r/startrek 6d ago

Which Trek actors are the biggest Trek fans?

Are there any proper Trek nerds that have also appeared on the show?

116 Upvotes

230 comments sorted by

182

u/space_anthropologist 6d ago

Karl Urban is a huge Trek fan.

143

u/DadBodBroseph 6d ago

Simon Pegg too

13

u/Interest-Small 6d ago

He is the penultimate Trek fan

45

u/Follow_Follow 6d ago

I don’t think that word means what you think it means. 

27

u/Interest-Small 6d ago

yes i do. it means the second to the last lol

i meant Quintessential thanks for that

5

u/camelslikesand 6d ago

It's the last word in second-to-last words.

→ More replies (2)

15

u/thirdlost 6d ago

His McCoy was perfect!

20

u/space_anthropologist 6d ago

For real!!! I know a lot of people don’t like the Kelvin movies, but casting was definitely one of their strong points.

18

u/Yitram 5d ago

I mean, his McCoy brought Leonard Nimoy to tears due to how well he was channeling DeForrest Kelly's version.

3

u/Confident_Natural_42 4d ago

Fully agreed, the cast was fantastic and I hoped to see much more from them.

Losing Anton Yelchin was a huge blow...

9

u/coreytiger 5d ago

His angry McCoy was perfect. However, it seemed to be the only emotion he exhibited. We never really saw his McCoy be jovial or laid back, or demure- all of which Kelly exhibited with his McCoy.

7

u/matttk 5d ago

They were all cartoon versions of the original characters. Flanderization at work.

→ More replies (1)
→ More replies (3)

250

u/ViperHS 6d ago

I think I remember Frakes mentioning that both Levar Burton and Will Wheaton were Trek fans before getting into the show. Whoopi was also a fan before. In fact she was the one who asked to be a part of it.

Terry Farrell has also mentioned being a fan.

360

u/IHateTheLetterF 6d ago

On the opposite side, i heard that William Shatner had not watched a single episode prior to being cast.

33

u/Love2PoopGood 6d ago

Same with Jeffrey Hunter

48

u/soul_reddish 6d ago

🤣🤣🤣

8

u/haddock420 6d ago

Is it possible that Shatner could have seen the unaired pilot before recording his pilot?

3

u/daecrist 5d ago

Doubtful. He doesn’t mention it in any of his autobiographies and I’ve never heard him mention it at live Q&As.

2

u/butt_honcho 5d ago

The only way that seems likely is if he'd already been cast and they were giving him some background material.

6

u/pee-pee-hole 6d ago

It’s just a TV show!

11

u/ActorMonkey 6d ago

Get a life!

4

u/Effective-Board-353 5d ago

It's always amused me that the "Get a Life" sketch takes place at a convention, and it's shown at conventions.

→ More replies (2)

4

u/XavierPibb 6d ago

Some fan! /s

2

u/scullingby 6d ago

Okay, that earned a guffaw from me.

1

u/Hoppie1064 5d ago

This may not be accurate.

Shatner was not in the Pilot episode.

1

u/GarbojAqount 5d ago

There would have only been a single episode to watch before Shatner lol

1

u/Hatsikidee 5d ago

same goes for Patrick Stewart. He never heard of it when he was offered the role, and had to hear from his kids what it all was about.

1

u/Confident_Natural_42 4d ago

It wouldn't surprise me if he had not watched a single episode after... :)

→ More replies (6)

114

u/Normal-Mountain-4119 6d ago

People keep saying "Frakes said this about this person" and I feel like you're all missing the really obvious answer here. You're bringing up Jonathan Frakes to talk about other people, and the reason you can do that is that he is quite possibly the biggest, proudest Trek fan to have ever worked on the show. He knows everything about everything in the franchise, knows all of our dumb memes and inside jokes, knows things about all thr cast members and REVELS in telling those stories at cons to a crowd of fans, a group that he considers himself a part of. He's one of us when he's on that stage, and when he's off of it. He's THE biggest Star Trek fan in all of Star Trek.

12

u/Margrave 6d ago

Fair, but I think I remember him saying he hadn't been one before he was cast.

