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Patrick Stewart: ‘I’d go straight home and drink until I passed out’

As he beams aboard another Star Trek adventure, the 81-year-old actor talks about playing Picard as an intergalactic Prospero, hitting the bottle during an exhausting Macbeth – and reaching page 310 of his memoir

P atrick Stewart is slightly surprised to be talking about the impending second series of Star Trek: Picard, during a break from shooting the third in California. The reason is that he so firmly turned down the first season. After playing Captain Jean-Luc Picard, 24th-century hero of Starfleet, in 176 TV episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation and four spin-off movies, Stewart was convinced that “I’d done everything I could with Picard and Star Trek”.

But the producers – Akiva Goldsman (A Beautiful Mind), Michael Chabon (Wonder Boys), Kirsten Beyer (Star Trek: Discovery), Alex Kurtzman (The Mummy) – persisted. And Stewart “took a look at the names, and there were Academy award and Pulitzer prize winners. So I thought the most courteous thing to do would be to have a meeting to tell them face to face why I was going to turn them down.”

Over coffee, he explained his refusal: been there, done that, got the nylon polo neck tunics. But the petitioners asked if they could still make a pitch. They spoke for 20 minutes, Stewart recalls on Zoom from his Los Angeles home, after which he was intrigued enough to ask if they could send him something on paper. Reading those 36 pages “convinced me that there was enough new stuff to explore”.

Their clinching argument was that both the actor and his character had been in their 50s during The Next Generation, which ended in 1994; now they were octogenarian, with Picard retired from space and in exile, for reasons gradually clarified, at his family vineyard. The show would explore the intervening decades. “And when I looked at it like that,” says Stewart, “my attention was grabbed. Because they were doing the opposite of getting me to repeat what I’d done before. We would not be treading old ground just because that’s what a lot of people might like to see. It would be a new person with a different set of values and relationships.”

Did he watch old episodes or rely on his memories? “The latter. As the seven seasons of TNG went by, the distinction between Jean-Luc Picard and Patrick Stewart became thinner and thinner, until it was impossible for me to know where he left off and I began. So much of what I believed and felt went into that show. So coming back to the part, I felt that the impact of time on Jean-Luc would just be there in where I am now. And that’s how it has felt.”

Was the deal that if anyone played the older Picard, it would be Stewart – or was there a risk of switching on to find, say, his friend Ian McKellen in the part? “Oh, I would have watched that,” Stewart laughs. “What a clever idea. No. They were absolutely clear: if I passed on it, there would be no show. And I believed them and thought that was generous.”

As a classical stage actor – his focus before the Star Trek and the X-Men franchises gave his career a more lucrative second act – Stewart had twice played Prospero in The Tempest . Did the writers deliberately intend a parallel between the old, haunted astronaut of Star Trek: Picard and Shakespeare’s exiled Duke of Milan, brooding on a desert island? “Yes!” says Stewart. “That sense of the future lacking the significance it used to have. And a genuine fear that he doesn’t know how to handle things now.”

Filmed back-to-back due to confidence in the project, the second and third seasons “show much more of the romantic and emotional life of Picard, which there was very little of in the original series. There’s an increasing feeling that he missed out on an awful lot of living.”

But wasn’t Picard’s status as a sort of space-monk, ascetic and celibate, a deliberate contrast with predecessor William Shatner’s James Tiberius Kirk, who had a new date or old flame on every planet? “Yes, that’s true. That was a factor in The Next Generation. But by the time of the sequel, we felt able to explore whether Picard might be able to find a way of living alongside someone.”

McKellen – who achieved a similar late-career screen superstardom – has spoken of the shock experienced by actors who move from classical theatre to fantasy franchises, especially the intensity of the fans. Did Stewart also find the adjustment difficult? “It’s not that I found it difficult. I just initially refused to acknowledge it. Throughout the first season of The Next Generation, I was continually getting these invitations to attend something called ‘conventions’. And my reaction was no because that had nothing to do with what I was trying to achieve: I wanted the show to have an impact on screen, not me standing on a platform talking about it.

“But at the end of the season, I accepted one in Denver. They took me to the back of this big building and I said, ‘What if no one turns up?’ And they looked at me like I was talking gibberish. I walked out and there were more than 3,000 people in this vast auditorium. And it overwhelmed me – not just the enthusiasm for my being there but an intense sense of affection and respect. Which wasn’t something I’d always experienced in this profession. After that, I’d do three or four of these conventions in each season.”

The success of The Next Generation initially led Stewart to turn down the first X-Men movie in 2000. “I said, ‘Look, I know this isn’t science fiction but it’s fantasy, and I’ve done that.’ But they persuaded me that it wouldn’t be like Star Trek, so I did it. And yet again I was proved wrong. Both shows broadened my sense of what it was to be a professional actor. I’ve been an actor since I was 18 – and I’m now 81. I think the last 10 to 15 years have had more impact on me than anything before and left me more than ever compelled to do this job.”

That period included, in theatre, an acclaimed Macbeth, a Waiting for Godot in the West End and on Broadway, and then Harold Pinter’s No Man’s Land . Both the Beckett and the Pinter were as a double act with McKellen, who was also in the first X-Men film. Did he talk the reluctant Stewart into signing up? “No. This is the odd thing. Although I always admired Ian – an actor of that quality and passion, how could you not? – we didn’t really know each other well then.”

At the RSC, they tended to be playing the lead in different shows. “It’s only in the last couple of decades that we’ve become like brothers. It was due to X-Men, in fact. I’ve always been quite a shy person. But we were shooting X-Men in Toronto and in adjoining trailers at the base camp. On that kind of technically complex film, you spend far more time sitting waiting to work than working. So we’d hang out together in his trailer or my trailer and it was the element that made me most grateful for X-Men: that it brought Ian into my life. Ian was already cast in Waiting for Godot as Estragon and was looking for a Vladimir, and he chose me. In both the Beckett and the Pinter, it helped that we are able to tune into each other very easily. Although actually, we are very different people. There are many differences and distinctions.”

Apart from McKellen having been a key gay rights campaigner and Stewart being married to a third wife, Sunny, the pair are also a theatrical War of the Roses: McKellen from Lancashire (Burnley), Stewart Yorkshire-born (Kirklees). The white-rose actor laughs: “Yes. Indeed. And there’s also what Ian calls my obsession with my poor education. He won a scholarship to go to Cambridge, and I left school at 15 and two days. I was at a secondary modern school, where a great English teacher first put Shakespeare into my hands and asked me to read it aloud. But I feel a sense of intimidation at Ian’s level of education. Although I now understand he spent most of his time at Cambridge acting rather than studying.”

Although both have played Prospero and Macbeth, Stewart’s move to the US in the 1980s means that two great Shakespearean roles graced by McKellen – Hamlet and King Lear – have eluded him. Stewart, though, points out that, as McKellen last year played Hamlet again at the age of 82 , the Prince of Denmark may yet come his way. “When I heard Ian was doing that Hamlet with non-conventional casting,” says Stewart, “I asked him if I could play Ophelia because it felt absolutely natural. But the timings didn’t work out.”

Stewart has been talking to a director about the possibility of a King Lear on stage, for which he is the traditional generation and gender, although this show might also include some unusual casting. When I suggest that McKellen could play Lear’s Fool, Stewart says: “My feeling is that Ian would want to play Cordelia. I’d love to have him as my daughter. I’m just worried that stamina would be an issue. I’m not sure I could do eight shows a week as Lear; it would have to be six maximum, which may not suit producers. So it may be too late. But I feel I’d have missed out on an experience if I never play Lear.”

It is the energy and intensity of theatre that both attract and alarm him. His acclaimed Macbeth from 2007 to 2008 “ended on Broadway exactly 365 days after the first preview in Chichester. It was all I did for a year. I had difficult patches and there was a period when we were in New York that performing that play took everything I had. I would end the show emotionally exhausted, go straight home and drink alcohol until I passed out. I’d sleep for a good many hours and then find that, by about four in the afternoon, there were little stirrings of, ‘You’re going to play this great role again in a few hours.’ And I’d know it would end with me being fucked in a few hours. But it was the only way I could find to do it. And I think that year opened up new possibilities for me. Everything has to count; it’s not just fun any more.” But surely he couldn’t carry on with the burn-out-black-out-repeat of that Macbeth year? “No. I know now that I have to stop and take a break.”

The British TV section of his CV is sparse: I, Claudius, Smiley’s People, Maybury between 1976 and 1983, after which his screen work is almost all American. Could or should he have done more in the UK? “Possibly. I don’t think of them as being separate. Tomorrow, I’ll be picked up at 4.30 and taken to a Hollywood studio where I’ll be in front of cameras, which is what I’ve been doing for much of the last 40 years. But it doesn’t feel different from filming in Britain, or theatre. When the medium changes, acting still stays the same for me – which is to make it truthful.”

The nature of truthful acting has recently become disputed, with pressure for “authentic” representation rather than imaginative transformation. Stewart’s X-Men character, Professor Charles Xavier, uses a wheelchair. Some actors and commenters would now argue that an able-bodied actor should no longer play that part. What is Stewart’s view? “I think the argument, while coming from a very good place, is a resistance to creativity in the work that we do. I respect and understand the feelings but I think we would be denying people experiences and performances by saying, ‘No, no, no, it’s not appropriate you should do that.’”

The argument being that an actor can still achieve “truth” by pretending to something they have not experienced? “That’s absolutely spot on. Theatrical reality is a lot more complex than some people think. If the ‘authenticity’ rules had been in place for the last 100 years, we would have missed so many performances. I still want to explore everything as an actor.”

After shooting season three of Star Trek: Picard, he plans to take several months off to complete a memoir. He’s reached page 310 and it’s called Are You Anybody? The title has been percolating for decades. “On my first RSC opening night at Stratford-on-Avon, I was playing the Earl of somewhere in Henry IV, tiny part. There was a group of autograph-hunters at the stage door, and someone thrust the programme at me to sign, then pulled it away again and said, ‘Are you anybody?’ And I said, ‘No, nobody at all,’ and walked away. But the importance of that question has stayed with me ever since.”

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Patrick Stewart on acting heroes and his rocky relationship with Star Trek’s salty creator

Patrick Stewart. Illustration by Ashley Floréal

In Toronto to promote his engaging new memoir, Making It So , the veteran British thespian and Star Trek: The Next Generation actor Patrick Stewart talked to The Globe and Mail about his acting heroes, his one nervous night driving a Beatle around the south of England, and his less than stellar relationship with salty Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry.

Reading your book, I learned you were a cub reporter as a teenager before you became an actor. Given your background in journalism, I expect you’ll be patient with me.

[Laughs] I was only at the newspaper for one year. It certainly wasn’t at The Globe and Mail’s level of journalism, I can tell you that.

You’re only 23 years older than I am, yet your upbringing in a small town in West Yorkshire reads like you grew up in another century. What did you do for entertainment?

Well, since I was 7, I did love going to the movies. When I got a bit older, I would go to the cinema alone. There were some films you could only see if you were with an adult. I would ask adults near the box office to say that I was with them. I did that for a number of years.

You didn’t grow up watching television, and others of your generation and older didn’t either. Do you think television affected the acting sensibilities of younger generations raised on TV?

Yes. That’s an interesting thought. For me, all I was interested in was the stage. My drama teachers were training me to be a stage actor. I never absorbed what it would be like to act in front of a camera. When I did get in front of a camera, I very quickly realized that a different approach to the work was necessary.

Can you explain the difference?

The difference was underlined to me on the very first film I ever appeared in, which was a half-day’s work on Hennessy in 1975. There was a leading American actor, Rod Steiger, who was very kind to me on that half a day. We went to lunch, and he said to me, “You know, there’s one thing very important you have to know: The camera photographs thoughts.” Nobody had ever said anything like that to me before.

Who were the actors you looked up to?

When I was 13, 14, 15, I had fallen in love with American method actors such as Karl Malden and Eva Marie Saint. I fell in love with them as opposed to Doris Day, who I’d been in love with before that. It was because they had a different approach to the work. And although it took me a long time to absorb that and put it into practice, eventually I did, and still do to this day.

As a Shakespearean actor, did you transition to the screen well?

I think I was a trifle demonstrative. Now, demonstrating is one of the harsh words you can say to a young actor. It means you’re not living the role, you’re not experiencing it – you’re illustrating it. And that’s not what the communication of true acting is about. So, when I was told I had too much demonstrating, I did intuitively know what they meant by that. It made me think about alternate ways of working.

And you took that to your portrayal of Captain Jean-Luc Picard?

When I arrived on the set of Star Trek: The Next Generation , my main thought was, “I am a captain of a Starship, and I have spent much of my life captaining the ship. It’s an authoritarian role.” Now, I had already played kings, dukes and barons and prime ministers. I thought I could access those experiences to create the leadership qualities of Jean-Luc Picard. I think it did very well for me.

But it didn’t go 100 per cent smoothly at first, isn’t that right?

No. When I got to the Star Trek: The Next Generation section of my memoir, I decided I’d better go back and watch some of the work I did. I watched the entire Season 1, and it was very uncomfortable. I thought it was too big, too demonstrating, too much authoritarian and too serious and too grim. But I learned a lot from the actors I worked with – Jonathan Frakes, Brent Spiner, Marina Sirtis, Gates McFadden, LeVar Burton, I could go on. I’m so grateful for the instruction that they gave me in performing on camera and how to prepare and how to relax when the camera is close up into your face. All these things developed in the first two seasons. As each season came up, I got better at it.

Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry was not a supporter of yours. I would have thought, given the allusions and references to Shakespeare on the shows and movies, he would have connected with you on that level at least.

We did not connect at all, in fact. Gene had not wanted me in his show. I had done my first audition, which was set up by his senior producer Bob Justman, who had seen me on stage in Los Angeles. He went back to the production office and said, “I think we found the captain. His name is Patrick Stewart.” And nobody had ever heard of me.

What about your first meeting with Roddenberry?

It was at his house, and it was very uncomfortable. Gene just sat there frowning, looking at me. Very suddenly he said, “Thank you, Patrick.” I realized that it was time for me to go, and I was happy to do so. I felt there was a resistance to me.

The resistance was Roddenberry, right?

Yes. Months later, after I was cast and filming, Bob Justman said to me, “You know, I never told you what it was that Gene said at his house.” I said, “No, what did he say?” Robert then told me that Gene said, “Who in the hell had this idea that this actor could play the captain?” That was it. I was finished, written off. But then Rick Berman joined the production team. He became a supporter of me, and Gene was persuaded to let me take the job. The studio wanted me, and he had to go along with it.

This kind of thing happened with you and director David Lynch on Dune . You got the role, but he didn’t want you. How does an actor deal with that?

It’s looked upon as being an aspect of the profession. You cannot make everybody happy. Not everybody will like the work that you do. They have their own tastes.

