Star Trek has shown a lot of great actors over the decades, but there are some surprising big-name stars you forgot (or never knew) were on a Trek show!
It’s natural that Star Trek has gathered an amazing array of guest stars over its long run and many incarnations. Several were before they were famous, like Joan Collins, Famke Janssen, and Teri Hatcher. Others, such as Terry O’Quinn of Silver Bullet, The Stepfather, and Young Guns fame, at that time, were already widely recognized performers. Yet it’s incredible how some actors appeared on a Star Trek show and were somehow forgotten by many of their own fans.
They often had brief roles, but sometimes became more notable later on. While it’s a long list of familiar TV actors, these are five big Hollywood names you probably forgot appeared in a Star Trek television series.
Kirsten Dunst | Star Trek: The Next Generation season 7, episode 7, "Dark Page"
This is a rare case of a child star who blossomed into a successful and well-adjusted adult actress. Kirsten Dunst has dabbled in sci-fi now and then. But some fans will ignore that an early role for her was in this TNG episode, which was also the final appearance on the series of Majel Barrett’s Lwaxana Troi. Dunst plays Hedril, a member of a telepathic race that Lwaxana takes under her wing.
Deanna Troi realizes something is off about her mother, especially when Hedril falls into a pool and Lwaxana falls into a coma. Entering her mind, Troi learns that Hedril looks just like Kestra, the sister Troi never knew she had, who tragically died in a drowning accident. In both roles, Dunst already shows her great talents as an actress in TNG, and just over a year later, Dunst was sharing the big screen with Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt in her breakout role as Claudia in Interview With a Vampire.
Seth MacFarlane | Star Trek: Enterprise season 3 episode 20 “The Forgotten” and season 4 episode 15 “Affliction”
Seth MacFarlane is known for creating and voicing the long-running animated hit Family Guy. However, Star Trek fans will also know him for the sci-fi series The Orville, which is less parody than a love letter to Trek (and often better than some Trek shows). Yet somehow it’s constantly overlooked that MacFarlane played the role of Ensign Rivers in engineering on two episodes of Star Trek: Enterprise.
Rivers’ role was small as he was chewed out by a fatigued Commander "Trip" Tucker, who served as the Enterprise's chief engineer. Rivers popped up in a brief cameo in a later episode just to help with repairs. McFarlane plays the role pretty straight, yet it’s little wonder he’d craft his own answer to Trek, having been on the real thing, not to mention his love for the franchise.
Taylor Sheridan, Star Trek: Enterprise season 3 episode 12 “Chosen Realm”
Mention Taylor Sheridan to most people and they’ll instantly recognize him as the producer and co-creator of the massive hit Yellowstone and its various spinoffs. Before that, Sheridan was an actor with roles on Veronica Mars and Sons of Anarchy. He also added a role on Star Trek: Enterprise for a surprising addition to his credits.
Sheridan played Jareb, a member of a religious cult who took over the Enterprise in hopes of ending a religious war by wiping out their enemies. It was a smaller part despite more lines than the other cultists, yet it’s fun to see the future superstar creator of streaming television acting under alien makeup.
Kelsey Grammer, Star Trek: The Next Generation season 5, episode 18 “Cause and Effect”
This may be a bit more known than other cameos, yet still neglected at times. TNG's “Cause and Effect” was doing the time loop story before Groundhog Day came out. The Enterprise is caught in a time loop, constantly repeating being destroyed over and over. It’s a brilliantly made episode with the fun touch of no two loops filmed the same way.
The disaster always involves the ship colliding with an older Starfleet vessel. After breaking the loop, the Enterprise contacts that ship, the USS Bozeman, captained by Morgan Bateson. Playing the role was Kelsey Grammer, who was then starring as Dr. Frasier Crane on the hit comedy Cheers. Grammar would reprise the role of Dr. Crane in his own spinoff, Frasier, winning four Primetime Emmys for his portrayal of the character, and he remains a go-to TV and movie star whose Trek character found new life in various novels.
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson Star Trek: Voyager: season 6, episode 15 "Tsunkatse"
Dwayne Johnson is arguably the most successful pro wrestler turned Hollywood star in history. Johnson is part of several billion-dollar franchises, including Fast & Furious, Moana, Jumanji, and he has dabbled in TV shows like Ballers. He is also one of Hollywood’s most bankable names. Despite all that, it’s overlooked that one of Johnson’s very first acting roles was on Star Trek: Voyager. This was a bit of cross-promotion as Voyager and WWF SmackDown aired on UPN and with wrestling so hot in 2000, a guest appearance was natural.
Billed as "The Rock," Johnson played The Champion, a fighter in a galactic version of MMA, whom Seven of Nine was forced to fight. Johnson brought his usual charisma to the role and even used his Rock Bottom finisher on Seven. It proved Johnson had the goods to be a future mega-star and add a major “before we knew them” name to Star Trek’s guest star list.
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