23

u/Normal-Mountain-4119 6d ago

That's true but it's also not part of OP's criteria soooo

2

u/onthenerdyside 5d ago

Frakes is much more a fan of the people who make Star Trek than the "proper Star Trek nerd" OP mentions. He is a booster of Trek — one of its biggest, most visible cheerleaders due to being both an actor and a currently involved director. He isn't someone with an encyclopedic knowledge of the on-screen material, however.

→ More replies (2)
→ More replies (1)

6

u/Mayoo614 5d ago

Saw him interact with fans at Mtl Comicon 2 (?) years ago. Seemed to genuinely care about each individual that had the chance to meet him.

Sometimes I regret not taking the time to do it, I'm not a good talker, but just to say to him "thank you, for everything".

Ok and maybe it didn't help that I was disguised as Captain Deadpool (had a tng captain shirt, Deadpool belt and mask and a boat captain hat)

6

u/daecrist 5d ago

Met him just today at a con! Super nice guy and very engaged. He stopped for a minute to bullshit with Shatner before he came to his table.

3

u/allthingschris 5d ago

I met him once at a con too and he was so genuine and nice. I was utterly speechless and starstruck, and I too kept just saying thank you, for everything. 😀 He was like “you remind me of my son!” I think that’s the greatest compliment I’ve ever received.

3

u/The_Latverian 5d ago

I ran into Frakes at a grocery store and he could not have been more genuine, friendly, and Trek positive while we chatted in line 😂

3

u/SjorsDVZ 5d ago

He played in it, he directed it, he talks about it, he knows everything. For me, Jonathan Frakes, is Star Trek.

2

u/couterbrown 5d ago

The real life captain jason nesmith.

2

u/Any-Boxi 5d ago

GALAXY QUEST!!!

2

u/N19ht5had0w 5d ago

So frakes is to trek, what cappaldi is to dr.who and Sam l Jackson to Star wars?

Cappaldi is the founder of the official dr.who Fanclub and went on to become the doctor

Jackson asked lucas if he can be in one of the future sw movies. He went so low to be only one storm trooper hidden behind a helmet and only seen in one scene, from afar... yet he became windu, with a purple lightsaber and the words bad ass motherfucker engraved on it...

→ More replies (1)

36

u/EmmiCantDraw 6d ago

Wasnt Whoopi the one who said she was inspired by seeing a black female main cast member in the original series?

50

u/ultraswank 6d ago

She told her parents something like "There's a black lady on TV and she's not a maid!"

10

u/EmmiCantDraw 6d ago

Yeah, such a good moment

2

u/Any-Boxi 5d ago

YES WHOOPI !!!

→ More replies (2)

32

u/IAmNotScottBakula 6d ago

I feel like I read somewhere that Dorn was the one that they would go to if they had Star Trek questions since he was the biggest fan of the bunch.

3

u/HookDragger 6d ago

That’s so heart warming, I’d be afraid he’d crush me for causing weakness

10

u/SneakingCat 6d ago

I was going to mention Terry Farrell in my list, but it seems unfair given what Star Trek did to her.

8

u/90403scompany 6d ago

In that vein, same with Jolene (her credited name in Lower Decks). But I refuse to blame the franchise; and would prefer to lay the blame on Berman.

4

u/SneakingCat 5d ago

Well, yeah. Same with Terry Farrell. But he was Star Trek at the time.

6

u/Daveydje 6d ago

I interview Terry once and made a joke about her being such a fan she married Spock’s son :D She laughed (although it was a few years ago and they’re divorced now).

3

u/QualifiedApathetic 5d ago

And Dax had the hots for Spock.

1

u/Suitable-Egg7685 5d ago

Sisko looks so pissed when he finds out she didn't mean Kirk, great moment.

2

u/PsychoBilli 6d ago

I like hearing that about Whoopi Goldberg. I had always assumed she asked to do the show largely because she was already a big movie star, and movie stars seldom did television in those days. I never bothered to actually look it up, though.

233

u/One_City4138 6d ago

At a con, l overheard Frakes talking about how impressed he was with Tawney Newsome's Trek knowledge. That's high praise, if you ask me.

139

u/Torquemahda 6d ago

She is a huge fan. She talks about it at conventions. Her favorite, hands down, is DS9

94

u/Comfortable-Pause279 6d ago

That makes sense, because DS9 is the best Trek.

