Summary
Several actors appeared inStar Trekas minor characters before being cast in their more iconic roles. TheStar Trekfranchisehas a long history of making great casting choices, and some actors made such an impression that they were brought back to play multiple characters. With actors and characters as iconic as William Shatner’s Captain James T. Kirk and Leonard Nimoy’s Spock, it’s no surprise thatStar Trekactors often became most associated with just one role.This applies to characters like Odo (René Auberjonois) and Tuvok (Tim Russ) as well, but these actors had appeared inStar Trekshowsbefore.
Many factors contribute toStar Trek’ssuccess, including the franchise’s incredible characters and the actors who play them. Even with modernStar Trekprequels likeStar Trek: DiscoveryandStar Trek: Strange New Worlds,the producers have taken great care when choosing new actors to portray iconic characters. WhilemanyStar Trekcharacters have now been played by two (or more) actors, just as manyTrekactors have portrayed multiple characters. Here are 10Star Trekactors who popped up in the franchise before being cast in their most iconicTrekroles.
The Complete Star Trek Timeline Explained
Star Trek’s timeline spans a thousand years of Starfleet and the United Federation of Planets, with alternate realities and time travel galore.
10Mark Lenard
Known for portraying Ambassador Sarek in Star Trek: The Original Series & Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Before taking on the role ofSpock’s father Ambassador Sarek,Mark Lenard appeared as an unnamed Romulan Commander inStar Trek: The Original Seriesseason 1, episode 14, “Balance of Terror.” As one of the first Romulans seen on screen,Lenard’s Romulan Commander shocked Captain Kirk and his crew with his Vulcan-like appearance.Although the Romulans and the Federation had been involved in a war before the events of “Balance of Terror,” they had never actually seen one another.
Mark Lenard’s performance as the Romulan Commander so impressed the producers ofTOSthat they thought of him when casting began for Spock’s father, Sarek. InTOSseason 2, episode 10, “Journey to Babel,“Lenard originated the character of Sarek alongside his human wife and Spock’s mother, Amanda (Jane Wyatt).Lenard would go on to portray Sarek in threeStar Trekfilms and one episode ofStar Trek: The Next Generation.
Mark Lenard also appeared as a Klingon Captain inStar Trek: The Motion Picture, making him one of the few actors to portray a Romulan, a Vulcan, and a Klingon.
9Diana Muldaur
Known for portraying Dr. Katherine Pulaski in Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Diana Muldaur is most recognizable toStar Trekfans asTNG’sDr. Katherine Pulaski, but she had previously appeared as two different characters onStar Trek: The Original Series.Muldaur’s first appearance came inTOSseason 2, episode 20, “Return to Tomorrow,” whereshe played Dr. Ann Mulhall, an astrobiologist serving on the USS Enterprise.InTOSseason 3, episode 5, “Is There In Truth No Beauty?,” Muldaur portrays Dr. Miranda Jones, a psychologist accompanying theMedusan ambassador Kollos.
Diana Muldaur’s 3 Star Trek TOS & TNG Characters Explained
Diana Muldaur appeared in two episodes of Star Trek: The Original Series long before she took on the role of Dr. Pulaski in Star Trek: TNG.
After playing two doctors in two differentTOSepisodes,Muldaur took on the role of Dr. Katherine Pulaski forStar Trek: The Next Generationseason 2.Although Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden) had served as the Chief Medical Officer on the USS Enterprise-D, McFadden had been fired beforeTNG’ssecond season. With a personality similar to Dr. Leonard McCoy’s (DeForest Kelley), Pulaski didn’t quite gel with the rest ofTNG’scast and she left the show after only one season.
8Armin Shimerman
Known for portraying Quark in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.