I have to ask you about playing chauffeur to Paul McCartney and his girlfriend Jane Asher one night in the 1960s.

Paul is such a delightful, sweet and generous person. It all came about because Jane was in the Bristol Old Vic Company with me. Some of the actors would go to the pub and play games. One day, someone said, “You’re given a million pounds, what do you spend it on?” When it came to me, I said, “Oh, an Aston Martin DB4, no question about it.” About three weeks later, word got around that Paul, on a Saturday night, was coming to see the play. When the show was over, I was changing in my little dressing room. I’m in my underwear, and there’s a knock on the door. I said come in. The door opened and there was Paul McCartney – I mean, unmistakably Paul McCartney, standing there. He said, “I heard you like Aston Martins, drive this.” He then tossed me a bunch of keys. I ended up driving them from Bristol to Bath, about 15 miles away, and back.

Did you have fun driving, or were you freaking out that Paul McCartney was in the back seat?

All I could think of was that if I crash this car now and kill Paul McCartney, that’s all I will be remembered for. The man who killed one of the Beatles.

This interview has been edited and condensed.

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Malcolm McDowell

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Malcolm McDowell ( born 13 June 1943 ; age 80) is the prolific British actor who played Doctor Tolian Soran in Star Trek Generations . Hailing from Leeds, Yorkshire, England, McDowell has amassed an acting career which spans well over 150 film and television credits. He is perhaps most famous for his role as the wicked Alex DeLarge in Stanley Kubrick's 1971 film, A Clockwork Orange with DS9 guest actor Steven Berkoff .

McDowell is the maternal uncle of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine actor Alexander Siddig . Before his appearance as Soran, McDowell wanted to appear on Deep Space Nine , but only if his nephew was directing the episode. This became difficult after Generations , as McDowell would have had to appear as an alien, which was something he did not want to do. Regardless, McDowell never appeared on DS9 before the series ended in 1999 .

• 1.1.1 1960s–1980s
• 1.1.2 1990s–2000s
• 1.2.1 The Mentalist
• 1.2.2 Franklin & Bash
• 1.3 Video games
• 2 External links

McDowell was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2012. His fellow Star Trek Generations actor Walter Koenig received his star in the same year.

1960s–1980s [ ]

McDowell made his film debut with the starring role in Lindsay Anderson's acclaimed, Cannes Film Festival Golden Palm-winning 1968 drama, If... , in which he plays a revolutionary at an English private school. (McDowell collaborated with Anderson a number more times.) However, it was his performance in Stanley Kubrick's controversial A Clockwork Orange three years later which attracted McDowell worldwide attention. His acclaimed portrayal in this film earned McDowell a Golden Globe nomination for Best Motion Picture Actor in a Drama and secured his place as a movie star. Ironically, A Clockwork Orange was not seen by in McDowell's native UK for a number of years, due to Kubrick withdrawing it.

In 1976, McDowell co-starred with Christopher Plummer in the war drama Aces High and then with Star Trek: The Next Generation guest actor Nehemiah Persoff in Voyage of the Damned . He also played the title character of Caligula in 1979; the role had been previously played by Star Trek: The Original Series guest actor Jay Robinson in two 1950s biblical films. With his roles in Caligula and A Clockwork Orange , McDowell has the distinction of starring in two of the most controversial movies of all time. Caligula starred many prominent British actors, including McDowell himself, but was produced by Penthouse owner Bob Guccione, who had insisted inserting extra sex scenes into the narrative.

McDowell is also known for his role as writer H.G. Wells in the 1979 time travel film Time After Time , under the direction of Nicholas Meyer . In the film, Wells travels to the 20th century in pursuit of Jack the Ripper, who is played by McDowell's fellow Star Trek film actor David Warner . McDowell earned a Saturn Award nomination from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films for his performance in this film.

McDowell later starred in such films as the remake of Cat People (1982, with Ed Begley, Jr. and John Larroquette ), Cross Creek (1983, with Alfre Woodard ), and Blue Thunder (also 1983, with Anthony James , Jack Murdock , and James Read ). In 1983, McDowell starred as rock musician Reggie Wanker in the cult comedy Get Crazy . Also appearing in this film were fellow Star Trek alumni Ed Begley, Jr., Clint Howard , Dick Miller , and Robert Picardo . Five years later, McDowell played a film studio executive in Blake Edwards' film Sunset , with Andreas Katsulas playing his chauffeur. In 1989, McDowell appeared as a warden in the film Buy & Cell , with Tony Plana and Ben Vereen .

1990s–2000s [ ]

Throughout the early 1990s, McDowell acted in such films as Jezebel's Kiss (1990, with Meg Foster and Bert Remsen ), Moon 44 (1990, with Leon Rippy and Brian Thompson ), Class of 1999 (1990, with Patrick Kilpatrick and Lee Arenberg ), Bopha! (with Alfre Woodard), and Cyborg 3: The Recycler (1994, with Zach Galligan , Richard Lynch , and Bill Quinn ). In the cult 1995 action film Tank Girl , McDowell played the nemesis of the title anti-hero, played by Star Trek: Voyager guest star Lori Petty . Also appearing in this film are the likes of Reg E. Cathey , Ann Cusack , Jeff Kober , Charles Lucia , and Iggy Pop .

In 1996, McDowell appeared with his Generations co-star LeVar Burton and Voyager guest actor Richard Herd in the science fiction thriller Yesterday's Target . That same year, he co-starred with Kim Cattrall and John Savage in the thriller Where Truth Lies . He later had roles in such films as Mr. Magoo (1997, with Miguel Ferrer ), I Spy (2002, with Famke Janssen ), and Hidalgo (2004, with Jeff Kober).

McDowell played Dr. Samuel Loomis in the 2007 remake of Halloween , which also starred Brad Dourif , Sid Haig , Clint Howard , and Daniel Roebuck . McDowell also appeared in the 2008 futuristic action thriller, Doomsday , in which he worked alongside his nephew, Alexander Siddig. That same year, McDowell was heard as Dr. Calico ("the man with the green eye") in the animated Disney film Bolt , which also featured the voice of Diedrich Bader .

McDowell has many more films currently in the works. He is currently reprising the role of Dr. Loomis for the sequel, H2: Halloween 2 ; Brad Dourif and Daniel Roebuck are returning for the sequel, as well. His other upcoming films include Barry Munday (with Michael Durrell , Christopher McDonald , and Matt Winston ) and Suck (with Iggy Pop and Nicole de Boer ). He also makes a silent cameo in The Artist (which co-stars James Cromwell ). McDowell increased his familiarity to younger audiences as the sympathetic high school principal Gibbons in the 2010 comedy Easy A working alongside Nikki Tyler . McDowell was recently cast as FOX News channel founder Rupert Murdoch in the 2019 biopic Fair & Balanced which chronicles the sexual harassment scandal surrounding the network with McDowell working alongside Alice Eve and FNC anchor Ainsley Earhardt, Spencer Garrett as network stalwart Sean Hannity and Anne Elizabeth Ramsay portraying Greta Van Susteran.

Television [ ]

Although he is best known for his film roles, McDowell has worked on numerous television projects, as well. In fact, he began his career by appearing on British television programs in the 1960s. Since then, he has starred in many made-for-TV movies and has even made some guest appearances.

Among those shows on which he has made live appearances include Tales from the Crypt , Monk , Pearl (with Jonathan Del Arco in a two-parter) and Law & Order: Criminal Intent . During the 1998-99 television season, he starred in the short-lived revival of the classic TV series Fantasy Island , working alongside Mädchen Amick . McDowell portrayed Mr. Roarke in this series, the part originally played by Ricardo Montalban in the original series. McDowell reprised the role of Roarke in a 2002 TV special. Previously, he had hosted the November 22, 1980 episode of Saturday Night Live , memorably appearing in an interview with Charles Rocket as John Lennon , a mere sixteen days before the singer's murder (the SNL cast included Joe Piscopo as well); two years later, he narrated The Compleat Beatles , a well-known documentary on the band which made Lennon famous.

In 1997, McDowell appeared in the Canadian SF series, Lexx as the character Yottskry. Lexx is occasionally described as an "anti- Star Trek ".

Much of McDowell's television work has been voice-over roles for shows like Frasier (starring Kelsey Grammer in the title role) and such animated programs as Spider-Man and Teen Titans . In Batman he co-starred again with David Warner, and had a recurring role on Superman: The Animated Series as the cyborg Metallo, appearing in episodes opposite Clancy Brown and Michael Dorn . He even worked on the irreverent Comedy Central animated series South Park , appearing (in live action) as "A British Person" (the narrator) in the episode "Pip."

More recently, McDowell played the recurring role of Terence in the HBO series Entourage . In addition, he currently voices the role Vater Orlaag on the Adult Swim animated series Metalocalypse . McDowell also appeared as Mr. Linderman, a villain with the ironic ability to heal others, in the first season of the NBC series Heroes , along with Greg Grunberg , Zachary Quinto , Cristine Rose , and George Takei . Despite his character's apparent death at the end of the first season, McDowell returned to the role of Mr. Linderman for the show's third season.

The Mentalist [ ]

McDowell began in 2010, a recurring role on the hit police drama as cult leader Bret Stiles. The Mentalist is co-produced by Peter Lauritson and McDowell has worked with many Star Trek peers. McDowell debuted as Stiles in the second season episode "Red All Over" directed by Roxann Dawson with Bob Gunton , returning again in the third season in "The Blood on His Hands" alongside Leslie Hope , Eric Pierpoint , and Michael Buchman Silver . McDowell returned in the fourth season episode "His Thoughts Were Red Thoughts" (2012) with Robert Picardo .

Franklin & Bash [ ]

In 2011, McDowell was cast as legendary attorney Stanton Infeld on the TNT legal comedy series Franklin & Bash . McDowell appeared with Clayton Landey in the series premiere. He also appeared in the series with Robert Pine , Jason Alexander , Geoffrey Blake , Patrick Fischler , David Gautreaux , J. Patrick McCormack , Mark L. Taylor , Ivar Brogger , and John de Lancie . McDowell appeared in the season finale "Go Tell It on the Mountain" with costar Gates McFadden . Franklin & Bash was renewed for a second season to premiere in the summer of 2012.

Video games [ ]

In addition, McDowell is recognized by video game enthusiasts for his appearance as Geoffrey Tolwyn in several Wing Commander games. McDowell also played the role in the short-lived USA Network series Wing Commander Academy in 1996. His fellow Trek actor and Time and Again co-star David Warner played the role of Tolwyn in the 1999 feature film version of Wing Commander .

McDowell also lent his voice to the 2002 video game Superman: Shadow of Apokolips , along with his Tank Girl co-star Lori Petty, as well as Clancy Brown and Joanna Cassidy . McDowell's voice can also be heard in the 2004 video game Champions of Norrath: Realms of Everquest , as can the voices of Greg Ellis , James Horan , and Tony Jay . In addition, McDowell voiced President John Henry Eden in 2008's Fallout 3 , which was narrated by Ron Perlman , Rupert Thornley in the 2009 Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 – Uprising , and Molag Bal in 2014's The Elder Scrolls Online .

External links [ ]

• Malcolm McDowell at Wikipedia
• Malcolm McDowell at the Internet Movie Database

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Published Aug 26, 2011

David Warner Recounts His Trek Adventures

David Warner is one of those classic character actors who can turn up in anything, anywhere. And, over the course of his long career, the British actor has lent his talents to Star Trek on three (of four, depending on how you look at it) occasions. He played Ambassador St. John Talbot in Star Trek V: The Final Frontier , the Klingon chancellor Gorkon in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country and the Cardassian Gul Madred in The Next Generation episodes "Chain of Command, Part I and II." StarTrek.com sat down with Warner a couple of weeks back, just after he'd appeared on stage in front of thousands of fans at Creation Entertainment 's Official 45th Anniversary Star Trek convention. As he'd been on stage, Warner was blunt, irascible and thoroughly entertaining. What's it like for you at an event like this? Warner: I've done some conventions in England. They weren't Star Trek conventions, but I've done other conventions because of the stuff I've done, a lot of sci-fi and horror and whatever it is. And people dress up for those as well. The ones I've gone to were not quite so big as this particular Star Trek convention is and most of the ones I've done were just signing and chatting to people. Here, I did a Q&A. But it's not too strange for me. What's interesting is people are bringing up things that I did 20, 25 years ago, so it's not always easy to remember everything. I also make a practice of not seeing a lot of what I've done. That's just one of those superstitions I have. I do a job and I don't necessarily watch it, so sometimes it's very hard to talk about it. Some things I may have just seen once. It's not that I don't like the work; I just don't enjoy watching myself. So I talk about my memories of working on them. How did your role in Star Trek V come about? Warner: Someone said "Would you like to meet William Shatner ." I said, "I'd be delighted." I went into an office and there he was. As far as I know, they wanted me for it, instead of having me audition and screen test. The part itself was not all that huge. Actually, it was bigger than it turned out in the film, because they'd cut quite a bit out of it. So I was actually just standing around on the Enterprise bridge for the most of it. So that's it, I was just offered the part. I'd just arrived and was living in Los Angeles, and I've been offered a job in Star Trek . "Thank you." How was your experience with Shatner, the director? Warner: My part was not very big, so I'd come to work and... The word direction, to me, means "Go in that direction," rather than "This is how I want you to play the part," rather than coaxing the performance out of me. I'm not talking about Bill Shatner as a director; I'm talking about directors (in general). That's how I find it. I was cast to play the part because they knew I could play the part. We're assuming you didn't audition for Star Trek VI , either... Warner: I didn't, no. I don't know why I turned up in VI when I'd been in V , but I'd been a human in V and they had me be a Klingon. I read somewhere that everybody had forgotten that I was in V . So I was sort of invisible in V and they could cover me in makeup for VI . Plus, I'd done Time After Time with Nick Meyer . Was the makeup a help or hindrance in terms of finding Gorkon as a character? Warner: It was neither. It was a three-hour job before I started acting to have the makeup put on. You see what you see as a member of the audience, but I don't say, "Now, I'm the character." I'm not that kind of actor. What did you enjoy about playing Gorkon? Warner: Bear in mind that the culture of Star Trek was not necessarily on my radar, particularly. I was aware of it and I'd seen some of it, but all I knew about Klingons was that they weren't very nice. What the attraction of this was was that he was the bridge between Klingons. He wasn't the evil master Klingon; he was actually trying to make peace. Just his name, Gorkon, and the beard; he was a cross between Gorbachev and Lincoln. That's what I think Nick wanted. So he was a good Klingon, I suppose. And, of course, he suffered because of that. Let's move on to "Chain of Command." What did they tell you about the Cardassians before you started to play one? Warner: Nothing. I took over on three days' notice. It was another makeup job. It was with Pat Stewart , who's an old colleague. It was great to be a part of that. I thought, "Oh, I've done two of the others, the old classic ones, and here I am in The Next Generation . I'll go for it." So I wasn't aware of it, of the Cardassians. I didn't know their history at all, except of course, that they weren't very nice. Those two episodes are considered among TNG 's finest hours... Warner: That is what I'm told. Could you tell you were making a piece of quality television at the time, in the moment? Warner: I couldn't. I was not surprised that it became so well regarded. As I said, I took over the role on three days' notice. I couldn't learn the show in that time. There was too much technobabble and dialogue that doesn't come naturally to me. So they wrote everything up for me. I don't mind people knowing this. Every line I said, I actually was reading it over Patrick's shoulder or they put it down there for me to do it. Cue cards? Warner: Cue cards, yes. So, after I finished it, I thought it worked, which obviously it did. But, no, I didn't think "I'm in the middle of making a classic episode." I got the makeup on, read the lines and hoped for the best. And it turned out to be a classic episode. Isn't that nice? You have done so much memorable work over so many years, including Tom Jones , Holocaust , Titanic , a couple of the Horatio Hornblower telemovies and Wallander . You also have a extensive list of sci-fi and horror credits like The Omen , Time After Time , Time Bandits , Waxwork , TRON , Cast a Deadly Spell , Tales from the Crypt , Babylon 5 , Planet of the Apes , Doctor Who: Dreamland , not to mention loads of voiceover work and, of course, Star Trek . You even reprised Gorkon for the video game Star Trek: Klingon Academy . Do you like genre pieces? Is it a matter of a job is a job? Maybe a little of both? Warner: Well, I'm a recovering workaholic. I used to do anything. But you mention some rather interesting pictures. Shall we start with The Omen ? Work with Gregory Peck? Yes, please. What was so good about that picture was that there was no blood in it, really. It's not a gorefest. Strange things happen, but it's got the mood and the music and everything. So, of its type, of its kind, I think it's quite a superior film. But, either way, you don't say no if you're asked to work with Gregory Peck. And he was wonderful, by the way. Time Bandits is one of Terry Gilliam's brilliant visual feasts, of bringing to the screen what you could only dream about. When they talk about "vision" and all that, he's the only person I know of who could put his crazy dreams onto the screen. He's truly a conjurer. Just an extraordinary mind. We could talk more about many of these pictures. What are you working on these days? Warner: I'm doing a British television program. It's called Mad Dogs . It's about a bunch of guys who go on holiday and get in all sorts of trouble. And then I turn up in the series. It's British, so I don't know if the U.S. will ever get it.