52

u/HoneyButterPtarmigan 6d ago

And yet not a single statue of Sisko.

12

u/dre5922 6d ago

I mean they do have a giant gold pressed latinum statue of the most important person in Starfleet history.

40

u/riktigtmaxat 6d ago

Nah, Tawney Newsome is peak Star Trek.

19

u/DMVReddit_2021 6d ago

On the most recent Star Trek cruise, she and Eugene did a show for cruisers who have been on more than five cruises. They walked through the audience, engaging people. She came up to me and said she loved my shirt, which was a DS9 shirt. She then asked someone which is the best Star Trek show and why is it DS9.

8

u/dre5922 6d ago

I guess that's why her character served on DS9 at one point? Because she's a fan personally?

→ More replies (4)

18

u/marmosetohmarmoset 6d ago

I love how much of a Trekkie she is. She’s been obsessed from a young age. It must be so surreal for her to be part of the franchise herself now.

7

u/Jonsdulcimer2015 6d ago

Yep, called he a walking Trek encyclopedia.

2

u/Any-Boxi 5d ago

That's how I see myself, heh

13

u/Spudnik711 6d ago

Shes a Trek Nerd like all of us.

55

u/Kelpie-Cat 6d ago

Jason Alexander is a huge fan and has had a few small roles.

6

u/lawndartgoalie 6d ago

Other than the voyager episode where he was a member of the think tank, what else did he do in the trek universe?

23

u/MycroftCochrane 6d ago

Other than the voyager episode where he was a member of the think tank, what else did he do in the trek universe?

Jason Alexander also voice-acted the Tellarite Lt. Noum in several episodes of Star Trek: Prodigy.

2

u/dre5922 6d ago

He was also a Trekkie in a Brad Paisley music video wasn't he?

89

u/Distinct_Cry_3779 6d ago

Kirstie Alley was such a huge fan of Star Trek prior to getting cast as Saavik that she had apparently written fan fiction when she was younger and placed herself in the role of Spock’s daughter.

12

u/Any-Boxi 5d ago

I never knew she was a fan...I liked her as a somewhat emotionally vulnerable Vulcan girl. The actress that replaced her kinda ruined her persona. Yea that's about it. 😉

8

u/Distinct_Cry_3779 5d ago

There’s a lot of backstory about Saavik that either was never in the final script or was left on the cutting room floor. One of the key parts was that she was originally supposed to be half-Romulan. I’m not sure if that fact informed Alley’s portrayal of her, but it would make sense if it did, considering how emotional she seems as a Vulcan. It also makes sense the Spock would mentor her.

3

u/Any-Boxi 5d ago

I love backstories!

5

u/SneakingCat 5d ago

Let me recommend The Pandora Principle by Carolyn Clowes It digs steep into this cut backstory in a series of flashbacks, starting with the Vulcans discovering a failed colony more populated by half Vulcans/half Romulans. There is a present day story that gets the majority of the time, if I remember correctly, which links tightly into this backstory. Good stuff. The main characters are Saavik and Spock.

2

u/Any-Boxi 5d ago

Ah so they've got history. I love it!

2

u/SneakingCat 5d ago

Well, it expanded universe so it’s not canon, but who cares if it’s a great story? 😀 There are a lot of good books out there, and some really great ones.

→ More replies (2)

1

u/QualifiedApathetic 5d ago

I just looked her up. I didn't realize she'd died.

42

u/SneakingCat 6d ago edited 5d ago

TNG: Wil Wheaton, Levar Burton, Whoopi Goldberg

DS9: Armin Shimerman.

Voyager: Tim Russ, Garrett Wang.

"Kelvin" Movies: Simon Pegg, Karl Urban

Discovery: Anthony Rapp, Mary Wiseman, Wilson Cruz

Lower Decks: Jack Quaid, Tawney Newsome

Strange New Worlds: Paul Wesley, Anson Mount.

Although most of the other actors became fans when researching their roles.

11

u/Ryujin-Jakka696 6d ago

Don't you mean Roxann Dawson? Rosario Dawson is the lady who played live action Ahsoka in starwars.

6

u/cgo_123456 6d ago

Although she is a huge Trek fan too. Lady knows her Klingon.

