3 actors you wouldn’t have expected to be in Star Trek

Star Trek has the ability to attract all types of acting talent

There are just names that if you said were on Star Trek, fans would nod and say “yeah, that tracks”. Whether they’re science fiction stars from other series, activists from the real world, political rockers, or even just real-life scientists, there are just names where you nod and don’t even question the fact that person was on the show.

Names like Scott Bakula, Tom Morello, and even Stephen Hawkings all just kinda make sense. Be it due to their beliefs, their careers, or their history with the genre. Yet, some names still startle fans when they re-watch older episodes.

That’s why we’re talking about some of the names that may surprise you if you were to find out they were on Star Trek. Now, this isn’t all of the unexpected names, just three of them. There are others who are just as surprising.

Three actors you didn’t think would have been on Star Trek

John Larroquette

The Night Court Legend himself, John Larroquette was a standout actor with comedic chops most well known for playing lawyers. All of them. If there’s a TV lawyer, it’s played by Larroquette. Sorry, it’s in his contract. Three of Larroquette’s biggest roles saw him play a lawyer in Night Court, The Boston Legal, and The West Wing. If it’s legal or politically based, Larroquette will likely have an interest, but science-fiction? Not so much. At least not compared to his other work. Yet, Larroquette had a role on Star Trek: III as a Klingon named Maltz. A fantastic actor but one people often forget popped up on Trek.

Christian Slater

Christian Slater isn’t the most dynamic actor but he’s charismatic as heck. That charm and his bad-boy look made him a mega-star in the 80s and 90s, so it’s no surprise the studio wanted him for a cameo role in Star Trek VI. Slater had a minor role but it was a nice treat to see him as the CO of the Excelsior.

Andy Dick

This is the first and only member of this list who had no business being in Star Trek. Andy Dick has his fair share of issues, but not even factoring them in, Dick isn’t a great actor and was a standup comedian with a bit of name value when Voyager brought him on board for the season four episode “Message in a Bottle”. The episode is actually very good, it’s just held back by Dick.