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Who Is Tom Hardy?

Actor Tom Hardy first stepped into the spotlight after his role in the miniseries Band Of Brothers (2001). Other major roles followed, including in the films Black Hawk Down (2001) , Star Trek: Nemesis (2002), Inception (2010), The Dark Knight Rises (2012), Lawless (2012) and Mad Max: Fury Road (2014). Hardy received his first Oscar nomination for his role as John Fitzgerald in the drama The Revenant (2015), and went on to star in the Spider-Man spinoff Venom (2018).

Edward Thomas Hardy was born on September 15, 1977, in Hammersmith, London, England. The only child of comedy and novel writer Edward Hardy and artist mother Anne, Hardy suffered from alcoholism, drug addiction and delinquency during his teen and early adult years.

TV, Film and Theater Success

'band of brothers,' 'black hawk down,' 'star trek: nemesis'.

Hardy came into the limelight in 2001 with his first role in the acclaimed war drama miniseries Band Of Brothers . That same year, he acted in the hit war film Black Hawk Down , playing a soldier left behind. Breaking out of military dramas, Hardy won the role as the lead villain in the film Star Trek: Nemesis (2002), starring opposite Patrick Stewart.

'Stuart: A Life Backwards'

Over the next several years, Hardy starred in several film and television projects. In 2006, he collaborated with Shotgun director Robert Delamare to launch an underground theater company. He directed Blue On Blue , a play written by his father, and his role in Stuart: A Life Backwards (2007) garnered him a best actor nomination from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.

'Bronson,' 'Wuthering Heights,' 'Inception'

In 2008, Hardy was cast in a unique role as a gay hoodlum in the film RocknRolla , directed by Guy Ritchie, and won a British Independent Film Award (best actor) for his turn as Britain's most violent prisoner in Bronson . He tackled playing Heathcliffe in Wuthering Heights the following year, and gained more fame for his portrayal of Eames in Inception (2010), a surrealist blockbuster helmed by Christopher Nolan .

'Lawless,' 'The Dark Knight Rises,' 'Mad Max: Fury Road'

In the summer of 2012, Hardy starred as a bootlegging brother in the Depression-era drama Lawless and as Batman's nemesis Bane in The Dark Knight Rises . He appeared as Alfie Solomons in the British gangster series Peaky Blinders , which premiered in 2014, before landing the headlining role of the much-lauded Mad Max: Fury Road in 2015. That same year he starred in Legend , playing both roles of infamous British mobster twin brothers Ronnie and Reggie Kray.

'The Revenant'

Also in 2015, Hardy co-starred with Leonardo DiCaprio in The Revenant , a harrowing 19th-century drama focusing on two men who become bitter enemies in the wilderness. Directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu, the project earned 12 Academy Award nominations, with Hardy receiving his first Oscar nomination in the category of supporting actor.

'Taboo,' 'Venom'

Hardy returned to the small screen in 2017 in the British series Taboo , which he co-created with his father and Steven Knight. The following year, he starred as the titular anti-hero of the Spider-Man spinoff Venom , a film that drew a middling response from critics but performed well enough at the box office to send a sequel into production.

Personal Life

Hardy has a child, son Louis Thomas Hardy (born on April 8, 2008), with ex-girlfriend Rachel Speed. In 1999, he married Sarah Ward; the couple parted ways in 2004. Hardy blames his drug habit for the split, after which he spent time in rehab to recover.

Hardy married English actress Charlotte Riley in 2014. The couple welcomed their first child together in 2015 and another baby in late 2018.

In 2018, the actor was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire for his services to drama.

QUICK FACTS

• Name: Tom Hardy
• Birth Year: 1977
• Birth date: September 15, 1977
• Birth City: Hammersmith, London, England
• Birth Country: United Kingdom
• Gender: Male
• Best Known For: Tom Hardy is a British actor best known for his roles in films like 'Inception,' 'Mad Max: Fury Road' and 'The Revenant.'
• Astrological Sign: Virgo
• Richmond Drama School
• The Drama Centre London

We strive for accuracy and fairness.If you see something that doesn't look right, contact us !

CITATION INFORMATION

• Article Title: Tom Hardy Biography
• Author: Biography.com Editors
• Website Name: The Biography.com website
• Url: https://www.biography.com/actors/tom-hardy
• Access Date:
• Publisher: A&E; Television Networks
• Last Updated: April 16, 2020
• Original Published Date: April 3, 2014
• No matter how much you can prepare for [auditions], there's nothing worse than the anticipation. It's always the killer of everything. The actuality of doing something is normally a lot easier than the waiting for it.

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WHERE ARE THEY NOW: The cast of 'Star Trek: The Next Generation,' 36 years later

• "Star Trek: The Next Generation" ("TNG") aired from 1987 to 1994.
• It was the first live-action "Star Trek" show since the original series ended in 1969.
• The cast will reunite for the final season of "Star Trek: Picard," which premieres February 16.

The captain of the Enterprise, Jean-Luc Picard, was played by Sir Patrick Stewart for all seven seasons.

Stewart got his start as a theater actor and was a part of the Royal Shakespeare Company from 1966 to 1982. He then had various roles on British TV series until he was cast as the newest captain of the USS Enterprise in 1987 for "Star Trek: The Next Generation," kicking off decades of debates on who the superior captain is .

Arguably, "TNG" would never have been as successful as it was without the grounding presence of Stewart and his Shakespearean sensibilities. Some of the best episodes and arcs in "Trek" history come down to Stewart's performance, such as the iconic Locutus storyline and its aftermath in "Family," or classic episodes like "The Measure of a Man" and "The Inner Light."

He was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award for his performance in 1995. He won a Grammy in 1996 for best spoken word album for children for his reading of "Prokofiev: Peter and the Wolf."

Stewart, 82, will conclude Picard's story in 2023 after three seasons of "Star Trek: Picard" on Paramount+.

By the time "TNG" wrapped up in 1994, Stewart had already  solidified his place in the hearts of nerds everywhere. He'd go on to star in four more "Trek" movies — "Generations" in 1994, "First Contact" in 1996, "Insurrection" in 1998, and "Nemesis" in 2002 — but that wasn't his last iconic role.

In 2000, he starred as the iconic Professor Charles Xavier, aka Professor X, in "X-Men." He reprised the role in 2003's "X2," 2006's "X-Men: The Last Stand," 2009's "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," 2013's "The Wolverine," 2014's "X-Men: Days of Future Past," and 2017's "Logan" — the latter of which got him some Oscar buzz . He reprised the role in 2022's "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness."

Stewart was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2010 for services to drama.

He's played various other roles throughout his decades-long career, returned to the stage many times, and secured a Tony nomination in 2008 for his performance in "Macbeth." But Picard wasn't done with him yet.

In 2018, it was announced that Stewart would be returning to the role of Jean-Luc Picard for a series on CBS All Access (now Paramount+) following the former captain 30 years after the events of "Nemesis." "Star Trek: Picard" premiered in 2020. The third and final season will premiere on February 16.

Commander William T. Riker, Picard's right-hand man and first officer, was played by Jonathan Frakes.

Riker was more of the classic "Trek" rogue, similar in some ways to William Shatner's Captain James T. Kirk, namely, his penchant for getting into trouble and getting women across the galaxy to fall in love with him. But he was also a trusted colleague and friend to Picard across seven seasons and four movies. Picking up Riker from Farpoint Station is actually one of the crew's first missions in the pilot.

Before "TNG," Frakes had appeared in various episodes of '70s and '80s shows like "Charlie's Angels," "The Twilight Zone," "Hill Street Blues," and more. But he quickly became best known for "Trek."

Like Shatner and Leonard Nimoy before him, Frakes also became interested in directing, and he was behind the camera for eight episodes of "TNG," as well as episodes of spin-offs "Deep Space Nine," and "Voyager." He also directed films "First Contact" and "Insurrection."

Frakes, 70, has appeared in "Picard" and "Lower Decks." He's also a successful director.

Soon after "TNG" wrapped up, Frakes began hosting the series "Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction?" from 1998 to 2002. A compilation clip of him saying things are false/fiction has since become a meme .

Frakes reprised his role as Riker in episodes of "Deep Space Nine" and "Voyager" in the '90s, the series finale of "Star Trek: Enterprise" in 2005, two episodes of "Star Trek: Picard" in 2020, and three episodes of "Star Trek: Lower Decks" in 2020 and 2021.

Over the last two decades, he's directed over 70 episodes of television, including shows like "Roswell," "Castle," "NCIS: Los Angeles," "The Librarians," "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.," Seth MacFarlane's loving "Trek" homage "The Orville," and, of course, the new "Trek" shows like "Star Trek: Discovery" and "Picard."

Like the rest of the original "TNG" crew, Frakes has joined the cast of "Picard" for season three.

Marina Sirtis played Deanna Troi, the ship's counselor and an empath.

In some ways, Troi was like the exact opposite of Spock, a character from the original "Trek" who operated solely from a place of logic. Instead, Troi was a half-human, half-betazoid, which made her an empath (able to telepathically sense people's feelings and emotions). Her place on the ship was to counsel the captain and other members of the crew.

Notably, Troi and Riker were in a relationship before the events of the show, and they eventually get married during the movie "Nemesis," before moving to the USS Titan, where Riker would finally become captain.

Her mother, Lwaxana Troi, was a beloved "Trek" side character played by Majel Barrett, "Trek" creator Gene Rodenberry's wife and "Original Series" cast member. Barrett also played Christine Chapel.

Before "TNG," Sirtis had appeared in bit parts in films and was mainly doing theater in her native UK.

Sirtis, 67, reprised the role for one episode of "Picard" with her on-screen husband, Riker.

Sirtis appeared in all four "TNG" films," and she also reprised her role as Troi in "Voyager," "Enterprise," "Picard," and "Lower Decks." She also appeared in an episode of "The Orville."

She's steadily worked in TV over the last two decades, appearing in shows like "Without a Trace," "Make It or Break It," "Grey's Anatomy," "NCIS," and "Scandal."

Sirtis has also had a steady voice-acting career, lending her voice to "Gargoyles," "Adventure Time," and perhaps most famously, as Queen Bee in "Young Justice."

Sirtis will don her Starfleet uniform yet again in 2023 for the final season of "Picard."

LeVar Burton played the engineering genius Geordi La Forge.

Besides Stewart, Burton was easily the most well-known member of the cast. Ten years prior, he had played Kunta Kinte in the 1977 ABC miniseries "Roots," which was nominated for 37 Emmy Awards, winning nine, including a nomination for Burton . The series finale is still the second most-watched series finale of all time, garnering at least 110 million viewers. He reprised the role in the 1988 TV film "Roots: The Gift."

When he was cast as La Forge, the chief engineering officer who happened to be blind — a big step forward in disability representation at the time — Burton had already been hosting "Reading Rainbow" on PBS since 1983. "Reading Rainbow," which Burton produced, won a Peabody Award and 12 Daytime Emmys.

From 1990 to 1996, Burton also voiced Kwame on "Captain Planet and the Planeteers" for over 100 episodes. In 1999, he directed the Disney Channel Original Movie classic "Smart House."

Burton, 66, was recently at the center of a campaign to take over as the new host of "Jeopardy!"

Like the rest of the main cast, Burton appeared in "TNG's" four feature films . He also appeared as La Forge in an episode of "Voyager."

He will reprise his role for the first time on TV since 1998 during the third and final season of "Picard" — and he'll be joined by his daughter, Mica Burton, who will play La Forge's daughter Alandra, an ensign in Starfleet.

Burton has had a successful career in Hollywood since, appearing as Martin Luther King Jr. in 2001's "Ali," playing himself in iconic appearances on both "Community" and "The Big Bang Theory," and hosting "Reading Rainbow" until its end in 2006.

Like Frakes, Burton is also a successful TV director. He's directed numerous episodes of "Star Trek" and its spin-offs, as well as episodes of "Charmed," "JAG," and "NCIS: New Orleans." He made his movie directorial debut in 2008 with "Reach for Me," starring Seymour Cassel.

After the death of Alex Trebek in 2020 , fans began campaigning for Burton to take over as the new host of "Jeopardy!" Almost 300,000 fans have signed a petition to that effect. However, after a brief stint as guest host, Burton said he wouldn't be interested in taking over as the permanent host.

In October 2021, he was named next year's grand marshal of the Rose Bowl Parade.