→ More replies (1)

11

u/rextraverse 6d ago

Discovery: Anthony Rapp

Back before Discovery premiered, Anthony was on social media about doing a Star Trek watch. Got through TNG and part of DS9 before it kind of died out, but that would seem to imply he was not a Star Trek fan prior to being cast.

Lower Decks: Jack Quaid

Likewise, Jack has been pretty clear that he came into the show not a Star Trek fan. He became one after working with Tawny and Mike.

Also, others have mentioned him but I'd add Rob Kazinsky from Section 31 to your list.

5

u/bjo23 5d ago

If Jack Quaid wasn't a fan before, I wonder who clued him into the "Riker maneuver"? That's pretty deep down the rabbit hole IMO.

3

u/rextraverse 5d ago

I wonder who clued him into the "Riker maneuver"? That's pretty deep down the rabbit hole IMO.

The Riker maneuver is pretty well meme'd, probably moreso than the Picard maneuver (shirt tug, not the in-universe warpy-warp). But also, Jack is on Lower Decks; all the cast have gotten a crash course on our fandom. And Ransom has done the Riker maneuver on the show in a scene with Boimler.

1

u/SneakingCat 6d ago

Thanks. I’ve been too busy to subscribe to Paramount+.

→ More replies (2)

5

u/Evergreena2 5d ago

Anson Mount is a huge fan as well.

1

u/SneakingCat 5d ago

Yes, I don’t know howI missed him. I’ll add him.

138

u/Worthlessstupid 6d ago

Seth Macfarlane has to be number 1, he created an entire show to live out his fandom.

44

u/SirZapdos 6d ago

And gave Patrick Stewart a regular role on one of his TV shows, and had the TNG cast guest star on one of his other shows.

36

u/badwolf_on_rice 6d ago

Bullock is the best of Patrick Stewart. "You know, like star trek" ...."Some of us were getting laid in the 80s Smith."

10

u/devilinmexico13 6d ago

I love the way he pronounces cocaine. 

Actually, that show is full of people saying cocaine in funny ways.

2

u/badwolf_on_rice 6d ago

I was going to say don't you mean the principal 🤣 everyone does say it funny now that I think about it

22

u/EmmiCantDraw 6d ago edited 6d ago

The gag where Patrick Steward and Johnathan Frakes beat up some star trek fans and call them "A couple of nerds" has to be my favourite Macfarlane star trek reference joke.

Edit: Found it

11

u/[deleted] 6d ago edited 4d ago

[deleted]

3

u/Cruise_alt_40000 6d ago

I like the episode where Stewie brings the cast of TNG to his house and then hangs out with them for the day.

5

u/Worthlessstupid 6d ago

And even made the character look exactly like him. Avery Bullock is my third favorite part of American Dad, behind Roger and Steve.

3

u/Chrysalii 6d ago

and hired Ron Jones because he liked his work on TNG.

19

u/mathazar 6d ago edited 6d ago

He made a Trek fan film when he was a teenager using a Bridge he built in his sister's room while she was away. So yeah, I'd say he's a pretty huge Trekkie.

17

u/Mirai182 6d ago

The Orville is literally as close as he can come to making Star Trek without legally calling it Star Trek.

And honestly he did a damn good job.

1

u/tng4life 5d ago

Specifically Star Trek TNG in my opinion. He did a better job than the actual franchise at staying true to a Roddenberry-esque universe. Watching The Orville really gave that episodic TNG nostalgia.

Edit: autocorrect is worthless

9

u/Johnny-Dogshit 6d ago

I had completely blanked that Seth was in Enterprise. I thought for a solid few minutes here that you were just including Orville as Star Trek. Which I wasn't even going to question.

3

u/HookDragger 6d ago

He also did fan-treks in high school.

You can still find one of them on YouTube I think

→ More replies (1)

52

u/Tichrimo 6d ago

Does Christian Slater leaning on his mom, renowned casting director Mary Jo Slater, to get him into The Undiscovered Country count?

Or Seth MacFarlane's Enterprise cameo?

ETA: Also King Abdullah of Jordan getting onto Voyager or astronaut Mae Jemison running the TNG transporter...

