Some Star Trek series were fortunate enough to cast experienced actors in major roles, but few generated the excitement and buzz around Star Trek: Enterprise when the show’s producers announced that Scott Bakula would take the captain’s chair for the series. Bakula, who’d experienced success with NBC’s Quantum Leap, (1989-1993,) agreed to take the role when producers explained the show’s premise and setting, which takes place 100 years before Captain Kirk and his crew begin their 5-year mission. Star Trek: Enterprise enjoyed a 4-season run on the UPN network, and some fans return to the series on streaming simply to enjoy Bakula’s presence and his portrayal of Captain Jonathan Archer, as the veteran actor has a loyal fanbase that’s built steadily since his early days on the stage and screen.
Scott Bakula’s early career
Scott Bakula was born in St. Louis, Missouri on October 9th, 1954. His desire to perform began early and by the time he graduated Kirkwood High School, he’d appeared in a variety of stage productions. After appearing in several Broadway productions such as Romance, Romance, and Cabaret, Bakula attended the University of Kansas but left during his sophomore year. While the young actor enjoyed live stage performances, Hollywood would soon call his name.
Bakula’s early television roles
Scott Bakula’s first television role was the made-for-TV movie called I-Man, which debuted in April of 1986. Bakula plays Jeffrey Wilder, a cab driver who becomes indestructible after being exposed to an alien gas. The movie doubled as a series pilot, but the network declined to pick it up. However, Bakula’s natural screen presence and good looks would land him other television roles on such shows as Murphy Brown, Gung Ho, and a starring role on the short-lived Eisenhower and Lutz, a sitcom where Bakula plays a struggling young lawyer with an office full of misfit employees and his shiftless father. This series would only last 1 season.
Quantum Leap
Scott Bakula’s most popular series to date, Quantum Leap, would become a smash hit and air on NBC for 5 seasons. Bakula, along with veteran actor Dean Stockwell, created something truly special with this series about time-traveling scientific genius Sam Beckett and his holographic best friend, Al Calavicci, as they leap from one era of the past to the other and try to return Dr. Beckett to his own timeline. This series still boasts a loyal fanbase more than 35 years later!
Beyond Enterprise
After Star Trek: Enterprise ended, Bakula found success once again with NCIS: New Orleans, which ran on CBS for 7 seasons. Since then, he’s returned to his first love, the live stage, and in 2024, starred in Man of La Mancha, alongside his wife Chelsea Field, at the Peterborough Playhouse in New Hampshire. As someone who attended the show and met Scott Bakula afterward, it was clear why the producers of Star Trek: Enterprise wanted him to headline the show. It would also not surprise this writer at all if we haven’t seen the last of this talented man on our television screens!
Edit: Bakula did not receive a degree, as he left college to perform in a touring group of Godspell.