Gates McFadden played the chief medical officer Dr. Beverly Crusher for six seasons — she was replaced briefly in season two.

Dr. Crusher was introduced as the chief medical officer of the Enterprise with a long relationship with Picard — her late husband, Jack, and Picard were close friends, and Picard even brought back Jack's body after death.

However, as the show progressed, Dr. Crusher and Picard's relationship evolved into love and they even got married (and divorced) in an alternate timeline. We want to see Beverly in "Picard," please — and it seems like we're finally getting our wish.

After the first season, McFadden was written out of the show due to issues with head writer Maurice Hurley and replaced with Diana Muldaur, who played Dr. Katherine Pulaski. Muldaur's character did not gel with the rest of the cast, and McFadden was subsequently brought back for season three (and Hurley was ultimately replaced with Michael Piller).

Before "TNG," McFadden was a choreographer and a puppeteer involved with the Jim Henson Company, in addition to her career as an actress . She appeared in and choreographed 1984's "The Muppets Take Manhattan" and choreographed "Labyrinth" in 1986 . McFadden directed an episode of "TNG" in 1994.

McFadden, 73, has appeared in episodes of shows like "Franklin & Bash," "NCIS," and "The Practice."

McFadden appeared in all four "TNG" films , though she didn't have a huge role in them, considering how her relationship with Picard was left in the series finale. She even joked during a screening of the season three premiere of "Picard" that she didn't remember being in the films.

Hopefully, their bond will be addressed in season three of "Picard," which McFadden will return for, especially since season two of "Picard" seems very concerned with the lack of love in his life.

Since the end of the films in 2002, McFadden has mainly appeared on TV. She was in four episodes of "Franklin & Bash," an episode of "NCIS," and a TV movie called "A Neighbor's Deception." She was also in a 2009 holiday rom-com called "Make the Yuletide Gay."

Michael Dorn played Worf, the first Klingon in "Trek" history to be a main character.

Worf was the first Klingon to be a main character in "Star Trek" — in three of the original films, Klingons were, if not the main antagonists, one of the secondary foes.

By the events of "TNG," Dorn's character Worf had enlisted in Star Fleet and slowly became one of the series' best and most beloved characters, as well as the chief security officer. He went on to star on "Deep Space Nine" for four seasons, from 1995 to 1999.

Before the show, Dorn had appeared in shows such as "CHiPS," "Knots Landing," and "Days of Our Lives."

Dorn, 70, has been in more episodes of "Star Trek" than any other actor. He'll add to his lead by appearing in "Picard."

Overall, Dorn played Worf for 277 episodes and four films, making more appearances than any other actor in "Trek" history. The character was so popular that there were even talks to continue his story in his own show, called "Star Trek: Captain Worf" in 2012, though they never came to fruition.

He'll continue his reign, as Dorn was announced with the rest of the cast of "TNG" to be returning to "Trek" in season three of "Picard."

Besides acting in "Star Trek," Dorn also directed three episodes of "Deep Space Nine," as well as an episode of "Enterprise."

Like many of his co-stars, Dorn has had a successful voice-acting career . He used his voice in "Dinosaurs," "Superman: The Animated Series," "I Am Weasel," "Kim Possible: A Stitch in Time," "Regular Show," and "Arrow," among others. Most recently, he voiced Battle Beast in "Invincible."

Dorn appeared in two of the "Santa Clause" movies as the Sandman, and he was also in "Ted 2." In real life, he's also an accomplished pilot.

Wil Wheaton played Wesley Crusher, Dr. Crusher's son and a controversial character.

Poor Wesley. It couldn't have been easy losing your dad at such an early age, only to be dragged onto a spaceship with the man who survived instead ... a man who pointedly hated kids to boot. But that was Wesley's plight, and it didn't make for a very enjoyable character. He was written off as a regular after season four, at which point he went to Starfleet Academy. Wesley reappeared in the final season for a send-off.

The year before Wheaton began appearing in "TNG," he starred in the classic '80s film "Stand by Me" alongside River Phoenix, Corey Feldman, Jerry O'Connell, Kiefer Sutherland, and John Cusack, all future stars in the making.

Wheaton, 50, made a surprise cameo at the end of season two of "Picard."

As Wesley wasn't a  hugely  beloved character, he only appeared in one scene of one film , "Nemesis." He didn't even speak.

But Wheaton hasn't let the haters stop him from having a successful career. He's appeared in dozens of TV shows and movies, and he hilariously played himself across 17 episodes of "The Big Bang Theory." He also had a recurring role on "Eureka," another recurring role on "Leverage," and a talk show on SyFy called "The Wil Wheaton Project."

Wheaton has also acted in many web series, including "Welcome to Night Vale." He's also had great success in voice acting, most recently voicing the Flash in "Teen Titans Go to the Movies."

He also hosted the web series "TableTop," in which he and guests play a game (like Settlers of Catan or Pandemic) each episode, which aired from 2012 to 2017.

Currently, he hosts "The Ready Room," the official "Star Trek" aftershow that features interviews with the cast and crew. He also made a brief, surprise appearance at the end of season two of "Picard."

Brent Spiner played Data, an android who was on a quest to become more human.

While most of the characters on "TNG" were almost entirely original, Data was clearly conceived as this show's version of Spock , another character who struggled with the concept of humanity.

However, as the show went on, Data solidified himself as his own character with his own fascinating backstory (Lore and Dr. Noonien Soong, anyone?) and a heartwarming desire to become human.

Before the series, Spiner enjoyed a successful career in theater , originating the role of Franz/Dennis in "Sunday in the Park with George" and starring as Aramis in "The Three Musketeers." He also appeared in six episodes of "Night Court."

In 1996, he appeared in the huge sci-fi blockbuster "Independence Day."

They keep finding ways for Spiner, 74, to stay in the "Trek" universe, even 21 years after Data's death in "Star Trek: Nemesis."

Spiner appeared in all four "TNG" movies . In fact, his character might have had the most complete arc, when you take in his sacrifice at the end of "Nemesis." He also played an ancestor of his character's creator, Dr. Arik Soong, in four episodes of "Enterprise's" fourth season.

In 2016, Spiner reprised his role as Dr. Brackish Okun in the sequel "Independence Day: Resurgence." Over the years he's appeared in dozens of TV shows, including "Friends," "Star Wars Rebels," "Ray Donovan," "The Goldbergs," and "Warehouse 13."

Spiner has also voiced two iconic Batman villains. He played the Joker in an episode of "Young Justice," and he voiced the Riddler in "Justice League Action."

In 2020, Spiner reprised his role as Data in "Picard," appearing as the character in dream sequences and as a virtual consciousness throughout the first season.

He also appeared as a descendant of his creator, Dr. Altan Inigo Soong, and as a similar android named B-4 who was originally introduced in "Nemesis." In season two, he played another one of Noonien Soong's ancestors, Adam Soong.

Spiner was announced, like the rest of the cast , to be part of "Picard's" third season, this time playing Data's evil "brother," Lore.

Denise Crosby only starred in one season of "TNG" as Natasha Yar.

Yar's death was one of the biggest shocks of "TNG" and proved this wasn't going to be like the original show — deaths weren't just reserved for "red shirts" here. No one was safe.

In actuality, Crosby asked to be written off the show , as she "was miserable. I couldn't wait to get off that show. I was dying." And so, her character was killed in the season one episode "Skin of Evil" by a malevolent tar-like creature. Yar would reappear two more times, in a season three episode called "Yesterday's Enterprise" (an all-timer), and the series finale.

Crosby also appeared in three episodes as a character called Sela, a future half-Romulan daughter of Yar's from an alternate timeline.

Before the show, Crosby, the granddaughter of Bing Crosby, had appeared in films like "48 Hrs.," "Pet Sematary," two "Pink Panther" films, and multiple episodes of "Days of Our Lives."

Crosby, 65, recently appeared in a few episodes of "General Hospital."

Crosby didn't appear as Yar in any of the "TNG" films, but that doesn't mean she's totally stayed away from "Trek." She produced and presented a 1997 documentary about "Trek" fandom called "Trekkies," and its 2004 sequel "Trekkies 2." As of 2017, there were plans for a third installment.

She's also appeared in multiple direct-to-video movies , in addition to her roles in "Southland," "Ray Donovan," "The Walking Dead," "Suits," "Creepshow," and most recently "NCIS" and "General Hospital."

Colm Meaney had a recurring role as the transporter chief Miles O'Brien.

Meaney appeared in over 50 episodes of "TNG" as O'Brien before he switched over to "Deep Space Nine," which he starred on from 1993 to 1999. His character got much more to do on the spin-off, though he did get married in a season four episode called "Data's Day," and he eventually had a child in the season five episode "Disaster."

During his run on "TNG," Meaney also appeared in a 1993 film called "The Snapper." He was nominated for a Golden Globe for his performance. 

Meaney, 69, continued to play O'Brien in "Deep Space Nine" through 1999.

After wrapping up his role in "Deep Space Nine," Meaney went on to be nominated for a Gemini Award in 2002 for his role in Canadian series "Random Passage." He also appeared in three episodes of "Stargate Atlantis," the miniseries "Alice," two episodes of "Men in Trees," and more.

Meaney was also nominated for a Saturn Award in 2013 for his role in "Hell on Wheels," appeared in 10 episodes of "Will" and in British series "Gangs of London" and "The Singapore Grip."

In 2021, he appeared in the 15th season of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" as the father of Charlie Day's character.

He's had success on the big screen, as well. He was nominated for the Irish Film and Television Award for best actor in 2007 for "Kings," and he has been in other films like "Law Abiding Citizen," "Get Him to the Greek," "Tolkien," "Seberg," and "Pixie."

He recently starred in "The Serpent Queen" as King Francis I on Starz.

Whoopi Goldberg won an Oscar for "Ghost" as she was recurring on "TNG" as Guinan, an alien bartender who was hundreds of years old.

Goldberg had already been nominated for an Oscar (for "The Color Purple" in 1985) and had won a Grammy for Best Comedy Album in 1985 (Whoopi Goldberg: Original Broadway Show Recording), and had been nominated for an Emmy  for her performance on "Moonlighting" in 1986, when she was asked if she wanted to appear in "TNG" as Guinan, an alien bartender in the ship's lounge who acted as a sounding board for many characters.

She actually asked to be on the show due to her "Trek" fandom, which stemmed from seeing Uhura, a Black woman, in a position of power in the first "Star Trek" series. Goldberg appeared in 28 episodes across seven seasons.

At the same time, Goldberg was becoming a true A-lister. In 1990, she starred in "Ghost," which eventually won her an Oscar. In 1992, she starred in the classic "Sister Act" and its sequel the following year.

Goldberg, 67, accepted a personal invitation from Stewart during "The View" to return as Guinan in season two of "Picard."

Goldberg appeared in two of the "Next Generation" films, "Generations" and "Nemesis." During that time, she also appeared in films like "The Lion King," "Girl, Interrupted," "Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella," and "How Stella Got Her Groove Back."

In 2002, Goldberg secured her Tony Award win for producing "Thoroughly Modern Millie." That same year, she completed her EGOT by winning an Emmy for outstanding special class series. She's also hosted multiple award shows, including the Tonys and the Oscars. 

Goldberg has consistently acted in both TV and movies in the 2000s, appearing in "Glee," "The Middle," "Toy Story 3," "Nobody's Fool," and more.

Since 2007, Goldberg has hosted "The View," which won her her second Emmy — she won outstanding entertainment talk show host at the 2009 Daytime Emmys.

During an appearance on "The View," none other than Patrick Stewart extended an invitation to Goldberg to reprise her role as Guinan during season two of "Picard," which she emotionally accepted.

Both Goldberg's version  and  a younger version played by Ito Aghayere of Guinan appeared during the show.

John de Lancie played Q, a mischievous, omnipotent being throughout all seven seasons of "TNG."

In many ways, it would've been impossible to bring back Picard without bringing back Q. The Enterprise's captain meets Q in the very first episode of "TNG," and for almost every season after he pops back in to check in on the crew (and usually antagonize them a little bit). "TNG's" highly lauded series finale is also a Q episode, with Q attempting to conclude the trial of humanity he began in the first episode.

John de Lancie played Q in eight episodes of "TNG," along with one episode of "Deep Space Nine" and three episodes of "Voyager."

Throughout the '80s and '90s, de Lancie also appeared in "Days of Our Lives," "Trial and Error," and had small roles in films like "The Fisher King" and "Multiplicity."

De Lancie, 74, returned for season two of "Picard."

De Lancie has continued to work frequently on TV, with arcs in shows like "Breaking Bad," "Charmed," "The Librarians," "The Secret Circle," and more.

The actor returned to the "Trek" universe to play Q once again on the first season of the animated series "Lower Decks" in 2020. Two years later, it was revealed that Q would play a major part in season two of "Picard" since, as Q would later say in the season, " even gods have favorites ."

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Actors You Didn't Know Were Huge Star Trek Fans

It's long been debated which is the best science fiction franchise of all time, but "Star Trek" has plenty of reason to be considered top dog. Yet for many, it will always have a certain reputation as a bit geekier due to its more cerebral nature. What it sometimes lacks in fast-paced, explosive adventure, it makes up for with thought-provoking stories filled with political and social allegory. 

For that reason, some "Star Trek fans" — often called "Trekkies" — may not wear their fandom as passionately on their sleeve as others. But every once in a while, a superstar actor will reveal to the world that they too are every bit as big a fan as those who go to "Star Trek" conventions and cosplay as Kirk and Spock. In fact, some have been lucky enough to get to appear in the series. 

While well-known "Trek" fans like Whoopi Goldberg, Jason Alexander, and Simon Pegg were famously able to parlay their fandom into on-screen roles in the franchise, there are other famous Trekkies that you'd never suspect, all hoping to one day chart a course to the final frontier.

"My entire family worshipped at the feet of 'Star Trek'," superstar Tom Hanks told British talk show host Graham Norton in 2019. But that was hardly the first time the "Forrest Gump" actor openly espoused being a member of the church of "Star Trek." In 2004, Hanks appeared on Conan O'Brien's self-titled talk show and discussed growing up a "Star Trek" fan. "Oh, I set the clock by 'Star Trek,' it was on at 6 o'clock on channel 2 in Oakland," he noted. He later named-dropped the classic episode "The Gamesters of Triskelion" and talked about having met William Shatner. 

While rumors have persisted for years that Hanks was once the top choice to play a major role as Zephram Cochrane in the 1996 "Star Trek" film "First Contact," the actor threw cold water on the notion in 2021. He revealed that he knew nothing of being in consideration while a guest on the Happy Sad Confused Podcast , saying, "The guy who invented warp drive? Oh come on! I would have jumped on that!" 

"First Contact" co-writer Ronald D. Moore confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter in 2021 that while Hanks' name may have come up at some point for the role, "it was never really on the table." As for what role Hanks hopes to play in the future? "Let me play a peaceful Romulan. Man, I think that'd be fun," he told Graham Norton.