With his portrayal of Quark inStar Trek: Deep Space Nine,Armin Shimerman almost single-handedly changed the perception of the Ferengi inStar Trek. But Quark was not the first Ferengi Shimerman had played. Long before the character of Quark was even conceived,Shimerman appeared as Letak, one of the first Ferengi on screeninStar Trek: The Next Generationseason 1, episode 5, “The Last Outpost.”
Armin Shimerman had an uncredited appearance as a Betazoid gift box inTNGseason 1, episode 11, “Haven.”
Armin Shimerman also played Ferengi DaiMon BractorinTNGseason 2, episode 21, “Peak Performance,” the commander of the Ferengi ship Kreechta.The Ferengi were initially meant to be major villains onTNG,but they came across as too humorous and were difficult to take seriously. Thankfully, Shimerman got to redeem himself with his portrayal of Quark, making the Ferengi bartender a complex and fascinating character.
7Marc Alaimo
Known for portraying Gul Dukat in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.
As theCardassian Gul Dukat onStar Trek: Deep Space Nine,Marc Alaimo consistently delivered a menacing, but captivating performance. Before appearing as Dukat, however,Alaimo popped up in several episodes ofStar Trek: The Next Generationas various characters.Alaimo’s first credited appearance was as the Romulan Tebok inTNGseason 1, episode 26, “The Neutral Zone.”
Alaimo had an uncredited appearance inTNGseason 1, episode 7, “Lonely Among Us,” as an Antican delegate named Badar N’D’D.
Marc Alaimo also played Gul Macet, one of the first Cardassians seen on screen inTNGseason 4, episode 12, “Wounded.” Alaimo’s final appearance inTNGcame in the two-parter “Time’s Arrow,” in which he played the human card shark, Frederick La Rouque.Alaimo would go on to appear as Gul Dukat in 35 episodes ofDS9,making him one ofStar Trek’smost prominent Cardassian characters.
6Max Grodénchik
Known for portraying Rom in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.
Like Armin Shimerman before him, Max Grodénchik also appeared as two different Ferengi onStar Trek: The Next Generationbefore taking over the role of Rom onDS9.InTNGseason 3, episode 19, “Captain’s Holiday,” Grodénchik portrayed a Ferengi named Sovak,who followed thearcheologist Vash (Jennifer Hetrick)to Risa where he had a run-in with Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart).
Later, inTNGseason 5, episode 21, “The Perfect Mate,” Grodénchik played the Ferengi Par Lenor, who tricked his way onto the Enterprise-D to acquire an empathic metamorph named Kamala (Famke Janssen).Grodénchik is, of course, most known for playing Rom, the lovable Ferengi engineer onDS9.Constantly picked on by his brother Quark, Rom eventually became the Grand Nagus of the Ferengi.
5Robert Duncan McNeill
Known for portraying Lt. Tom Paris in Star Trek: Voyager.
Before taking on the role of Lt. Tom Paris inStar Trek: Voyager,Robert Duncan McNeill played Starfleet cadet Nicholas Locarno inTNGseason 5, episode 19, “The First Duty.“Part of theflight team known as Nova Squadron, Locarno and his friends, including Wesley Crusher (Wil Wheaton), were involved in an accident at Starfleet Academy that killed a fellow cadet.
“Polar Opposites”: Robert Duncan McNeill Compares His 2 Star Trek Characters
Robert Duncan McNeill plays Lt. Tom Paris and Nick Locarno in Star Trek, and he compares and contrasts his two identical-looking characters.
The character of Tom Paris was largely based on Nick Locarno, but Locarno’s actions in “The First Duty” made him too difficult to redeem. Initially,Voyager’sproducers sought a different actor to portray Tom Paris, but no one was better suited than Robert Duncan McNeill.Unlike Locarno, Paris is ultimately a good guy who has made some mistakes, and he redeems himself throughoutVoyager’sseven seasons.
Robert Duncan McNeill returned to voice Nicholas Locarno inStar Trek: Lower Decksseason 4, in which the former Starfleet cadet turned full villain.