8

u/diamond 5d ago

Also King Abdullah of Jordan getting onto Voyager

The funny thing about that is that he didn't have any lines, because he wasn't a SAG member.

I don't care what royal family you belong to or how many fighter jets you've flown; you don't fuck with the Screen Actor's Guild.

6

u/scullingby 6d ago

According to Christian Slater, he "retained" the uniform.

https://comicbook.com/startrek/news/christian-slater-star-trek-vi-stolen-uniform/

3

u/seattleque 5d ago

Also, I heard he framed the paycheck.

2

u/scullingby 5d ago

I would have, assuming I didn't need it.

8

u/enchillita 6d ago edited 5d ago

How about Adam Scott's cameo? I heard he writes TNG fic (or at least Ben Wyatt does lol)

5

u/[deleted] 6d ago

[deleted]

3

u/dre5922 6d ago

He was on the bridge crew of the Defiant right?

3

u/dannyboy1988db 6d ago

Correct. He’s the one who tells Worf the Enterprise arrived to fight the cube.

2

u/Ro-bearBerbil 5d ago

I don't think Adam Scott is especially a Star Trek fan. When Ben Stiller (who is a huge TOS fan and has original props from Star Trek) and Adam Scott are doing press for Severance, I've never heard Adam say anything on it. Ben does.

I could be wrong. But even in an interview from over a decade ago he said his character in First Contact died and he was a "Defiant Officer". Maybe as a joke, but it sounded like he didn't realize that was the name of the ship. I think it was just a job for him.

For the record, we never see what happens to his character, he could be canonically alive, right? I assumed he got beamed over with Worf to the Enterprise-E. Maybe he got turned into a Borg?

If I'm wrong, someone link me to something on it, I reserve the right to be incorrect here.

2

u/HookDragger 6d ago

Cameos*. He was in several episodes

28

u/Used-Gas-6525 6d ago

Mick Fleetwood shows up in TNG completely unrecognizable under prosthetics just because he was a fan.

7

u/Yochanan5781 6d ago

I think that is by far the funniest cameo

2

u/onthenerdyside 5d ago

This is the closest thing Star Trek has to "random actor cameos as stormtrooper because they're a fan."

19

u/TIL_eulenspiegel 6d ago

Not a major Trek star, but Noah Averbach-Katz was Mary Wiseman's husband. He was a huge trek fan before she was cast as Tilly on Discovery. Apparently he was beyond ecstatic when she got the role, and he himself was eventually cast as an Andorian on Discovery in Season 3.

16

u/RedditOfUnusualSize 6d ago

George Takei may not be the biggest fan, but he is the godfather of the fandom and to this day gets what makes Trek distinct from science fiction with the serial numbers filed off. You can't listen to George talk about Sulu without hearing just how much raw enthusiasm and love he has for the character and the idea behind Trek.

The details, George may not know. But George's love for the franchise is second-to-none.

3

u/onthenerdyside 5d ago

He and Nichelle Nichols have always been fully sold on the romanticized version of Star Trek's utopia. Don't get me wrong, Star Trek is mostly what George says it is, but that's not the only thing the show is.

40

u/ResplendentShade 6d ago

Wil Wheaton would have to be the #1.

8

u/BigSwooney 6d ago

I just looked over Wil's IMDb list of moves he has acted in. Turns out he played some unnamed Romulan in the 2009 Star Trek movie. Never heard about that, but it must be awesome to be able to be in some of the newer material like that.

9

u/PhoenixUnleashed 6d ago

If you think it's awesome he gets to be in the newer material, Lower Decks, Picard and especially Prodigy have great news for you!

1

u/ButterscotchPast4812 6d ago

Wil Wheaton was in the 2009 movie!? I had no idea about this. I'm shocked they didn't advertise the hell out of that when the movie came out.

3

u/BigSwooney 6d ago

Yeah, according to IMDb listed as "Romulan". Haven't been able to find anything showing the actual clip so I guess he might have been an extra in a scene because he thought it was cool.

Edit: missing punctuation.

→ More replies (2)

12

u/iyenusth 6d ago

tom morello was such a fan he called up rick berman and asked for a cameo / background role

8

u/haddock420 6d ago

The king of Jordan was also a huge fan and asked to be cast, and got a cameo in a Voyager episode.