While Rihanna is a music star first and foremost, she's done her fair share of acting in movies like "Battleship" and "Ocean's 8." But for the 2016 summer blockbuster  "Star Trek Beyond,"  she returned to the music studio to release a new single for the film's soundtrack. As was revealed in a promotional video released by Paramount, her participation in the film was more than just a business deal; it was a fulfillment of her lifelong dream. "'Star Trek' has been a part of my life since I was a little girl," she said in the video to promote her song and the film.

"My dad really is the one who introduced me to 'Star Trek'" she continued, revealing how she connected with the franchise from an early age. "It just took me one episode to fall in love with this other world that I couldn't understand but I felt like I could relate to." As for the song, titled "Sledgehammer," which she wrote specially for the Justin Lin-directed three-quel, she knew it had to be something special because of what the series meant to her.

"This is something that's been a part of me since my childhood. It's never left me. So, it wasn't just like doing a song for any random film." The electro-pop ballad ultimately charted on the Billboard Top 40 , while she released an accompanying music video that features new "Trek"-related sequences with the Enterprise and Rihanna made up as one of the film's signature aliens.

Daniel Craig

Daniel Craig came to fame in the 2004 crime comedy "Layer Cake" before shooting to superstardom as James Bond in "Casino Royale" a few years later. Today, many know him as the world's greatest detective with a Southern drawl, Benoit Blanc, from Rian Johnson's "Knives Out" series. But while Craig did have a secret cameo in "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," his real dream has always been to appear in "Star Trek."

In 2007, not long after making his debut as the iconic British super spy, Craig told World Entertainment News about his hidden agenda to take flight into the final frontier. "I would love a stint in the TV show or in a film," Craig told the outlet (via AirlockAlpha ). "It's been a secret ambition of mine for years," he continued. 

At the time, "Star Trek" had been off the air for a couple of years following the cancelation of "Star Trek: Enterprise," and the JJ Abrams-directed movies were still two years away. Though Craig's comments didn't make much noise at the time, "Star Trek: The Next Generation" star Brent Spiner included Daniel Craig in his dream cast of a proposed adaptation of his book "Fan Fiction," a story where he and his fellow "Star Trek" cast-mates get caught up in a sinister conspiracy (via Inverse ). Could Craig one day join "Trek"? With so many new "Star Trek" shows in development (via Trek Movie ), anything is possible.

Rosario Dawson

In 2020, actress Rosario Dawson joined the "Star Wars" universe as Ahsoka Tano in "The Mandalorian," and she'll be getting her own solo series on Disney+ in 2023 (via IndieWire ). A self-professed sci-fi geek, Dawson fangirled over getting the part, telling audiences at Star Wars Celebration, "It's been just such a thrill and honor to bring this character to life" (via Entertainment Weekly ). But Dawson's geek cred doesn't end there, and according to a 2020 interview with Variety's After Show,  she won't be satisfied until she appears in "Star Trek" too.

"The two universes, 'Star Trek' and 'Star Wars.' I get in those two, I'm telling you, man, that's it," she said, "I will just retire." During the discussion, Dawson was already dreaming up ways she could join the "Star Trek" universe. "I could jump on ["Star Trek: Discovery"], I could be on 'Picard.'" She admitted she'd be willing to don heavy makeup just to play a background alien, saying, "I could just be a background Romulan or Vulcan, whatever, it'd be so fun. Just throw me in there, I can walk through as a Klingon." 

In fact, Dawson is so desperate to be a part of the franchise, she'd be happy to play a doomed character with no dialog. "I can be a redshirt and get killed right away." However, Dawson's Trekkie family is having none of that. Apparently, her brother shut that idea down and said she had to be a captain. Given Dawson's meaty role in "Star Wars," we can't say we blame him.

Robin Williams

Sadly, one celebrity "Trek" fan that never got to appear on the series is comedian Robin Williams, who died in 2014. Over the years, several "Trek" regulars have mentioned how Williams was a Trekkie at heart, and in 2021 a reunion of "Star Trek: Voyager" cast members talked about how Williams sometimes visited the set while filming nearby (via TrekMovie ).

In Ben Robinson and Mark Wright's book "Star Trek Voyager: A Celebration," Ethan Phillips, who played alien cook Neelix, reminisced about meeting Williams, who was on the lot filming "The Birdcage" (via TrekMovie). He and Williams ran into each other between two sound stages and as Williams got closer, "He sees me and goes, 'Oh my God, Mr. Neelix!' Then he does this whole routine about what it's like to be a chef in outer space. ... I had a private performance for like a minute and it was really funny. Then he came up, gave me a big hug and said, 'I love your character, sir.'"

Williams being a Trekkie was not news to some, as original series cast member Walter Koening wrote in his book "Chekov's Enterprise" that the "Mork and Mindy" star often visited the Enterprise set during production on the first "Star Trek" film in the '70s (via TrekMovie).

The producers of "Trek" were well aware of Williams' love for the franchise and even wrote a role for him on "The Next Generation." The part played by Matt Frewer in the fourth season episode "A Matter of Time" was originally developed for Williams, but production on the 1991 Spielberg film "Hook" got in the way (via StarTrek.com ).

Many may be most familiar with Mila Kunis as the flighty brunette Jackie on "That '70s Show" or always-bullied Meg on "Family Guy." But since her star-making turn as Jackie, the actress has had an impressive career, most notably starring in Darren Aronofsky's Academy Award-winning   psychological-horror "Black Swan." In 2011, Kunis came out to the world as a diehard Trekkie, thanks to a Q&A session with GQ in the wake of that film's release.

"I got into ["Star Trek"] in my late teens; 18, 19, 20. Something like that. I got into it later than most people," she acknowledged. "But let's not talk about it in the past tense. I'm still a 'Star Trek' fan. You never stop being one." Kunis ranked the various "Trek" series' that existed at the time in what she calls an "ongoing argument" with "Family Guy" creator Seth McFarlane. For Kunis, "The Next Generation" is her favorite, while somewhat controversially, she places "Voyager" ahead of "Deep Space Nine."  

But her love of the franchise goes beyond just being a passive viewer, as she even admitted to attending some in-person "Trek" events. "I went to the Star Trek Experience in Vegas maybe five years ago. I hung out with a bunch of fake characters inside Quark's bar," Kunis revealed, referring to the tourist recreation of the set of "Deep Space Nine" that ran from 1998-2008. "There were all these actors there pretending to be the different characters from the different shows. Yes, I loved it." But that's not all, as Kunis says she's also a collector, counting a signed Leonard Nimoy photo and several "Star Trek" figurines among her possessions.

Ben Stiller

If you haven't been paying attention to Ben Stiller outside of his biggest films, you may never have realized what a huge "Star Trek" fan he is. But the truth is, if you've followed his career closely you'd be aware, because he hasn't exactly been shy about it. Turn back the clock to 1996: Stiller hosted the "Star Trek" 30th anniversary TV special , and went on a personal diatribe about his love for the franchise, and growing up watching Kirk, Spock, and Mr. Sulu. 

To this day, Stiller continues to be open about his fandom, and in 2020, he appeared as the very first guest on the debut episode of "The Pod Directive," an official "Star Trek" podcast hosted by "Star Trek: Lower Decks" star Tawny Newsome. In the episode , Stiller talked at length about considering the series "his best friend" while growing up. "'Star Trek' for me was something you could watch every night," he told Newsome and co-host Paul F. Tompkins. But his love for "Trek" didn't stop when the TV turned off. "My mom took me to a couple of conventions in the late '70s," revealing how he'd stand in line to collect memorabilia and autographs.

Unlike some other stars though, Stiller's fandom benefited from growing up in a showbiz family. "My parents knew William Shatner a little bit," he said, revealing that his mother's work on the game show "The 10,000 Pyramid" gave him rare access to certain celebrities. "That was exciting for me!"

Seth MacFarlane

Admittedly, the revelation that Seth MacFarlane is a massive "Star Trek" nerd might not come as a huge surprise, even if you've never seen him talk about it . You may have never even have seen his homemade "Star Trek" movies , but fans of "Family Guy" have seen countless homages to the show, most notably in the episode "Not All Dogs Go To Heaven." 

McFarlane also cast Patrick Stewart as the lead in "American Dad." But his love of the sci-fi franchise shines most brightly in his live action sci-fi comedy "The Orville," which wears its love for "Star Trek" unashamedly on its sleeve.

In fact, when building out his production team for the sci-fi sitcom "The Orville," MacFarlane brought in a number of "Star Trek" veterans. This includes producers Brannon Braga and David A. Goodman, writers Andre Bormanis and Joe Menosky, plus directors James Conway, Jonathan Frakes, and Robert Duncan McNeill (the latter of whom played Commander Riker on "TNG" and Tom Paris on "Voyager"). "He filled the room with 'Next Gen' people so that the show would look and feel like it," Frakes told the audience at the Lexington Comic and Toy Convention in 2018.

But unlike so many others, MacFarlane actually got the chance to fulfill his dream of being a part of the "Star Trek" franchise. In 2004, when "Family Guy" was in the midst of its first cancelation, he played Ensign Rivers, a young engineer in a pair of episodes of "Star Trek: Enterprise."

Olivia Wilde

Sci-fi fans probably recall Olivia Wilde's turn as the digital dame Quorra in the 2010 film "Tron: Legacy." More recently though, Wilde has decided to transition to sitting behind the camera, and directed "Star Trek" star Chris Pine in the 2022 indie drama "Don't Worry Darling." But we have to wonder if while making the movie, she wasn't a little bit excited to be meeting the modern day Captain Kirk, as the actress-turned-director described herself as a Trekkie in a 2011 interview with  Gizmodo .

The interview was to promote Wilde's film "Cowboys and Aliens," and Gizmodo asked about Wilde's participation in science fiction films like "Tron," wondering if she might be interested in any other franchise. To the surprise of many, she name-dropped "Star Trek," since she "grew up as a Trekkie" and had some unexpected ideas about who she could play. She told Gizmodo that "I think 'Star Trek,' they were always great female roles, but there's no reason the captain shouldn't be a woman. I think we could do Captain Kirk as a woman."

While she might not have seen "Star Trek: Voyager," which featured actress Kate Mulgrew as the show's first leading female captain, it sounds like Wilde thinks a gender-swapped Kirk could work on-screen. Considering some of the wild sci-fi shenanigans the franchise has experience before, there's really no reason it couldn't, and Wilde is as good a choice as any to take on the role. 

Christian Slater

Many people know Christian Slater from  "Mr. Robot," or any number of iconic films throughout his career, including "Heathers" and "Untamed Heart." What some may not know, however, is his bit role in the 1991 "Star Trek" film, "The Undiscovered Country." It's a role he got thanks to his mother — the film's casting director — whom he asked to get him even a tiny role in his favorite franchise.

Appearing on "Conan"  in 2012, Slater talked about his cameo, where he played a Starfleet ensign serving under Captain Sulu. "That was a big deal," he told the talk show host. But O'Brien also exposed the true depths of Slater's obsession with "Trek" when he asked if he owned any memorabilia. "A buddy of mine knows I'm a huge Trekkie, knows I love the show ... [he] did get me the Captain Kirk chair," the actor admitted, referring to a full-size replica of Captain Kirk's famous command chair from the bridge of the original Enterprise. "You can push the buttons and all the lights go on and I love it!"

But when O'Brien asked the actor if he had ever dressed up as Kirk while sitting in the chair at home, Slater demurred. "I can't really confirm or deny that." If he did, he'd have authenticity on his side, as he confessed on Graham Norton's radio show in 2017 that he stole a Starfleet uniform from the set of "Star Trek VI." He said, "I have it in a box somewhere. It was William Shatner's costume from Star Trek II, actually" (via Digital Spy ).

It seems like every week, someone you never expected is revealed to be a "Star Trek" fan, and in 2019, Sam Witwer added himself to the list. No stranger to iconic science fiction franchises, Witwer starred in "Battlestar Galactica" as Raptor pilot Crashdown, in "Smallville" as the arch villain Doomsday, and as the voice of both Emperor Palpatine and Darth Maul in various "Star Wars" animated projects like "Clone Wars" and "Rebels." 

But while he's wasn't campaigning for a role in "Star Trek," he did reveal himself to be a Trekkie in a surprising way. In November 2019, Witwer took to Twitter to voice his support for an HD remastering of "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine," suggesting that it would help fuel the "streaming wars." 

As diehard fans know, only the original "Star Trek" and "The Next Generation" have received HD remasters and restorations, with "DS9" and "Voyager" to this day only available in original standard definition ("Enterprise" was filmed in high definition on its debut in 2001).

But while Witwer may not be pushing to star in the next big "Star Trek" series on Paramount+, that might be because he's already been a part of the franchise. In addition to providing voice work for the "Star Trek: Online" video game, Witwer appeared in "Star Trek: Enterprise" as an unnamed alien Xindi in the 2003 episode "The Shipment."

Nicolas Cage

A self-professed comic geek, Nicolas Cage has played the comic book hero "Ghost Rider" and appeared in a supporting voice in "Into the Spider-Verse," but has never appeared in a major sci-fi or fantasy franchise. So, when interviewed in early 2023 about the possibility of ever joining the "Star Wars" universe alongside his "Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent" co-star Pedro Pascal, Cage stunned everyone when he spurned the galaxy far, far away by revealing his Trekkie status for the first time. 

"'No,' is the answer and I'm not really down. I'm a Trekkie, man," Cage told Yahoo's Kevin Polowy in an interview posted to Twitter . Cage noted that he's been a fan of the Final Frontier since he was young, when he would watch William Shatner on the series, but he loves the movies starring Chris Pine as well.

He further explained what he loves about "Star Trek" and science fiction generally: "To me what science fiction is really all about and why it's such an important genre is that is really where you can say whatever you want, however you feel. You put it on a different planet, you put it in a different time ... and 'Star Trek' really embraced that."

But despite being encouraged by Pascal to make an appearance on "The Mandalorian" (via  Yahoo ), Cage insisted to Polowy that there was no room in his fandom to betray his favorite sci-fi saga: "I'm on the Enterprise. That's where I roll." 

Screen Rant

Casting christopher nolan's next movie: 10 actors perfect for his reported new remake.

Christopher Nolan may consider actors he has worked with before or new talent to star in his reported remake of the 1960s sci-fi TV show The Prisoner.

• Christopher Nolan is reportedly considering remaking the 1960s sci-fi TV show The Prisoner as a movie, conforming to his typical genres.
• Nolan might consider actors he has worked with before, such as Robert Pattison or John David Washington, for the James Bond-like main character.
• Nolan might cast new or returning actors, such as Michael Caine, Vanessa Kirby, or Aaron Taylor-Johnson, in supporting and/or antagonistic roles.

