Star Trek actors

[Dark Reality 0]

I hear a lot of people (myself included) say that Star Trek has some of the best characters on TV; I would also say that the actors they use are very good. So I'm just wondering, why is Star Trek all most of them ever do?

 

Michael Dorn (Worf on TNG/DS9) was in Speed (1994) as the bus driver, but I didn't even know until it was pointed out to me. I can't tell it's him without the Klingon forehead ridges. Brent Spiner (Data, TNG) was in Independence Day (1996) as the lead Area 51 scientist. And of course Patrick Stewart (Picard, TNG) was in both X-Men movies and was very noticeable.

 

Of all the fake and transparent actors in movies these days, I'd like to see more of them in movies. All of them. Well, maybe not in the same movie, but I'd like to see more movies made with the Trek actors.

[Kor37 9]

Check out the Spot The Trek Star thread I started awhile back. Its devoted to reporting sightings of Trek stars in other roles.

[Odo 0]

Micheal Dorn was also a semi regular in the 70's

TV show Chips.

[Dark Reality 0]

And I noticed Kate Mulgrew (Capt. Janeway, Voyager) on an episode of Murder, She Wrote. Lame show IMO, but my mother was watching it, and I wouldn't have stopped to watch once I saw what it was, but the main character was confronting someone very familiar, and I quickly realized it was Janeway... in a fur coat. That was interesting.

[Odo 0]

Kate was also the star of a short lived series called

Mrs. Columbo where she played a amature detective.

[MrPsychic 1]

I think the problem of most actors is that they don't want to be type casted as science fiction actors. Also, many producers or directors may not want people who were in something so recognizable as Star Trek to be in their movies or shows, people will remember them as the Star Trek character. That happened when Scott Bakula was casted as Archer and people remembered him from Quantum Leap and was compairing him to that role.

[Susan_Delgado 0]

Of all the actors and actresses on Trek, the one I'm always most puzzled about not seeing anywhere is Michelle Forbes (Ro Laren). I loved her as Ensign Ro, she was fabulous. And so beautiful. I looked her up on IMDb and saw that she had done some guest spots on shows like Law and Order, but I really don't watch that show regularly. Now if they'd made her (or anyone else from Star Trek for that matter) a regular, I would have made a point to watch.

 

As for the main cast of any Star Trek series --- unless they were in heavy make-up and are very camouflaged on Trek, I think it would be hard for them to find work regardless of how talented they are because of typecasting. I just really hope for all of their sakes that they socked away some money while they were making it.

 

It's a risk you take as an actor going the regular series route ... I mean, look at the cast of Seinfeld. Nobody wants to see Julia Louis-Dreyfuss being anyone BUT Elaine, myself included I'm afraid!