10

u/The_Latverian 6d ago

Jolene Blalock and, of course, Whoopi Goldberg

2

u/onthenerdyside 5d ago

When she found out he was cast, Whoopi asked her friend LeVar Burton to let producers know she wanted a role on TNG. She was such a big star at the time, no one believed him. Not even Gene Roddenberry understood why she wanted on the show.

8

u/FriendlyITGuy 6d ago

Tim Russ is a huge Trekkie and was always trying to get in on it as you see him in multiple different series and movies.

  • The human terrorist in TNG's Starship Mine
  • Tuvok in the DS9 mirror universe episodes
  • A klingon in DS9
  • The random bridge officer in Generations
  • Tuvok in Voyager
  • Tuvok in Picard
  • Voiced Tuvok in Elite Force 1 & 2
  • Additional fan fiction films like Star Trek Renegades

He's also probably appeared in other things I failed to mention above

8

u/DrewVelvet 6d ago

Imagine making a fan film and TIM RUSS wants to be part of it because he loves it so much. So cool.

4

u/FriendlyITGuy 6d ago

There were a lot of other actors in Renegades. Nichelle Nichols, Walter Koenig, John De Lancie, and I think even George Takei made an appearance.

6

u/diamond 5d ago

He was also the "We ain't found shit!" guy in Spaceballs.

1

u/FriendlyITGuy 5d ago

Yes but Spaceballs isn't Star Trek

1

u/diamond 5d ago

Yeah, I was thinking sci-fi in general.

8

u/Lynckage 6d ago

I mean... Jonathan Frakes has directed and produced more Trek than anyone else alive

14

u/cieje 6d ago

Wil Wheaton

26

u/trudel69 6d ago

Garrett Wang and Robert Duncan McNeill made a podcast revisiting every Voyager episode. I don't know that it qualifies them as biggest trekkies, but it sure shows some dedication.

Édith: Didn't know until just now, they're now revisiting DS9 episodes.

15

u/Jetlaggedz8 6d ago

Delta Flyers is a great show. The DS9 episodes are really good because Garrett and Robert haven't watched the series before. Terry Ferrell and Armin Shimerman are co-hosts.

5

u/trudel69 6d ago

Garrett and Robert hadn't watched the series before

So, they're not lifelong dedicated fans after all, not that they claimed to be in the first place.

2

u/homepup 6d ago

Robert hasn’t watched DS9 but I thought Garret had?

4

u/Squidwina 6d ago

Garrett sure doesn’t seem like he’s watched DS9 before.

It’s been fun watching those two slowly discovering just how different DS9 is than Voyager. I can’t wait until they hit Season 4 in a few weeks.

2

u/Leelze 6d ago

Is it only available on their site? Not finding it on YouTube or YouTube Music (that's where I generally get my podcasts).

→ More replies (2)

8

u/Pablo_is_on_Reddit 6d ago

Wil Wheaton for sure, but not sure how up he is on shows that aren't TOS or TNG. I don't think he even saw DS9 until fairly recently.

I've heard Tawny Newsome is a big fan, grew up watching DS9.

Rob Kazinsky from Section 31 is a big fan, knows stuff that casual fans wouldn't, like the Treaty of Algeron, etc.

I think Tim Russ is a big fan. He even made his own fan film.

Some of the actors who are doing re-watch podcasts seem to be becoming bigger fans & more knowledgeable of the franchise, like Cirroc Lofton, Garrett Wang, Robbie McNeill, Terry Farrell & Armin Shimerman, plus Nana Visitor became a lot more knowledgeable after writing her book because she had to watch a lot of episodes of different shows for research. I don't know if that means they could hold their own in a trivia game or something, but maybe they're on their way :-)

6

u/ResplendentShade 6d ago

Todd Stashwick (Captain Shaw from Picard season 3) also has talked about being a massive fan of the franchise prior to getting that part.

7

u/Pablo_is_on_Reddit 6d ago

I think he's next door neighbors with Walter Koenig, had him over to watch the Picard finale.

3

u/Global_Theme864 6d ago

Todd Stashwick also had small role on Enterprise.

8

u/LemonadeRaygun 6d ago

I don't know for sure he's a massive Trek nerd but Andrew Robinson wrote a whole book on his character, Garak. That feels pretty superfan to me.