Casting Christopher Nolan's possible movie remake of the 1960s TV show The Prisoner is key to its success. Yet Nolan has previously worked with several actors who would be perfect for major roles. Additionally, Nolan's status as a director will always attract Hollywood's biggest stars, despite some never having worked with Nolan before. The British TV show The Prisoner follows a James Bond-like character trapped in a strange, psychedelic Village, leading to a battle of wits as he tries to escape, and his captors try to extract information from him.

A history of action and espionage movies has led to broad speculation that Nolan might direct Bond 26 , but The Prisoner is his more likely project at this point. Some of Nolan's past stars have the potential to lead his movie remake of The Prisoner as the secret agent protagonist, known as "Number Six." Additionally, Nolan's remake may involve expanding the roles of some characters or creating new ones within the sci-fi world of the original show. Nonetheless, many actors at his disposal are suited to different character archetypes common in the sci-fi, mystery, and action genres.

All 12 Christopher Nolan Movies Ranked Worst To Best

10 robert pattinson, known for tenet (2020) and the batman (2022)..

Robert Pattinson is a strong contender to play Number Six, given the nature of his only role in a Nolan movie to date. While Nolan's new movie has people worried Tenet 2 won't happen , fans of the underrated time-travel adventure would be thrilled to see Pattinson work with the great director again. In Tenet , Pattinson plays Neil, a friendly and mysterious agent who is one of the Protagonist's main allies.

Neil's persona is perhaps more charming and optimistic than Nolan wants Number Six to be if he is recreating the character closer to what he is in the original show. However, Pattinson is certainly capable of playing a more serious action hero. Finding time to star in Nolan's new remake might be a challenge for Pattinson, as he is currently making a name for himself as the newest iteration of Batman. Nonetheless, Pattinson's experiences playing Neil and Bruce Wayne make him more than qualified to star in Nolan's The Prisoner .

9 Emily Blunt

Known for edge of tomorrow (2014) and oppenheimer (2023)..

As a TV show that was made in the 1960s, the female characters in The Prisoner are scattered and their roles are brief. Some one-off but memorable characters include several different women who try to help Number Six escape and a female scientist (Number Fourteen) who helps the people running the Village try to manipulate information out of Number Six. Many of these characters have a femme fatale-type characterization, but Nolan might choose to take their arcs in a different direction.

Emily Blunt's recent foray into Nolan filmmaking won her an Oscar nomination for playing the shrewd Kitty Oppenheimer. Blunt is not known for villainous roles, but doubtlessly has the talent to play a more malevolent character, such as Number Fourteen. However, she could also play a mysterious woman who knows much more than she lets on when she comes across Number Six.

8 Michael Caine

Known for the dark knight (2008) and inception (2010)..

Casting Caine in a different role could be an effective way to make Nolan's next movie different from his others.

Michael Caine has regularly collaborated with Nolan since he became a fan-favorite version of Alfred in the Dark Knight trilogy. Caine plays similar characters throughout his Nolan movies: a kindly advising figure to the main character who provides some kind of logistical support. In Inception , Caine plays Cobb's father-in-law, who cares for Cobb's children while their father is on the run. Caine's Tenet character Sir Michael Crosby's role is so brief that it was apparently easier to call him by his real name and title.

Casting Caine in a different role could be an effective way to make Nolan's next movie different from his others. A possible role for Caine is Number Two, the antagonistic secondary leader of the Village, who puts on an amicable and wise facade for Number Six. There are also multiple Number Twos; the idea of Caine and other returning Nolan actors all playing the character is a given.

7 Aaron Taylor-Johnson

Known for kick-ass (2010) and tenet (2020)..

Aaron Taylor-Johnson plays the significant role of Ives in Tenet , although his character is overshadowed by those of Robert Pattinson and John David Washington. However, Taylor-Johnson's potential to work with Nolan again in the future is obvious. From his tragically brief role in the MCU to his recurring lead role in the Kick-Ass movies, Taylor-Johnson is an underappreciated but talented action star. He still has significant versatility as an actor, starring in dramas such as Anna Karenina . This experience is vital, as Nolan's movies are never just meaningless action.

Additionally, rumors of Taylor-Johnson's casting as James Bond combined with speculation about Nolan directing a Bond movie make the casting even more obvious. Still, Nolan's movies and The Prisoner both feature some of the hallmarks of a Bond movie. Taylor-Johnson returning to work with Nolan in the lead role would be beneficial to both the actor's career and the movie.

Casting A Christopher Nolan James Bond Movie: 8 Actors Who'd Be Perfect

6 ana de armas, known for knives out (2019) and no time to die (2021)..

A massive up-and-coming star of the past few years, Ana de Armas has proven that she is perfect for mysteries, sci-fi, espionage, and general action. After achieving her breakthrough with Blade Runner 2049 , de Armas gained even more attention with the razor-sharp whodunit of Knives Out , which in turn led to her being invited to appear in No Time to Die , due to her working relationship with Daniel Craig. In the middle of all this, she also scored an Oscar nomination for the Marilyn Monroe biopic Blonde .

De Armas' casting in the John Wick spinoff Ballerina illustrates that she is in demand. Working around her schedule might be difficult, but Nolan would be mistaken not to consider her for any role in a sci-fi or espionage movie. De Armas also has a great on-screen dynamic with Daniel Craig and has presumably filmed some scenes with Keanu Reeves; it would be interesting to see what she could do when paired with one of Nolan's favorite stars.

5 Morgan Freeman

Known for the shawshank redemption (1994) and the dark knight (2008)..

Morgan Freeman is another possible choice for one of the Number Twos, and like with Michael Caine, would represent a break in the pattern of how Nolan usually casts him. Freeman only plays Lucius Fox in the Dark Knight trilogy, with no other collaborations with Nolan. Like Alfred, Lucius is a generally amicable ally to Bruce; however, he opposes Bruce's plans at some key moments.

Freeman could also play a very interesting version of Number Two, or another important figure in the Village's administration. Additionally, audiences have only really seen a significant number of interactions between Freeman and either Caine or Christian Bale in a Nolan movie. Writing scenes between Freeman and a new or returning actor is rife with the possibility of engaging and intelligent dialogue that elevates the movie's philosophical discourse.

4 Vanessa Kirby

Known for pieces of a woman (2020) and the crown (2016-2023)..

Vanessa Kirby also has the potential to play a reinvented version of one of Number Six's allies, who has more agency and is not just a damsel in distress. Kirby was launched to fame by playing the chaotic and lonely Princess Margaret in The Crown and soon after won her first Oscar nomination for the heartbreaking drama Pieces of a Woman . However, she is also a favorite for action movies, evidenced by her role in Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw and her being cast as Sue Storm in the MCU's upcoming Fantastic Four movie.

Kirby can play a nuanced action heroine who is intense, enigmatic, and combat-savvy. While the original show does not place the female characters in the middle of action-heavy scenes, Nolan can always change this. The Prisoner suggests that everyone in the Village is there because they have valuable information; one of the female characters could be rewritten as another former secret agent like Number Six who is always prepared for a fight.

3 Carrie-Anne Moss

Known for the matrix (1999) and memento (2000)..

Carrie-Anne Moss is among the actors Nolan has only directed once , starring alongside Guy Pearce in Memento . As a long-time veteran of the sci-fi genre, it might be more impactful to cast her as one of the characters who has more control in the world of the village. Moss could play Number Fourteen, or another version of Number Two.

Additionally, there is one strange scene where Number Six wakes up in a hospital and finds an old woman sitting near him knitting. While the character concept does not need to be exactly the same, Moss could still play a character who just happens to be present in one scene and says something seemingly inconsequential to Number Six. It has been so long since Moss worked with Nolan that it would generally be interesting to see how he would use her now, with 20 more years of filmmaking experience under his belt.

10 Actors We Want To See Working With Christopher Nolan In His Next Movie

2 john david washington, known for blackkklansman (2018) and tenet (2020)..

Washington has a strangely varied filmography that should make him interesting to any director.

John David Washington is also a real possibility for a Bond-style character, as "the Protagonist" of Tenet gives the impression of being an early career James Bond who is still establishing himself in the intelligence community. Washington has a strangely varied filmography that should make him interesting to any director. He has starred in satires, actions, mysteries, and comedies, and worked with acclaimed directors, including David O. Russell and Spike Lee.

Nolan's version of The Prisoner — which, like Tenet , never names its main character — could realistically expand the character of Number Six, elaborating upon his past and motivations in a way the original doesn't. Washington can play a variety of different complex characters and has the presence of a leading actor. As he has also not worked with Nolan since Tenet , it would be great to see what could come of another collaboration.

1 Cillian Murphy

Known for inception (2010) and oppenheimer (2023)..

Of course, Nolan will most likely at least consider recent Oscar winner Cillian Murphy for a role in his next movie. Another repeat collaborator, Murphy has played a variety of heroes and villains in Nolan's movies. He doesn't seem like a Number Six type actor, having previously been passed over for the role of Batman. Of being invited to screen test for Batman, Murphy said (via PEOPLE ): "[...] I think I knew — and he [Nolan] knew — I was wrong for [the role]. But I did the test, and then he saw something in that and cast me as Scarecrow and we continued on making movies."

Nolan has used Murphy's ability to play psychologically complex characters caught in the middle of one moral or personal dilemma or another in several movies. Muprhy is a compelling villain in the Dark Knight trilogy and a minor but vital part of the story of Inception . Murphy's potential to play almost any character in The Prisoner other than Number Six should not be ignored. Regardless, Christopher Nolan has made it as a director because he knows how to find the perfect cast, and will consider all the possibilities as he begins a new project.

Source: PEOPLE

The Red King: Meet the star-studded cast including Baby Reindeer and Bridgerton stars

Anjli mohindra leads the cast alongside adjoa andoh and marc warren.

Alibi' s latest offering comes in the form of crime drama The Red King , which follows police sergeant Grace Narayan, who's sent on a 'punishment posting' to the island of St. Jory in Wales. When she arrives, she's met with the unsolved case of a missing teenager, hostile locals, and the island's strange cult history connecting to a pagan called The Red King. 

The synopsis teases: "The Red King is a character-driven mystery-thriller that combines the powerful story of a knotty police investigation with chilling, atmospheric folk-horror through the island's eerie past devotion to a pagan God called the Red King and the cult of the True Way."

Anjli Mohindra as Grace Narayan

Anjli leads the cast as Grace, a high-flying police officer who is sent on a 'punishment posting' on the small, antiquated island of St. Jory in Wales after reporting two officers at her previous station.

The actress made her name playing Rani Chandra in the Doctor Who spin-off series The Sarah Jane Adventures , and has since appeared in various major TV shows, including Bodyguard, Vigil, and The Lazarus Project.

Adjoa Andoh as Lady Heather Nancarrow

Adjoa portrays local landowner Lady Heather Nancarrow, whose family has managed St. Jory for generations. 

This isn't the first time Adjoa has played a Lady, having starred as Lady Danbury in Bridgerton and Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story. The 61-year-old, who has an impressive list of theatre credits, is also known for her roles in Casualty, Doctor Who, EastEnders, and the 2009 biographical film, Invictus.

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Marc Warren as Dr Ian Prideaux

Marc plays troubled doctor Ian Prideaux, the father of missing local boy Cai. 

The actor has appeared in a number of TV series over the years, but is perhaps best known for playing Rick in Mad Dogs, Danny Blue in Hustle, and Piet Van Der Valk in Van Der Valk.

Jill Halfpenny as Ann Fletcher

Jill portrays no-nonsense Detective Chief Inspector Ann Fletcher.

Jill began her career as a soap star, appearing in Byker Grove before landing bigger roles in Coronation Street, and EastEnders. In recent years, she's appeared in a variety of dramas, including Babylon, Three Girls, Liar, and The Drowning.

Last year, she starred in ITV's true-crime drama, The Long Shadow.

Mark Lewis Jones as Gruffudd Prosser

Mark Lewis Jones plays retired policeman Gruffudd Prosser, who's fairly hostile towards Grace when she arrives on the island. 

The Welsh actor is known for his roles in Outlander, Stella, and Gangs of London . He most recently played Eddie O'Connor in the BBC series Men Up , and Gerald Dunn in the Netflix series Baby Reindeer.

James Bamford as Owen Parry

James plays junior police officer Owen Parry, who is loyal to his old boss Gruffudd. 

James has previously appeared in BBC's Showtrial and Netflix's Luther: The Fallen Sun .

Sam Swainsbury as Father Douglas Carrisford

Local vicar Father Douglas Carrisford is played by Sam, who's previously appeared in Hullraisers, Mum, and Ruby Speaking.

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'FBI International' Just Lost Another Lead

Agent Forrester leaves next month.

The Big Picture

• Luke Kleintank is set to exit FBI: International , following Heida Reed who has already departed the series.
• Both original cast members cite personal reasons for their departures from the series.
• New episodes air on CBS weekly.

The Fly Team must make do without Scott Forrester as Luke Kleintank exits FBI: International , Deadline reports. In a shocking turn of events, the show has now lost two of its original cast members who have been a staple since the first season. Kleintank's final episode will air next month on May 7. His exit follows that of Heida Reed , who has served as Kleintank's co-star since the series premiered in 2021. In a statement, Kleintank revealed why he had decided to leave the show, citing his family, who are his prime concern. Read what he had to say below:

“After much thought and consideration, I’ve made the difficult decision to leave FBI International. This decision is driven by my unwavering commitment to my family, whose love and well-being are paramount in my life. I’m profoundly thankful for the extraordinary cast and crew of the show, who have not only been colleagues but also a family away from home. Their unwavering dedication and remarkable talents have made every moment on set an unforgettable journey that has enriched my life in countless ways. Lastly, I would also like to extend my thanks to the fans who have supported us through the first three seasons.”

Reed exited the show in the Season 3 premiere as her character was written out. Agent Kellet left the Fly Team and moved to the DC field office, revealing that it was time to return home as she had been running away from the grief arising from her sister's suicide. Her spot was filled by Christina Wolfe, who plays Amanda Tate.

What Is 'FBI: International' All About?

The third entrant into the FBI franchise, FBI: International follows the members of the FBI's international "Fly Team" headquartered in Budapest who locate and neutralize threats against American interests worldwide and Europe. The team is not allowed to carry weapons and must rely on quick thinking, intelligence, and ability to engage in hand-to-hand combat. The show stars Kleintank as Scott Forrester, Carter Redwood as Andre Raines, Vinessa Vidotto as Cameron Vo , Wolfe as Amanda Tate, and Eva-Jane Willis as Megan "Smitty" Garretson.

CBS has renewed all three FBI shows for new seasons, with the flagship series renewed for three more seasons. Dick Wolf serves as the executive producer on FBI: International with his Chicago Fire collaborators Derek Haas and Matt Olmstead .

