7 Actors from Star Trek Films Who Have Also Done Voice Acting
By John Tuttle
A number of actors from the Star Trek films from over the decades have also been renowned voice actors having cameos as well as leading parts in feature films, video games, and animated TV series.
1) William Shatner
Shatner, the actor who played the very first (and who many consider the only) Captain Kirk of Star Trek, has had a rather colorful career in many genres of performing. Not least among them is his voice-overs. Shatner first appeared as Captain James T. Kirk on The Original Series in 1966. The show ran for just three years, but soon after gathered a cult following. In 1973, Star Trek: The Animated Series first aired, and it ran until October 12, 1974, for a total of 22 episodes.
Two actors who played starship captains in Star Trek: Patrick Stewart and William Shatner. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
William Shatner headed the voice cast of the animated TV show which also comprised several other actors from The Original Series. He went on to supply his voice in several animated feature films; he played the melodramatic possum in the Dreamworks movie Over the Hedge, in the end of which his character and a squirrel are talking about Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan. Shatner also played the malevolent role of General Shanker in the animated sci-fi film Escape from Planet Earth.
Nimoy as Spock in TOS.
2) Leonard Nimoy
Leonard Nimoy, renowned for his popular half Vulcan, half human character Spock, has contributed enormously to the Star Trek universe. Like many of the other Star Trek: TOS actors, he was a voice actor for The Animated Series as well as numerous Trekkie video games. Nimoy starred in the first six Star Trek movies and appeared in The Next Generation series and the 2013 film Star Trek: Into Darkness. He also supplied his voice for other characters in movies like The Transformers: The Movie (1986) and the animated film Zambezia (2012).
3) Nichelle Nichols
Actors from the original Star Trek series (L-R) Nichelle Nichols, George Takei and Walter Koenig, sing ‘God Bless America.’ (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Nichelle Nichols, another prominent Star Trek: TOS actor, can be seen singing (and quite well too) in The Original Series as well as The Animated Series. This quality has obviously given her more of a reputation for vocal talent. She too has done voice-overs for Star Trek video games. Although frequently typecast in her historic role of Nyota Uhura of Star Trek, Nichols also supplied her voice to recurring roles in animated series such as Spider-Man (1994-98) and guest starred in Batman: The Animated Series (1992-95).
4) George Takei
Like the three previous actors mentioned, George Takei went on to voice his Star Trek character Sulu in The Animated Series and various Trek video games. Takei, in particular, has done a ton of voice work in the entertainment, his latest being the part of Ohga in Blazing Samurai.
His TV voiceovers include appearances on Ultimate Spider-Man (2012-17) and Transformers Prime (2010-13); his video game voiceovers include parts in Clone Wars Adventures and Marvel Super Hero Squad: The Infinity Gauntlet; and his animated film voiceovers include Free Birds and the 1998 Disney classic Mulan.
Benedict Cumberbatch. (Photo by Tim P. Whitby/Getty Images)
5) Benedict Cumberbatch
Cumberbatch achieved his semi-recent claim to fame through his leading roles such as Sherlock and Doctor Strange. Of course, modern Trekkies will recognize this actor with his role as the youthful Khan in Star Trek: Into Darkness.
The youngest actor mentioned in this article, Cumberbatch has landed some fantastic roles in some of the most popular film universes including The Hobbit, MCU, and Star Trek. He is the voice behind both Sauron and the dragon Smaug in The Hobbit trilogy. He is also the voice of the British dog “Classified” in the Penguins of Madagascar movie.
6) Sir Patrick Stewart
Known to the Star Trek universe as Jean-Luc Picard, captain of the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-E) and the main character of the TV series Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-1994). Captain Picard was able to meet the great Admiral James T. Kirk only in the film Star Trek: Generations.
In his live-action roles, Patrick Stewart has portrayed such prestigious fictional characters as Captain Nemo, Captain Ahab, and Ebenezer Scrooge, not to mention Charles Xavier of X-Men. Stewart has contributed his voice to a range of animated film productions including Prince of Egypt, Bambi II, Ice Age: Continental Drift, and most recently The Emoji Movie.
Simon Pegg. (Photo by Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images)
7) Simon Pegg
Simon Pegg’s early career is associated with roles in zombie/apocalyptical productions, but he has since gone on to act in some of the greatest action, fantasy, and sci-fi screen entertainment of our day. Besides portraying “Scotty” in the reboot films, he has been a guest star in shows like Doctor Who and the animated Star Wars: The Clone Wars.
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Pegg acted in J.J. Abrams’ Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Steven Spielberg’s The Adventures of Tintin. He also has supplied the voice for animated and CGI movie characters, and particularly rodents, in roles like the mouse Reepicheep in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader and the weasel Buck in several of the Ice Age movies.