Star Trek has featured many amazing guest stars, but here are our top 10 favorites!
Star Trek has had a plethora of amazing guest stars including Kelsey Grammar, Ashley Judd, Majel Barrett-Roddenberry, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Kristen Dunst, and Andy Dick. With so many talented actors playing guest parts on Star Trek it can be hard to pick out ten, but here are our top 10 favorites.
10. King Abdullah II bin al-Hussein of Jordan
King Abdullah II bin al-Hussein of Jordan was never going to win an Emmy for his non speaking role in Star Trek: Voyager, but that’s okay because it’s not why he made the list. King Abdullah’s uncredited apperance in the Star Trek: Voyager episode “Investigations” was arranged as a surprise for him by his US advisor on a trip to the United States in 1996.
“I would have been thrilled just to visit the set but this is too much” said Abdullah on being a part of Star Trek: Voyager. King Adbullah makes our list because his wonderful cameo shows that Star Trek is for everyone; it doesn’t matter if you’re a king or a pauper, we can all enjoy Star Trek and the future it represents.
Next: Seth McFarlane
9. Seth McFarlane
You know Family Guy creator and star Seth McFarlane loves Star Trek, he even used Star Trek this to make a political point on Twitter, but did you know Seth McFarlane had a minor part in two Star Trek: Enterprise episodes?
Seth McFarlane portrayed Ensign Rivers in the Star Trek: Enterprise episodes “Affliction” and “The Forgotten.” McFarlane wasn’t always the big shot animation king you see, once upon a time he was just a guy in Hollywood looking for gigs.
Seth McFarlane has used
in
Family Guy
too many times to mention, including one episode with the entire cast of
Star Trek: The Next Generation.
This is still our favorite
Family Guy
Star Trek moment though.
Next: Stephen Hawking
8. Stephen Hawking
Professor Stephen Hawking is the Director of Research at the Centre for Theoretical Cosmology within the University of Cambridge and is perhaps the best known living physicist in the world.
Professor Hawking’s accomplishments include winning these awards:
Adams Prize
Eddington Medal
Maxwell Medal and Prize (
Heineman Prize
Hughes Medal
Albert Einstein Award
RAS Gold Medal
Dirac Medal
Wolf Prize
Prince of Asturias Award
Andrew Gemant Award
Naylor Prize and Lectureship
Lilienfeld Prize
Albert Medal
Presidential Medal of Freedom
On top of all that Hawking’s book A Brief History of Time appeared on the British Sunday Times best-seller list for 237 weeks, which is a record.
Surely though Professor Hawking is most proud about portraying a hologram of himself playing cards with Data, Isaac Newton, and Albert Einstein.
Scientists love Star Trek, because unlike other lesser sci-fi franchises it’s based on science.
Next: Adam Scott
7. Adam Scott
On Parks and Rec Adam Scott played Ben Wyatt, an ultra nerd who enjoys the finer things in life like Batman, Game of Thrones, and of course Star Trek. In real life Adam Scott isn’t much of a Trekker, but we that’s ok because we still like to think of him as Ben Wyatt.
Ben Wyatt would have been over the moon about being in First Contact.
We tried to stick to the Star Trek series instead of movies for this list, because it’s hard to call someone a “guest star” in a movie. We didn’t include Christopher Lloyd for his portrayal of Klingon Commander Kruge in Star Trek III: The Search For Spock because it didn’t feel like a guest role, he was just a star of that particular Star Trek movie. We made an exception for Adam Scott in this case however because the role was so minor… and we really wanted to post a funny Ben Wyatt Star Trek fanfic clip.
Next: Barbara Babcock
6. Barbara Babcock
Barbara Babcock won an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series in 1981 for her portrayal of Grace Gardner on Hill Street Blues, but she was stealing hearts in the stars long before that.
Babcock played many roles on Star Trek including a talking cat, a Tholian, a pulsating green blob, a computer terminal, and of course Mea 3. Mea 3 appeared in the Star Trek TOS episode “A Taste for Armageddon” and was an absolutely fascinating character. Mea’s home planet of Eminiar VII was at war with their neighboring planet Vendikar. Vendikar and Eminiar VII’s war was a simulated war though, all fighting was done through computer models which determined casualties. The citizens of these planets would commit suicide in disintegration chambers as a result of the calculations. These conditions were agreed upon by both planets and any failure to fulfill them would have resulted in real war.