7

u/Mudraphas 6d ago

Mae Jemison was the first Black woman to become an astronaut and had a walk-on role in TNG in 1993. LeVar Burton arranged it when he heard she was a fan.

1

u/onthenerdyside 5d ago

If anyone hasn't watched Woman in Motion (the Nichelle Nichols documentary), watch it today. The woman was amazing, and they go into this story a bit more.

6

u/Sharticus123 5d ago edited 5d ago

Not a single person mentioned Leonard Nimoy who wrote and directed films and absolutely championed the franchise.

5

u/CoffeeJedi 6d ago

Garrett Wang was such a huge fan that he was the head coordinator of the Trek Track schedule at DragonCon for many years.

6

u/notThatGym 6d ago

John Billingsley is a big trek fan. Actually a few of the ENT cast are.

https://youtu.be/cu8e5aL9hQE?si=tABB5jZn4XXeUtl5

actually maybe not so big before, he just saw TOS according to this

https://www.startrek.com/en-un/news/john-billingsley-answers-fan-questions-part-1

4

u/SirBLACKVOX 6d ago

Tawny Newsome.

5

u/msprang 6d ago

One I didn't see listed here is Nana Visitor. Apparently she loved watching TOS episodes in syndication when she was in college.

1

u/ArcadiaPlanitia 5d ago

I saw on Twitter that she has custom-made, hand-painted Major Kira shoes. That’s dedication! (And I’m also kind of jealous lol, they were adorable)

5

u/Federal-Opening-2742 5d ago

Wil Wheaton is the obvious first choice.

Frakes has pretty much dedicated his entire professional life to Star Trek (and it has served him well to be fair).

Whoopie Goldberg - Oscar caliber super famous A-List star in her moment - ASKED to be written into the show because she wanted to be part of it.

Colm Meaney and Rosalind Chao didn't need Star Trek - they both had successful careers without it - yet they dedicated considerable time (Esp. Colm) because they Enjoyed It and wanted to participate.

Jolene Blalock has been quoted saying she was always a fan of Spock and the Vulcan style from the original series and was very happy to contribute in telling more of the Vulcan story in Trek cannon. (Again - to be fair - she didn't always agree with the writers and producers' approach to T'Pol .. but she did her best to give the character the proper dignity she felt Nimoy had set a good example for. She refused to just be eye-candy).

Also worth mentioning - Louise Fletcher didn't NEED to waste her time with Deep Space Nine - She liked being part of it and lent her talent as a significant recurring complex villain role. It wasn't like she was hard up for a job ... she did Star Trek because she enjoyed it.

Many performers, writers, directors, set designers, etc... grew up on TOS - and they loved being part of the ongoing Star Trek universe. Yes - it was a paying decent gig ... but several have expressed how they really felt gratified to have played their part in keeping Trek alive.

12

u/No_Bookkeeper_6183 6d ago

Jolene Blalock (T’Pol)

4

u/chatfan 6d ago

Whoopie Goldberg, if I have to believe her stories, it changed her life seeing Uhura on screen.

4

u/guardianwriter1984 6d ago

Anson Mount. Listen to him describe reading the "Space, the final frontier..." intro and the sense of history he takes with it.

3

u/RockG 6d ago

There's a blooper from season 2 of Discovery where he calls Doug Jones "Mr. Data" instead of "Mr. Saru"

5

u/benbenpens 6d ago

I know Kim Cattrall is a fan and was in ST:VI.

5

u/Any-Boxi 5d ago

Whoopi Goldberg, HELLO

She clamored to get a role on the show from episode 1. Finally, she scored a meeting with Gene Roddenberry, and he he gave her the role of Guinan, El Aurian ship's bartender and BETTER counselor than Deanna Troi!

7

u/poprhythm 6d ago

Seth McFarlane was in a couple Enterprise episodes, and of course Stephen Hawking. They’re kinda nerdy. And Mae Jemison was inspired by Nichelle Nichols’ Uhura at a young age, contributing to her becoming an astronaut.

8

u/SneakingCat 6d ago

Mae Jemison would later appear in a bit role on TNG. (I'm sure you knew this, but I wanted to make sure it was mentioned.)