New episodes of FBI: International air on CBS on Tuesday nights at 9 PM ET/PT. Stream past episodes on Paramount+.

FBI: International

Elite agents of the FBI's International division travel the world with the mission of protecting Americans wherever they may be.

WATCH ON PARAMOUNT+

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Star Trek Actors

1. kate mulgrew.

Actress | Star Trek: Voyager

Katherine Kiernan Mulgrew, or Kate Mulgrew, was born on April 29, 1955. She grew up in Dubuque, Iowa, the second oldest child (and oldest girl) in a large Irish Catholic family. When Kate expressed an interest in acting as a child, her mother, Joan, encouraged her to audition for local theater ...

2. Robert Beltran

Actor | Star Trek: Voyager

Robert Adame Beltran was born in Bakersfield, California. He is the seventh of ten children, of Mexican-Native American ancestry, though Robert describes his heritage as Latindio. After finishing high school, he attended Fresno State College, where he graduated with a degree in theater arts. ...

3. Roxann Dawson

Director | Breakthrough

Roxann Dawson was born in Los Angeles, California, to Richard and Rosalie Caballero. She graduated from the University of California, Berkeley (Theater Arts major). She soon landed her first role as Diana Morales in the Broadway production of "A Chorus Line". During her acting career, she performed...

4. Robert Duncan McNeill

Actor | Masters of the Universe

Robert Duncan McNeill was born on November 9, 1964 in North Carolina, but raised in Washington, D.C. until his family finally settled down in Atlanta, Georgia. Later, he attended a local high school and, after he graduated, he moved to New York City and enrolled at Juilliard where he spent two ...

5. Ethan Phillips

Actor | Inside Llewyn Davis

Ethan Phillips was born on February 8, 1955 in Long Island, New York as the only boy of six children. He graduated from Boston University with a degree in English Literature and received a Masters Degree in Fine Arts from Cornell University. He has acted on stage, screen, and television for over ...

6. Robert Picardo

Robert Picardo was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, where he spent his whole childhood. He graduated from the William Penn Charter School and attended Yale University. At Yale, he landed a role in Leonard Bernstein 's "Mass" and at age 19, he played a leading role in the European premiere of...

7. Tim Russ

Actor | Spaceballs

Timothy Darrell Russ was born on June 22, 1956, in Washington, D.C., to Air Force officer Walt and his wife Josephine. He and his younger siblings Michael and Angela grew up on several military bases, including Niagara Falls, Elmendorf (Alaska) AFB, Omaha, Taiwan, Philippines and Turkey. During ...

8. Garrett Wang

Garrett Richard Wang was born on December 15, 1968 in Riverside, California to Chinese immigrant parents. He and his sister Laura spent their childhood on the move. He lived in Indiana, then moved to Bermuda and finally to Tennessee. Later, he graduated from Harding Academy High School, Memphis, ...

9. Jeri Ryan

Jeri Ryan was born Jeri Lynn Zimmerman on February 22, 1968 in Munich, West Germany, to Gerhard Florian Zimmerman, a Master Sergeant in the United States Army, and his wife Sharon, a social worker. She and her older brother Mark grew up on several military bases, including Kansas, Maryland, Hawaii,...

10. Jennifer Lien

Jennifer Anne Lien was born on August 24, 1974 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. She has an older sister and an older brother. Jennifer knew that she wanted to act from a young age. Encouraged by her English and drama teachers, she began performing in a summer theater and festivals at the age of 13. She ...

11. Scarlett Pomers

Actress | Reba

Pomers starred as Reba McEntire 's youngest daughter Kyra, on the WB Network's comedy hit Reba (2001). Her previous acting roles included three years as Naomi Wildman, on Star Trek: Voyager (1995), and the recurring role of Abigail Leski on CBS' critically-acclaimed show, That's Life (2000). She ...

12. Martha Hackett

Martha Hackett was born in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. She is an actress, known for Star Trek: Voyager (1995), Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (2014) and The Bye Bye Man (2017). She was previously married to Tim Disney .

13. Manu Intiraymi

Actor | Hell on the Border

Manu Intiraymi's unique name is a combination of Manu ( The Incan God of Law) and Intiraymi ( The Incan God of the sun). Manu is an Actor/Writer/Director/Producer... and he's seen a bear once. He believes great movies and television have the power to promote empathy and understanding across all ...

14. Nancy Hower

Director | Zoey 102

Nancy Hower was born on May 11, 1966, and grew up in New Jersey. She appeared on stage for the first time as a senior in high school. After high school, she studied drama at the noted Juilliard School in New York, and subsequently appeared in many regional shows as well as in the Williamstown ...

15. Richard Herd

Actor | All the President's Men

Utilitarian character actor Richard Herd was one of those stern familiar faces you saw countless times on film and TV but couldn't quite place the name. The stage-trained actor, who shared a striking resemblance to actor Karl Malden , never found the one role that would make him a household name, ...

16. Brad Dourif

Actor | The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

Gaunt character actor Brad Dourif was born Bradford Claude Dourif on March 18, 1950 in Huntington, West Virginia. He is the son of Joan Mavis Felton (Bradford) and Jean Henri Dourif, a French-born art collector who owned and operated a dye factory. His father died when Dourif was three years old, ...

17. Leonard Nimoy

Actor | Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

Leonard Simon Nimoy was born in Boston, Massachusetts, to Dora (Spinner) and Max Nimoy, who owned a barbershop. His parents were Ukrainian Jewish immigrants. Raised in a tenement and acting in community theaters since age eight, Nimoy did not make his Hollywood debut until he was 20, with a bit ...

18. William Shatner

Actor | Star Trek V: The Final Frontier

William Shatner has notched up an impressive 70-plus years in front of the camera, displaying heady comedic talent and being instantly recognizable to several generations of cult television fans as the square-jawed Captain James T. Kirk, commander of the starship U.S.S. Enterprise. Shatner was born ...

19. DeForest Kelley

Actor | Star Trek

Jackson DeForest Kelley was born in Toccoa, Georgia, to Clora (Casey) and Ernest David Kelley. He graduated from high school at age 16 and went on to sing at the Baptist church where his father was a minister. At age 17, he made his first trip outside the state to visit an uncle in Long Beach, ...

20. Nichelle Nichols

Actress | Star Trek

Nichelle Nichols was one of 10 children born to parents Lishia and Samuel Nichols in Robbins, Illinois, a Chicago suburb. She was a singer and dancer before turning to acting and finding fame in her groundbreaking role of Lt. Nyota Uhura in the Star Trek (1966) series. As long as she could remember,...

21. James Doohan

Best known as Scotty in Star Trek he was educated at High School in Sarnia, Ontario, where he acted in school productions. When WWII began he joined the Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery eventually obtaining the rank of Captain. He was wounded on D-Day, suffering severe damage to his right middle...

22. George Takei

George Takei was born Hosato Takei in Los Angeles, California. His mother was born in Sacramento to Japanese parents & his father was born in Japan. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, he & his family were relocated from Los Angeles to the Rohwer Relocation Center in Arkansas. Later, they were ...

23. Walter Koenig

Walter Koenig began his acting career in 1962 as an uncredited Sentry in the TV series Combat! (1962), and in the following few years had bit roles in several television shows, until he landed the role that would catapult his career in ways he could never have imagined, as Ensign Pavel Chekov in ...

24. Majel Barrett

Actress | Star Trek: First Contact

Majel Barrett (born Majel Leigh Hudec) was an American actress, known for her long association with Star Trek. She had multiple Star Trek-related roles, though she is mostly remembered for her roles as Nurse Christine Chapel in Star Trek, The Original Series (1966-1969) and as Lwaxana Troi in Star ...

25. John Winston

Actor | Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

John Winston's major contribution to popular culture was his portrayal of Lt. Kyle on the original series of Star Trek. His character, appearing in a total of 11 episodes, was either seen as a transporter operator or as part of bridge personnel where he would mostly act as a helmsman. He also ...

26. Grace Lee Whitney

Actress | Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

Grace Lee Whitney was a versatile actress and vocalist born in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Beginning as a "girl singer" on Detroit's WJR radio, she soon opened in nightclubs for Billie Holiday and Buddy Rich , and toured with the Spike Jones and Fred Waring Bands. Grace debuted on Broadway in "Top Banana",...

27. Barbara Babcock

Actress | Far and Away

Blue-eyed, red-haired American character actress, often seen as resolute, strong-willed women. Though born in Kansas, Barbara Babcock spent much of her early childhood in Japan, where her father, U.S. Army Major General Conrad Stanton Babcock Jr., was posted (he was also a noted equestrian, who ...

28. Sean Kenney

Sean Kenney was born on March 13, 1944. He is an actor, known for Star Trek (1966), Terminal Island (1973) and The Assassin's Apprentice: Silbadores of the Canary Islands (2023).

29. Patrick Stewart

Actor | Logan

Sir Patrick Stewart was born in Mirfield, Yorkshire, England, to Gladys (Barrowclough), a textile worker and weaver, and Alfred Stewart, who was in the army. He was a member of various local drama groups from about age 12. He left school at age 15 to work as a junior reporter on a local paper; he ...

30. Jonathan Frakes

Actor | Star Trek: First Contact

Jonathan Scott Frakes was born in Bellefonte, central Pennsylvania. He is the son of Doris J. (Yingling) and Dr. James R. Frakes, a professor. His parents moved with Jonathan and his younger brother Daniel to Bethlehem in eastern Pennsylvania. There, his father taught English at Lehigh University, ...

31. LeVar Burton

Actor | Star Trek: Generations

LeVar Burton was born on February 16, 1957 in Landstuhl, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. He is an actor and director, known for Star Trek: Generations (1994), Star Trek: First Contact (1996) and Star Trek: Insurrection (1998). He has been married to Stephanie Cozart Burton since October 3, 1992. ...

32. Marina Sirtis

Actress | Star Trek: The Next Generation

Marina Sirtis was born in London, England, to Greek parents, Despina (Yianniri), a tailor's assistant, and John Sirtis. Her parents did not want her to become an actress. As soon as Marina completed high school, she secretly applied to the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. After her graduation, ...

33. Brent Spiner

Brent Spiner, whose primary claim to fame is his portrayal of the beloved android Data on the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987), was born and raised in Houston, Texas. His parents, Sylvia (Schwartz) and Jack Spiner, owned and operated a furniture store, and were both from ...

34. Michael Dorn

Michael Dorn is an American actor from Texas. He is best known for playing Worf in the "Star Trek" franchise, the first Klingon character to be part of a television series' main cast. Dorn played the character regularly from 1987 to 2002, appearing in four films and 272 television episodes. Dorn ...

35. Gates McFadden

Actress | Star Trek: Picard

Gates McFadden was born on March 2, 1949 in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, USA. She is an actress and producer, known for Star Trek: Picard (2020), Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987) and Labyrinth (1986). She is married to John Talbot . They have one child.

36. Wil Wheaton

Actor | Stand by Me

Wil Wheaton was born Richard William Wheaton III on July 29, 1972 in Burbank, California. He first gained international attention by starring in the Rob Reiner comedy-drama film Stand by Me (1986). He then played Wesley Crusher on the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987) for ...

37. Colm Meaney

Actor | Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Colm Meaney was born on May 30, 1953 in Dublin, Ireland. He is an actor and producer, known for Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993), Layer Cake (2004) and Under Siege (1992). He has been married to Ines Glorian since March 15, 2007. They have one child. He was previously married to Bairbre Dowling .

38. Denise Crosby

Actress | Pet Sematary

Denise Michelle Crosby was born on November 24, 1957 in Hollywood, California. Denise graduated from Hollywood High School in 1975 and attended Cabrillo College in Santa Cruz where she enrolled in the Drama Department. Forming part of the extensive Crosby family dynasty, this striking leading ...

39. Whoopi Goldberg

Actress | Ghost

Whoopi Goldberg was born Caryn Elaine Johnson in the Chelsea section of Manhattan on November 13, 1955. Her mother, Emma (Harris), was a teacher and a nurse, and her father, Robert James Johnson, Jr., was a clergyman. Whoopi's recent ancestors were from Georgia, Florida, and Virginia. She worked in...

40. Diana Muldaur

Actress | McCloud

Diana Muldaur is known for L.A. Law (1986), Star Trek: The Next Generation, McCloud, Born Free, The Other and McQ. In the eighties, Diana became the president of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (the academy handing out the Emmy awards). Diana's L.A. Law character, Rosalind Shays, was a ...

41. Patti Yasutake

Actress | Star Trek: Generations

Patti Yasutake was born on September 6, 1953 in Los Angeles, California, USA. She is an actress, known for Star Trek: Generations (1994), Star Trek: First Contact (1996) and Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot (1992).

42. Michelle Forbes

Actress | Kalifornia

Michelle Renee Forbes Guajardo is an American actress who has appeared on television and in independent films. Forbes first gained attention for her dual role in daytime soap opera Guiding Light (1952), for which she received a Daytime Emmy Award nomination. She is also a Saturn Award winner with ...

43. Rosalind Chao

Actress | 3 Body Problem

Rosalind Chao is best known for M*A*S*H, The Joy Luck Club (1993), Star Trek, What Dreams May Come, and most recently The Laundromat (2019), and Plus One (2019). She was born and raised in Orange County, California where her parents ran a Chinese restaurant and pancake house. Rosalind first began ...

44. John de Lancie

Actor | Crank: High Voltage

John de Lancie was raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He attended Kent State University where he won a scholarship to Juilliard. John's father was a professional oboist with the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra. de Lancie is probably best known for his portrayal as Eugene Bradford on Days of Our ...

45. Brian Bonsall

Actor | Family Ties

Brian was born in Torrance California in 1981, and grew up as a child actor in Hollywood. He filled a variety of roles, during his acting career between the ages of three and fourteen, which include "Andy Keaton" on Family Ties (1982); Worf's son "Alexander Rozshenko" on Star Trek: The Next ...

46. Dwight Schultz

Dwight Schultz is an American actor who is known for playing Howling Mad Murdock from The A-Team and Reginald Barclay from Star Trek: The Next Generation. He is also known for his voice work as Mung Daal from Chowder, Professor Pyg from Batman: Arkham Knight, Vulture from Spider-Man video games, Dr...

47. Robert O'Reilly

Robert O'Reilly was born on March 25, 1950 in New York City, New York, USA. He is an actor, known for Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993), The Mask (1994) and Star Trek the Next Generation Interactive VHS Board Game (1993). He is married to Judy. They have three children.

48. Anson Mount

Actor | Crossroads

Anson is an American actor, born in Mount Prospect, IL and grew up in White Bluff, Tennessee. His mother is Nancy Smith, a former professional golfer. His father Anson Adams Mount II was one of the original contributing editors to Playboy magazine. Anson has an older brother Anson Adams III and a ...

