Re: Have you ever been surprised to see a Trek actor in something else
I always knew about Nimoy, but thanks to Netflix, I recently found out for myself that George Takei was in the first season playing the guest agent for the episode. This was back when the concept of the show was that the team had a couple regulars and then a guest star or two as a an agent brought in by the team leader with a specialty needed for that particular mission (a concept brought back for a couple of movies). George's specialty in this case was as a biologist (I think) and the team had to steal a biological weapon. It was pretty neat.
As the OP mentioned, it's more about being surprised to see a Trek actor in before you actually watched that movie/episode. With 50+ main cast members and countless supporting actors, not everyone can keep up with each and every Trek alum's career, y'know, and there's that nice sense of familiarity that they bring.
For example, when Under Siege came out, I knew it was a vehicle for Steven Segal, Tommy Lee Jones, and Gary Busey, sure. But when Colm Meaney popped up, I yelled at the screen, "WHOA, THAT'S CHIEF O'BRIEN!"
On a small twist on the thread, I smile when I recognize a Trek acting alum as the director of a given episode, particularly a couple of the Voyager cast who I'm convinced are among the hardest working directors in TV now. I also got a kick from seeing Jonathan Frakes' name pop up when watching Agents of SHIELD. Sure, I know they have a consistent and happy career as directors, but it's still nice to see their names.
I always knew about Nimoy, but thanks to Netflix, I recently found out for myself that George Takei was in the first season playing the guest agent for the episode. This was back when the concept of the show was that the team had a couple regulars and then a guest star or two as a an agent brought in by the team leader with a specialty needed for that particular mission (a concept brought back for a couple of movies). George's specialty in this case was as a biologist (I think) and the team had to steal a biological weapon. It was pretty neat.
As the OP mentioned, it's more about being surprised to see a Trek actor in before you actually watched that movie/episode. With 50+ main cast members and countless supporting actors, not everyone can keep up with each and every Trek alum's career, y'know, and there's that nice sense of familiarity that they bring.
For example, when Under Siege came out, I knew it was a vehicle for Steven Segal, Tommy Lee Jones, and Gary Busey, sure. But when Colm Meaney popped up, I yelled at the screen, "WHOA, THAT'S CHIEF O'BRIEN!"
On a small twist on the thread, I smile when I recognize a Trek acting alum as the director of a given episode, particularly a couple of the Voyager cast who I'm convinced are among the hardest working directors in TV now. I also got a kick from seeing Jonathan Frakes' name pop up when watching Agents of SHIELD. Sure, I know they have a consistent and happy career as directors, but it's still nice to see their names.