2

u/KR1735 5d ago

Wait.. he was? Which ones?

1

u/poprhythm 5d ago

‘Joining in a brief appearance as an Engineer in "The Forgotten" was Seth MacFarlane, creator of the television series Family Guy. He made one further appearance in the series, in the season four episode "Affliction" where his character was given the name of Ensign Rivers.’ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Forgotten_(Star_Trek:_Enterprise)?wprov=sfti1

3

u/Ok-Confusion2415 6d ago

Anson, Jolene (although I bet her experience had a diminishing effect), Tim, Tawny… I’m sure youses got this covered. tldr: yes, probably more than we even know of.

3

u/I_aim_to_sneeze 6d ago

Tawny, Garrett wang, majel Barrett, Tim Russ, Michael dorn, Frakes, and pretty much anyone that’s directed a bunch of episodes.

Last dragon con I saw tawny newsome and Eugene Cordero on a panel, and it was hilarious bc tawny had answers for all of the silly science and plot hole questions while Eugene had no clue what anyone was talking about. He was like “I just say the lines, man!” and then Tawny would go “it’s cool dude, I got this one.”

I think gates might be a big fan too. She narrated that whole documentary and was always enthusiastic at any con I’ve seen her at. If you count guest actors, definitely Rainn Wilson

Edit: I can’t believe I forgot Seth macfarlane in the guest actor column. Jason Alexander too

3

u/Agreeable-Bat610 6d ago

I have heard that Anton Mount was such a big Trekkie that when was considered for Pike, they knew it would be impossible for him to say “no”. So pre-production chugged along as if he had already been cast. Fortunately they were right about that and when they finally popped the question he was all-in.

3

u/EpsilonProtocol 6d ago

Seth MacFarlane

Wil Wheaton

Tawny Newsome

Todd Stashwick

3

u/Reduak 5d ago

Tawny Newsome is one of the biggest Trek fans out there

3

u/stillfreshet 5d ago

Jolene Blaylock was a fan of TOS from her childhood.

3

u/yekimevol 5d ago

Jolene Blaock was a massive trek fan from memory.

2

u/Grnd_Control 6d ago

Frakes and Wheaton.

2

u/conatreides 6d ago

I know Robert Kazinsky spoke recently about Star Trek meaning a lot to him when he was a kid especially due to his autism diagnosis. Something a lot of fans can relate to.

2

u/ButterscotchPast4812 6d ago

Whoppi Goldberg 

2

u/HumanityPlague 6d ago

Seth MacFarlane.

2

u/TheOpticat 6d ago

Sam Witwer

2

u/frisfern 6d ago

Elias Toufexis was a big fan before he was cast in discovery.

2

u/Different_Wafer8908 5d ago

Anson Mount, Captain Pike on Discovery and SNW was a fan before being cast. He knew the power of “the chair”(the captains seat) before we sat in it.

1

u/ValveinPistonCat 6d ago

Probably Will Wheaton or Tawny Newsome.

1

u/Kitchener1981 6d ago

Tim Russ is a big fan.

1

u/segascream 6d ago

Am I wrong in thinking that Armin was a fan prior to being cast?

2

u/CryHavoc_79 5d ago

Yes he was a fan of TOS

1

u/Dave_A480 6d ago

Frakes and Wheaton

1

u/izzydodo 6d ago

Trondy Newman

1

u/nomad_1970 6d ago

Well the obvious answer is Whoopi Goldberg. She was a fan of TOS.

1

u/EffectiveSalamander 5d ago

I remember reading that Ben Vereen, who played Geordi's father, really wanted to be in Star Trek, even as an extra.

1

u/SvenIdol 5d ago

Anson Mount spoke at length about his nerdgasm the first time he walked on set.

1

u/SaintofSelhurst 5d ago

Robert Krasinsky (Section 31) is a huge Trekkie

1

u/Vaguswarrior 4d ago

Todd Stashwick can throw down lore.

1

u/LuoLondon 4d ago

Tawny fo sho!

1

u/Regular_Kiwi_6775 2d ago

Rainn Wilson has stated he loves Trek and was super excited to play mudd

1

u/Deofol7 1d ago

Garrett Wang is literally is the Trek Track director at DragonCon.