does a great job in that movie.

Patrick Stewart. Hmmmmmmm..I guess his work with XMEN would be the natural choice..but not for me. I would go with Conspiracy Theory. He played the bad guy in that movie and did a pretty good job.

Mirina Sirtis. I have seen some of her pre-TNG soft porn...not bad....not bad. Well, her acting wasn't all that good then either. But she has two really good assets that elevate the viewing pleasure.

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On a side note. I recently got COLUMBO seasons six and seven. The collection includes Shatner's first appearence on Columbo, circa 1977. KOENIG is also in the episode. But in the same collection was an episode with Lawrence Luckinbill (SYBOK). And another episode features Worf's step dad, Theordor Bikel I think?, as the murderer. It is fun watching these old shows from the 60-70s and seeing future stars. I recently started getting EMERGENCY and ADAM 12 DVD and my kids actually are digging Emergency.

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back to the topic at hand..

Walter Koenig...definately his gig as Bestor on BAB-5. He really plays that role really good. Never thought he was a good actor until I saw him on BAB-5

 

[Andrew_Kearley]

Patrick Stewart did loads of great work before he got involved with Hollywood and sci-fi. He's fantastic as Sejanus in "I Claudius", mesmerizing as Karla in "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" - and he doesn't even say anything. And his performance as Lenin in "Fall of Eagles" is amazing, he simply personifies the man.

 

[sbk1234]

I have a feeling Patrick Stewart's name will come up a lot. I thought he was great as Ahab in Moby Dick. He also did a great Scrooge.

I thought Walter Koenig was fantastic as Bester in Babylon 5. It was about as opposite as a character could get from squeeky clean Chekov.

 

[Michael]

I thought Walter Koenig was fantastic as Bester in Babylon 5. It was about as opposite as a character could get from squeeky clean Chekov.

I've got to second that. Walter Koenig, Andreas Katsulas, Peter Jurasik and Richard Biggs — they were the highlights of Babylon 5.

 

[Cap'n Caveman]

Don't forget, Nimoy did a couple seasons of "Mission: Impossible" right after Star Trek, as well as "In Search Of..." I loved those two shows.

Shatner does not seem to take himself too seriously, so he's great to watch in whatever he does these days. I loved the time he was a guest speaker in a Star Wars tribute, and he's going on about the impact of Star Trek while George Lucas, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, and a bunch of other Star Wars alums are kind of looking at him and each other with "Huh?" expressions, when Shatner notices the looks he's getting, stops, pulls out his invitation from his jacket pocket, mumbles to himself out loud as he reads the note, and then in a loud voice, "Star...WARS!!!???" Very funny stuff.

I can't watch DS9 because I can't stand Avery Brooks' acting in that series, but I agree that he gave a fine performance in American History X. I used to watch "Spenser: For Hire" and "A man Called Hawk" way back when, and he was great in those shows, so I don't know why I dislike him so much in DS9.

 

[sbk1234]

I was just watching Far and Away. I forgot what a scenery-chewing performance Colm Meaney gave as the "Wharf Boss", Mike Kelly. Truly inspired.

 

[RobertScorpio]

Shatner's appearence on that Star Wars tribute was the best part, I thought. And the broadway version of MY WAY, with the Storm Troopers dancing along side Shatner, was brilliant. Only Shatner could have done that and pulled it off. Great post captain caveman. But I have to know..did you have any 'fun' with those three bimbos who hung around you on that cartoon???

Rob

 

[Cap'n Caveman]

Shatner's appearence on that Star Wars tribute was the best part, I thought. And the broadway version of MY WAY, with the Storm Troopers dancing along side Shatner, was brilliant. Only Shatner could have done that and pulled it off. Great post captain caveman. But I have to know..did you have any 'fun' with those three bimbos who hung around you on that cartoon???

Rob

Unga bunga!! Me have fun with girls all time. Me pull many useful objects from fur!

Watching season one of "Mission: Impossible", there is a Star Trek guest actor in just about every episode. I swear some of the sets (corridors and such) look familiar too.

And I forgot Colm Meaney in The Commitments as the Elvis-loving father. He was great!

 

[Zulu Romeo]

Speaking of Patrick Stewart, I remember seeing him in Masterminds (think a really really bad but extremely silly and enjoyable Die Hard in a school). Naturally he played the villain with the twirly moustache (not literally, but he had a moustache nevertheless). His performance had to be seen to be believed.

 

[auntiehill]

Alexander Siddig's roles in Syriana and Kingdom of Heaven were both very impressive. I think he's a very talented actor who, unfortunately, because of his ethnicity, has had a hard time in the industry.

Patrick Stewart's Christmas Carol was pretty impressive, and I loved Colm Meany in Layer Cake and Intermission. I don't think many people notice the incredible range that Colm has as an actor.

I also think that John Billingsley has also done an impressive amount of work, aside from ENT. He's a very talented character actor. He's had recurring roles on "Cold Case, Prison Break, The Nine," --not to mention all the one-shot guest appearances he does. He's EVERYWHERE, and he always does a great job.

 

[RobertScorpio]

Alexander Siddig's roles in Syriana and Kingdom of Heaven were both very impressive. I think he's a very talented actor who, unfortunately, because of his ethnicity, has had a hard time in the industry.

Patrick Stewart's Christmas Carol was pretty impressive, and I loved Colm Meany in Layer Cake and Intermission. I don't think many people notice the incredible range that Colm has as an actor.

I also think that John Billingsley has also done an impressive amount of work, aside from ENT. He's a very talented character actor. He's had recurring roles on "Cold Case, Prison Break, The Nine," --not to mention all the one-shot guest appearances he does. He's EVERYWHERE, and he always does a great job.

Yes to all of those. Siddig was great in both of those movies. And his role on 24, though brief, was pretty good too.

Rob

 

[sbk1234]

Patrick Stewart was a riot in LA Story with Steve Martin. I always thought he'd make a great Col. Klink if they ever remade Hogan's Heroes.