4René Auberjonois
Known for portraying Constable Odo in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.
Throughout seven seasons ofStar Trek: Deep Space Nine,René Auberjonois' Odobecame one of the show’s most compelling and beloved characters. Before being cast as Deep Space Nine’s security officer,René Auberjonois appeared as Colonel West inStar Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.West was a Starfleet officer involved in the conspiracy to sabotage peace talks between the Federation and the Klingon Empire.
René Auberjonois' role as Colonel West went uncredited because all of his scenes were cut from the theatrical release of the film, although his scenes are included in the 2022 Blu-ray edition. Between his search for belonging, his romance with Major Kira Nerys (Nana Visitor), and his contentious friendship with Quark,Odo has an incredible journey onDS9and is beautifully brought to life by René Auberjonois.
3Tim Russ
Known for portraying Lt. Tuvok in Star Trek: Voyager.
Tim Russ may be most recognizable as Lt. Tuvok, but he has the distinction of being one of the few actors to have appeared inTNG, DS9,and aStar Trekfilm.Russ’s firstTrekappearance comes inTNGseason 6, episode 18, “Starship Mine,” in which he plays Devor,one of the mercenaries thwarted by Captain Picard. Russ then went on to portray a Klingon mercenary named T’Kar inDS9season 2, episode 4, “Invasive Procedures.”
Before taking on the role of Tuvok,Russ popped up inStar Trek Generationsas a lieutenant aboard the USS Enterprise-B, who tries to beam aboard El-Aurian refugees.As the first Vulcan main cast member since Spock, Tim Russ had big shoes to fill, but he more than lived up to expectations,making Tuvok a fascinating and complex character. Russ returned as Tuvok inStar Trek: Picardseason 3, to promote his fellow Voyager crew member Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan).
Star Trek: Voyager’s Tuvok Starfleet Career Explained
Star Trek: Voyager’s Tuvok has a long Starfleet career, from Captain Sulu’s USS Excelsior, to the USS Voyager under Captain Janeway, and beyond.
2Todd Stashwick
Known for portraying Captain Liam Shaw in Star Trek: Picard.
As the grumpy, but lovable Captain Liam Shaw, Todd Stashwick became the breakout star ofStar Trek: Picardseason 3, but some fans may not know the actor had been inStar Trekbefore.InStar Trek: Enterpriseseason 4, episode 9, “Kir’Shara,” Stashwick portrayed Talok,a Romulan working undercover as a Vulcan. Although Talok attempted to further the goals of the Romulan Star Empire and their desire to conquer Vulcan, his plan was ultimately thwarted by Captain Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula).
Todd Stashwick returned toStar TrekinPicardseason 3, as the captain of the USS Titan. Having survived the devastating Battle of Wolf 359,Shaw did things by the book and was none too happy when Admiral Picard and Captain William Riker (Jonathan Frakes) commandeered his ship.Despite an initially cold introduction, Captain Shaw developed into one ofPicardseason 3’s most compelling and tragic characters.
1Elias Toufexis
Known for portraying L’ak in Star Trek: Discovery.
InStar Trek: Discovery’sfifth and final season, Elias Toufexis portrayed L’ak, the first Breen to be unmasked, but he had previously appeared in an earlier episode of the show.InDiscoveryseason 1, episode 3, “Context is for Kings,” Toufexis portrayed a human convict nicknamed Cold.Cold was being transferred alongside Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green), and he pointed her out to his fellow inmates.
Discoveryseason 5 followed Captain Burnham and the USS Discovery as they searched for the powerful treasure of the Progenitors.Elias Toufexis appeared throughout the season as L’ak,a member of Breen royalty who ran away with a human courier named Moll (Eve Harlow).In their search for the Progenitors' technology, Moll and L’ak evaded the Federation for much of the season before Discovery eventually caught up with them. Elias Toufexis joins the list of actors who appeared inStar Trekbefore landing the role they would later become known for.
