The Best Star Trek Actor From Each State
By Jeremy Dick
Minnesota – Winona Ryder
Spock’s human mother Amanda Grayson has been depicted in prior iterations of Star Trek by other actresses. In the original series and the feature films, Jane Wyatt plays her. Majel Barrett does her voice in Star Trek: The Animated Series. And when J.J. Abrams would reboot the franchise with the 2009 movie, veteran actress Winona Ryder would be the one in the role.
In the story, Spock joins Starfleet based on the Vulcans seeing his human mother as a “disadvantage”. Later, a distress signal is sent from Vulcan, leading the Enterprise to investigate. They come to realize it’s a trick, and they bear witness to the destruction of Vulcan. Spock’s mother Amanda unfortunately perishes as a result.
Amanda Grayson isn’t likely the first role one would think of when hearing the name Winona Ryder. Chances are you might think of something like Beetlejuice or Mr. Deeds instead. But Ryder’s minor role in 2009’s Star Trek movie was still done well and a great part to have on her resume.
Lately, Ryder has been making waves in entertainment again. She has an acclaimed role in the Netflix original series Stranger Things. She’ll be reprising the role in an upcoming second season of the smash hit show.