Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson
Star Trek has had many strange, unexpected, and interesting guest stars. To narrow it down, I’ve stuck to those who aren’t primarily professional actors. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson may be one of the most bankable movie stars out there, but he wasn’t even an actor when he appeared in Star Trek: Voyager in 1999.
Of course, one may argue that professional wrestling is acting; but it’s actually improvised, not choreographed as many people assume. Putting it in a completely different realm than scripted acting. It’s closer to sport than scripted acting, I’d argue.
Though it was not The Rock’s very first acting role, it was second, it was his first role of any note. Still, the transition to acting wasn’t a move that came out of the left field. It was a promotional tie-in, as WWE Smackdown and Voyager were both on the fledgling network UPN. In the episode Tsunkatse, Seven of Nine is kidnapped, and made to fight in a bloodsport; the Rock is, of course, her opponent, using his signature wrestling moves. His character was left unnamed, implying that The Rock was playing himself. He even did that famous eyebrow thing he does
Because all things in showbiz are self-referential, a 2023 episode of The Rock’s sitcom Young Rock includes a fictionalized version of the filming of Tsunkatse, in which The Rock bristles at being typecast as a wrestler. That episode of Young Rock features actress Marquel Skinner playing Seven of Nine actress Jeri Ryan.