The Best Star Trek Actor From Each State
By Jeremy Dick
Nakamura – Courtesy of CBS
Hawaii – Clyde Kusatsu
Hawaiian actor Clyde Kusatsu has been acting for decades. His first major breakout role was on the classic sitcom All in the Family, as Reverend Chong. As Chong, he and Archie Bunker would have a memorable feud over the Reverend’s unwillingness to baptize Archie’s grandson without his parents’ permission.
Later, Kusatsu would appear several times on the TV series Star Trek: The Next Generation. On the show, he plays Starfleet Vice Admiral Nakamura. In his first appearance, he’s revealed to be an old confidant of Captain Picard. While serving together, Nakamura would complain about “snap inspections” being done by higher ranking officers.
In the present time taking place in the episode, Nakamura is now a Starbase commander. Contradicting his past feelings about the, Nakamura orders a snap inspection of the USS Enterprise during their visit. He even has Data shut down to check out his programming. Let’s just say Picard wasn’t exactly a big fan.
Kusatsu would reprise the role in other appearances on the show. His final appearance, however, was a depiction through an alternate timeline created by Q. It’s an interesting character on the series, showing how much trouble certain higher-ups in Starfleet can be. But that’s an attest to Kusatsu’s acting talent, as he played the role so well.