If you haven’t watched “A Taste for Armageddon” and learned to appreicate the range and talent of Barbara Babcock we suggest you do so!
Next: Dean Stockwell
5. Dean Stockwell
You might have most recently seen Dean Stockwell portray the sinister Number One on Battlestar Galactica, but many of us know him from his run on Quantum Leap opposite Star Trek: Enterprise‘s Scott Bakula. On Quantum Leap Dean Stockwell played holographic Admiral Al Calavicci who served as the guide for Scott Bakula’s Sam as he leapt into different lives.
In the Star Trek: Enterprise episode “Detained” Dean Stockwell once again shared the screen with Scott Bakula, but this time they were not friends. Stockwell was Tandaran Colonel Grat, a military officer in charge of Detention Complex 26. Bakula’s Captain Jonathan Archer was shot down when his shuttlecraft accidentally cam too close to the prison moon that Detention Complex 26 resided on.
Grat and Archer sparred back and forth and in this wonderful episode of Star Trek: Enterprise. Bringing Scott Bakula and Dean Stockwell back together was a treat for Quantum Leap fans and Star Trek fans alike.
Next: Kurtwood Smith
4. Kurtwood Smith
You probably know Kurtwood Smith as Red Foreman, the angry dad from That 70’s Show who was always threatening to put a foot in your ass. Before he was cast as the curmudgeonly father of Point Place Wisconsin though Kurtwood Smith spent a lot of time exploring the galaxy.
Smith has been all over Star Trek appearing as the Federation President in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, Thrax in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode “Things Past,” and Annorax in the Star Trek: Voyager episodes “Year of Hell” and “Year of Hell, Part II”.
A Klingon, a Cardassian, and a Kremin, If you don’t think Kurtwood Smith has range you might need a foot in your ass.
Next: Mark Lenard
3. Mark Lenard
Mark Lenard is Sarek the father of Spock. We say that Lenard is Sarek because even though he was a guest star he owned the role and truly made it his own. It’s had for a guest star to make a lasting impression on a franchise as large and expansive as Star Trek, but Mark Lenard managed to do it with his portrayal of Sarek.
Lenard’s Sarek appeared in Star Trek: The Original Series, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: The Animated Series, and in three of the Star Trek movies.
It wasn’t just Sarek that Mark Lenard was known for in Star Trek; Lenard’s Romulan Commander in Star Trek: The Original Series is the first Romulan we see with Vulcan ears. So Lenard wasn’t the first Romulan, but he was the Romulan that revealed their relation to the Vulcans.
Next: Clint Howard
2. Clint Howard
Clint Howard is the younger brother of Ron Howard. While Ron Howard was making audiences fall in love with him as Opie on The Andy Griffith Show and Richie Cunningham on Happy Days Cline Howard was being super creepy and becoming an icon on Star Trek: The Original Series.
Clint Howard appeared in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Enterprise, but it’s his appearance in TOS that makes him second on our list.
Clint Howard’s Balok only appears in one episode of Star Trek: The Original Series, but that was enough. Balok became a Star Trek legend and his episode of “The Corbomite Maneuver” has become a fan favorite.
Balok is a diminutive little alien, but his presence in Star Trek stands tall. Clint Howard recalled auditioning for George Lucas when he was in his twenties and Lucas called him “Commander Balok”. Few guest stars ever make the kind impression that Clint Howard has on Star Trek.
Next: Wallace Shawn
1. Wallace Shawn
Finally we come to the top spot on our list and the amazing Wallace Shawn. Wallace Shawn is probably best know for playing Vizzini in The Princess Bride, his work on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine shouldn’t be overlooked though.
Shawn played Zek the Grand Nagus of the Ferengi Alliance. Zek’s appearances on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine were an absolute delight; they were full of fun and humor as Wallace Shawn created an incredibly fascinating character. There have been so many alien leaders and dignitaries in Star Trek, but very few stood out like Zek.
What truly impressed us was how Zek grew as a character; by Wallace’s final appearance on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine he was a whole new Ferengi.
Clint Howard, Mark Lenard, and Wallace Shawn were all so amazing in their appearances on Star Trek. Figuring out the order of this top three was next to impossible, so in the end it had to come down to personal taste. Our love of the Ferengi ended up shinning through for Wallace Shawn.
Next: Star Trek's Best Green Aliens
What do you think of our list? Who is your all time favorite Star Trek guest star? Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook.