To land a role in Star Trek is to land the role of a lifetime. While it's not always a guarantee that you'll land bigger and better things following your time with the franchise, you will be remembered forever by some of the most diehard and devoted fans in the entire universe. The Star Trek franchise is a brand whose fans remember them, long after they're done performing under our banner.
So it's why it's such a great gig to get. You land a role with Trek and you can ride that train for decades to come. It's an honor, truly, to play a role in Star Trek. So much so that people make whole livings off of doing the convention circuit and meeting fans. It's pretty great to be a former Star Trek actor.
The thing that makes it even more impressive is that those who wear these uniforms and take on these characters know what a privilege it is to play these roles. Speaking to the Guardian, Star Trek; Enterprise star Scott Bakula spoke about how much he enjoyed playing Captain Jonathan Archer, the lead man on the series, saying;
"It was a blast. It was a great privilege. The icing on the cake is to get to know [William] Shatner and Patrick [Stewart] and and(SIC) Kate [Mulgrew] and everybody.
They’re all really fun and different people. There’s a burden in that sci-fi fans have a very high standard. If they don’t like you then it’s not good but, when they do embrace you, it’s a lovely marriage."
With the fact that Enterprise, at the time, wasn't a truly beloved franchise, it speaks volumes that Bakula would still feel this way 23 years after the show premiered. He took a lot of flack for his run on the Enterprise, undeservedly so in our opinion. Fans weren't always the kindest and many were burnt out from the franchise at that point.
Yet, with time and distance, fans have come to see just how impressive and important his turn on Star Trek was. The series Enterprise may never be seen as pivotal as The Next Generation or The Original Series, but it more than holds its own against any other show in the Star Trek Rolodex.