49. Ethan Peck

Actor | In Time

Ethan Gregory Peck is an American actor. He is the grandson of actor Gregory Peck and Greta Kukkonen, Peck's first wife. In 2019, he played a young Spock in Star Trek: Discovery, a role he has reprised for the television series Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. Peck had many television appearances as a...

50. Rebecca Romijn

Actress | X-Men

Rebecca Alie Romijn was born on November 6, 1972 in Berkeley, California. Her father was Dutch-born and worked as a custom-furniture maker. Her mother was American-born, with Dutch and English ancestry, and was a teacher of English. Rebecca attended Berkeley High School where her nickname was the "...

51. Adrienne Wilkinson

Actress | Dreamcatcher

This blue-eyed beauty was born in Missouri. She started taking dance classes at the age of two, and was performing in recitals and on stage almost immediately. Her pursuit of dance continued through high school with various dance classes and companies. While a senior in high school she joined a ...

52. Gary Graham

Actor | Robot Jox

Gary Graham was born on June 6, 1950 in Long Beach, California, USA. He was an actor and producer, known for Robot Jox (1989), Star Trek: Enterprise (2001) and The Jackal (1997). He was married to Becky Hopkins, Diane Patricia Vaughan, Caren Leslie Williams and Susan Lavelle . He died on January 22,...

53. Chasty Ballesteros

Actress | The Ranch

Chasty Rose Ballesteros is a Canadian actress of Filipino descent who has had roles in Smallville, Supernatural, Psych, Sanctuary, Modern Family, The Big Bang Theory, and How I Met Your Mother. Raised in Winnipeg, Ballesteros moved to Vancouver after high school, to pursue a career as a hairstylist...

54. Edward Furlong

Actor | Terminator 2: Judgment Day

Edward Walter Furlong was born in Glendale, California. His mother, Eleanor (Tafoya), is from a Mexican family, and worked at a youth center. Furlong had no acting ambitions until he was approached by casting agent Mali Finn , who was looking for a young actor to play the role of John Connor in what...

55. Crystal Conway

Actress | Star Trek: Renegades

Crystal Conway is known for Star Trek: Renegades (2015), InAlienable (2007) and Star Trek: Of Gods and Men (2007).

56. Madison Russ

Madison Russ is known for Star Trek: Renegades (2015), Dreamcatcher (2021) and Junkie (2018).

57. Alison Pill

Actress | Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

Alison Pill was most recently seen in HELLO TOMORROW! for Apple TV+. She previously starred in the CBS All Access series, STAR TREK: PICARD, Alex Garland's FX miniseries, DEVS, and the Amazon series, THEM. Pill's other television work includes Ryan Murphy's AMERICAN HORROR STORY: CULT, the ABC ...

58. Isa Briones

Actress | Takers

Isa Briones was born Isabella Camille Briones in London, England. Her parents, Jon Jon Briones and Megan Johnson Briones are both actors and singers, and her younger brother, Teo Briones is also an actor. She began modeling in New York at the age of 3, and started acting when her family moved to ...

59. Michelle Hurd

Actress | Blindspot

Michelle Hurd was born in New York City, New York, USA. Michelle is an actor and producer, known for Blindspot (2015), Star Trek: Picard (2020) and The Glades (2010). Michelle has been married to Garret Dillahunt since July 6, 2007.

60. Santiago Cabrera

Actor | Big Little Lies

Santiago Cabrera was born in Caracas, Venezuela, to Chilean parents, and grew up in London, Romania, Toronto, and Madrid. Although he considers Santiago, Chile, his hometown, he splits his time between London and Los Angeles. Cabrera trained at London's prestigious Drama Centre under renowned ...

61. Harry Treadaway

Actor | Honeymoon

Harry John Newman Treadaway (born 10 September 1984) is an English actor known for his performance as Victor Frankenstein on the horror-drama series Penny Dreadful. Born at the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital in Exeter, Devon, Treadaway was brought up in Sandford, Devon. His father is an architect ...

62. Evan Evagora

Actor | Fantasy Island

Evan Evagora was born and raised in Melbourne, Australia. His mother Marie is of New Zealand and Cook Island Maori descent and moved from Auckland at the age of 20. His father, Xristos immigrated to Australia from his homeland of Cyprus at the age of three. The youngest of seven siblings, Evan grew ...

63. Peyton List

Actress | The Tomorrow People

Peyton List was born on August 8, 1986, in Boston, Massachusetts. She grew up with her older sister Brittany, who works as a model in Germany, and her parents Sherri Anderson and Douglas "Doug" List. Peyton studied at the School of American Ballet in New York City and also played there on stage. She...

64. Tamlyn Tomita

Actress | The Day After Tomorrow

Tamlyn Tomita was born on January 27, 1966 in Okinawa, Japan. She is an actress and writer, known for The Day After Tomorrow (2004), The Karate Kid Part II (1986) and The Eye (2008). She is married to Daniel Blinkoff .

65. Scott Bakula

Actor | Quantum Leap

Scott Stewart Bakula was born on October 9, 1954 in St. Louis, Missouri, to Sally (Zumwinkel) and J. Stewart Bakula, a lawyer. He is of German, as well as Czech, Austrian, Scottish and English ancestry. He comes from a musical family. In the fourth grade, he started a rock band and wrote songs for ...

66. John Billingsley

Actor | The Man from Earth

John Billingsley was born on May 20, 1960 in Media, Pennsylvania, USA. He is an actor, known for The Man from Earth (2007), Out of Time (2003) and 2012 (2009). He has been married to Bonita Friedericy since June 2000.

67. Jolene Blalock

Actress | Enterprise

Jolene Blalock was born and raised in San Diego, California. At age 16, she left home to pursue a modeling career in Europe and Asia. It was on a 1998 trip back to the United States that Blalock was compelled to flex her untested acting skills, and after a few commercial appearances and some ...

68. Dominic Keating

Actor | Beowulf

Dominic Keating was born on July 1, 1961 in Leicester, Leicestershire, England, UK. He is an actor and producer, known for Beowulf (2007), Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two (2012) and Star Trek: Enterprise (2001).

69. Anthony Montgomery

Actor | Enterprise

Anthony Montgomery was born on June 2, 1971 in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for Star Trek: Enterprise (2001), General Hospital (1963) and The Family Business (2018). He was previously married to Adrienne.

70. Linda Park

Actress | Bosch

Linda Park was born in Seoul, South Korea. Immediately after graduating Boston University's BFA Acting program, she landed her first series regular role on Star Trek: Enterprise. She continued on to series regular roles on Raines, Women's Murder Club, and Starz' Crash. She has recurred on TNT's ...

71. Connor Trinneer

Connor Trinneer was born on March 19, 1969 in Walla Walla, Washington, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for Star Trek: Enterprise (2001), American Made (2017) and Stargate Origins (2018). He was previously married to Ariana Navarre.

72. Jeffrey Combs

Actor | Re-Animator

Jeffrey Combs was born on September 9th, 1954 in Oxnard, California. He grew up in Lompoc, California with a plethora of siblings both older and younger. He attended the Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts in Santa Maria, and the Professional Actor's Training Program at the University of ...

73. Eric Pierpoint

Actor | Liar Liar

Eric Pierpoint is noted for the Alien Nation (1989) television series, Liar Liar (1997), The World's Fastest Indian (2005), Forever Young (1992), Holes (2003), Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009), and Sex Tax: Based on a True Story (2010). He starred in TV series Hot Pursuit (1984), Fame (...

74. Sonequa Martin-Green

Actress | Star Trek: Discovery

Sonequa Martin-Green (born March 21, 1985) is an American actress and producer. She is best known for her television role as Sasha Williams on The Walking Dead, a role she played from 2012 to 2017. Before that, she had starred in several independent films before gaining her first recurring role as ...

75. Doug Jones

Actor | Hellboy II: The Golden Army

The youngest of four brothers, Doug Jones was born on May 24, 1960, in Indianapolis, Indiana, and grew up in the city's Northeastside. After attending Bishop Chatard High School, he headed off to Ball State University, where he graduated in 1982 with a Bachelor's degree in Telecommunications and a ...

76. Anthony Rapp

Actor | Rent

Anthony Rapp started his career at the young age of six, and received his first professional job at the age of nine. His breakout came when he originated the role of Mark Cohen in Jonathan Larson 's production of the Broadway musical "Rent". He can also be heard on the original cast recording.

77. Mary Wiseman

Mary Wiseman was born on July 30, 1985. She is an actress, known for Star Trek: Discovery (2017), Marriage Story (2019) and Baskets (2016). She was previously married to Noah Averbach-Katz .

78. Emily Coutts

Born in Canada, she lived in Toronto while earning her BFA in acting at York University. As an actress, she first appeared in 2011 in The Bright Side of the Moon. Among her movies are Crimson Peak (2015) and the shorts Bullet-Headed, Satisfaction, As I Like Her, Cherry, Can't Close a Painted Eye, 3...

79. Oyin Oladejo

Oyin Oladejo was born in Ibadan, Oyo, Nigeria. She is known for Star Trek: Discovery (2017), Orah (2023) and Endlings (2020).

80. Patrick Kwok-Choon

Actor | Star Trek: Discovery

Patrick Kwok-Choon is a Canadian actor known for his role as Gen Rhys on Star Trek: Discovery (2017), Perry Crofte on Wynonna Earp (2016), and Seth Park on Open Heart (2015). Has a black belt in Krav Maga, and is also very proficient in Taekwon-Do, and Muay Thai. He resides and works in both Toronto ...

81. Julianne Grossman

Julianne Grossman was born in Los Angeles, California, USA. She is known for Star Trek: Discovery (2017), Superman/Batman: Apocalypse (2010) and Spaceballs: The Animated Series (2008).

82. Ronnie Rowe

The younger of two children Ronnie Rowe was born in Toronto, Canada on December 16. With both parents coming to Canada in the 1970's from Jamaica, Ronnie also has origins from Cuba and Panama. He began his acting on the stage in grade school doing plays like: The Sound of Music, Oliver Twist, ...

83. Sara Mitich

Sara Mitich is defined by her passion, discipline and remarkably wide range as an actor. Many refer to her as a chameleon, as she effortlessly slips into any role. Prior to acting, Sara's first love was Ballet. At the young age of 9, Sara began at the National Ballet School of Canada where she ...

84. Wilson Cruz

Award-winning Actor, Producer, Activist, "Actorvist," and Humanitarian Wilson Cruz currently stars as Dr. Hugh Culber on the Award-winning Paramount+ series STAR TREK: DISCOVERY. He appeared on the Netflix series THIRTEEN REASONS WHY and in Hulu's 2020 GLAAD Award- Winning original animated kids' ...

85. Shazad Latif

Actor | The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Shazad Latif was born in London in July 1988 of mixed English, Scottish and Pakistani descent. He is an actor, known for Penny Dreadful, Toast of London and The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. He studied at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School but took an early departure after he secured his first...

86. Michelle Yeoh

Actress | Everything Everywhere All at Once

Michelle Yeoh was born in Ipoh, Malaysia. She's the daughter of Janet Yeoh & Kian Teik Yeoh. She's of Hokkien descent, speaking English and Malay before Chinese. A ballet dancer since 4, she moved to London to study at the Royal Academy as a teen. After a brief dance career, she won the Miss ...

87. David Benjamin Tomlinson

Actor | Miracle

David Benjamin Tomlinson is known for Miracle (2004), Escape: A Ghost Story (2021) and The Writers' Block (2015).

88. Jason Isaacs

Actor | Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Jason Isaacs was born in Liverpool. He studied law at Bristol University but fell in love with the theatre and directed, produced and appeared in dozens of productions there, at the National Student Theatre Festival and at the Edinburgh Festival. He graduated in 1985 but then attended the Royal ...

89. Rachael Ancheril

Coming up in 2024, Rachael will be seen again in Chucky Season 3, Star Trek Discovery for its final season, and will be guest starring on an episode of the new and highly anticipated, Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent. In 2023 Rachael appeared as a recurring guest in Chucky as the hard nosed ...

90. Jayne Brook

Jayne Brook was born in Northbrook, Illinois, USA. Jayne is an actor, known for Star Trek: Discovery (2017), Boston Legal (2004) and Chicago Hope (1994). Jayne has been married to John Terlesky since May 11, 1996. They have two children.

91. Hannah Cheesman

Director | The Boathouse

Hannah is a director and a Canadian Screen Award-nominated writer and actor, recognized as a TIFF Emerging Canadian Filmmaker and a Playback 5 to Watch. Her work spans feature films, shorts, television and commercials, and has screened at Cannes, Palm Springs, and TIFF. Hannah's feature "The ...

92. Avery Brooks

Avery Franklin Brooks was born on October 2, 1948 in Evansville, Indiana to a musically talented family. His maternal grandfather, Samuel Travis Crawford, was a tenor who graduated from Tougaloo College in Mississippi in 1901. Crawford toured the country singing with the Delta Rhythm Boys in the ...

93. Rene Auberjonois

René Murat Auberjonois was born on June 1, 1940 in New York City, to Princess Laure Louise Napoléone Eugénie Caroline (Murat), who was born in Paris, and Fernand Auberjonois, who was Swiss-born. René was born into an already artistic family, which included his grandfather, a well-known Swiss ...

94. Cirroc Lofton

Cirroc Lofton was born on August 7, 1978 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993), Beethoven (1992) and Invasion (2005).

95. Alexander Siddig

Born in Sudan, Siddig was raised in Britain and attended the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts (LAMDA) where he studied acting and theater. Immediately after leaving LAMDA, Sid did a season of theater in Manchester, in addition to performing in various shows in pubs and small theaters. ...

96. Nana Visitor

Actress | Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Nana Visitor was born on July 26, 1957 in New York City, New York, USA. She is an actress, known for Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993), Friday the 13th (2009) and Ted 2 (2015).

97. Armin Shimerman

Armin Shimerman was born on November 5, 1949 in Lakewood, New Jersey, USA. He is an actor and writer, known for Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993), The Hitcher (1986) and BioShock (2007). He has been married to Kitty Swink since May 16, 1981.

98. Terry Farrell

Terry Farrell was born on November 19, 1963 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. At age 15, she became a foreign exchange student to Mexico, and, from that experience, she decided she would like to live a more adventurous life in the big city. She sent several photos to a modeling agency and then, at age 17, ...

99. Aron Eisenberg

Aron Eisenberg was born on January 6, 1969 in Hollywood, California, USA. He was an actor and producer, known for Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993), Star Trek: Voyager (1995) and Star Trek Online (2010). He was married to Malissa Longo . He died on September 21, 2019 in the USA.

100. Andrew Robinson

Actor | Hellraiser

Andrew Jordt Robinson was born in New York City and attended the University of New Hampshire, later receiving his B.A. in English from the New School for Social Research in NYC. After graduation, he spent a year in England at the London Academy for Music and Dramatic Arts on a Fulbright Scholarship...

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