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As one of the longest-running science fiction franchises, Star Trek has been airing in various forms, both TV series and movies, since 1966. As such, hundreds of actors appeared in the franchise over the years. Some played their roles for a long time, while others only had a short appearance.
All Star Trek fans know the leading actors, of course, but there are plenty of actors who had a smaller part in Star Trek and later went on to become famous thanks to their other roles. With such an abundance of fascinating characters, it's easy to forget some of the actors who were in Star Trek.
7 Bill Hader
These days, Bill Hader is drawing attention to himself thanks to starring as the lovable assassin and actor Barry in the TV series Barry. However, Bill Hader has a long list of acting roles in movies and TV series in various genres. Those fans who would like to see his face in a Star Trek movie are out of luck, but the good news is that Hader isn't entirely absent from the franchise.
In the 2013 movie Star Trek: Into Darkness, Hader voiced the ship computer of Vengeance, the ship that the movie's main villain, Khan (played by Benedict Cumberbatch), takes over. And the name is more than appropriate since Khan is on a path of vengeance throughout the entire movie.
6 Chris Hemsworth
Even though he appeared in the Star Trek franchise relatively recently, in the 2009 movie Star Trek, it's easy to forget that Chris Hemsworth was a part of the universe. His role as James T. Kirk's father, George Kirk, has been since overshadowed by Hemsworth playing the God of Thunder, Thor, in the MCU.
Plus, George Kirk only appears at the beginning of the movie. He sacrifices his life to save his wife and his newborn son and other crew members after the Romulan Nero attacks their ship. It was Hemsworth's first major Hollywood movie, and his career hasn't stopped ever since.
5 Dwayne Johnson
Today, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is known for playing action roles as well as comedy ones. Originally starting out as a wrestler, Johnson used his physicality in multiple movies. And his one-episode role in Star Trek was no exception to this rule.
Dwayne Johnson played a Tsunkatse champion in Star Trek: Voyager and an episode appropriately titled "Tsunkatse." His face is recognizable to all those familiar with the actor's work, so if somebody decides to stream the series on Netflix, they're bound to come across Johnson sooner or later.
4 Famke Janssen
Famke Janssen is no stranger to science fiction and fantasy roles, having played Jean Grey in the X-Men trilogy, or the evil witch Muriel in Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters (2013). However, in the early 1990s, even before her appearance in the James Bond movie GoldenEye (1995), Janssen had a more civil role in one Star Trek: The Next Generation episode titled "The Perfect Mate."
Janssen played Kamala, an ambassador's daughter who was tasked to undergo an arranged marriage but built a bond with Sir Patrick Stewart's Captain Jean-Luc Picard instead. The actress lent her talent and charm to the role and left a strong impression even in a limited space. Of course, she and Stewart later reunited as Jean and Professor X in the X-Men series, in roles very different from Star Trek.
3 John Rhys-Davies
John Rhys-Davies is a name well familiar to all fans of epic fantasy since he played Gimli in the popular Lord of the Rings movie trilogy. The English actor proved he could portray real-life historical figures as well.
Despite Star Trek being undisputed science fiction, John Rhys-Davies played the genius painter Leonardo da Vinci in two Star Trek: Voyager episodes, "Concerning Flight" and "Scorpion," proving that he wasn't out of place neither in Middle-earth nor on a starship.
2 Kirsten Dunst
Kirsten Dunst started her acting career as a child, having starred opposite Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise in the 1994 vampire movie Interview with the Vampire. She later went on to appear in the Sam Raimi Spider-Man trilogy as Mary Jane Watson or the Oscar-winning recent western The Power of the Dog (2021). But before that happened, Dunst had a one-episode role in Star Trek: The Next Generation in 1993.
She played the character of Hedril, a girl who uses telepathy to communicate with others, in the episode "Dark Page." Considering the nature of her character, it gave Dunst a chance to show off her rich facial expressions since Hedril wasn't using her voice in the same way as most Star Trek characters do.
1 Seth McFarlane
Some celebrities don't hide their love for Star Trek and Seth McFarlane is one of them. All fans of science fiction comedies might be familiar with McFarlane's show The Orville that's similar to Star Trek in many ways and can function as a parody of the franchise.
But Seth McFarlane appeared in the actual Star Trek as well, more specifically two episodes of Enterprise in which he played Ensign Rivers. An interesting fact is that his character didn't get a name until his second appearance. Before that, Ensign Rivers was simply known as "a young engineer."