Movie News

10 Actors, You Didn’t Realise Had Been In Star Trek

Published

3 years ago

October 7, 2020

The Rock and the Starship Enterprise image — _Paramount

Star Trek. Arguably the greatest sci-fi franchise ever to grace the small and big screen. It has been with us for over fifty years (and counting). Overall those various films and series there have been some rather surprising cameo and guest appearances and many actors you didn’t know had been a part of the franchise. Some have been famous actors who have blended into the background, while some have been loudly and proudly obvious to all that are watching. Let’s countdown the ten actors you didn’t realise had been in Star Trek, starting off with a legendary actor.

10. Ron Pearlman

Famous for many roles in iconic sci-fi movies such as; Hellboy and Blade 2, Ron Pearlman has a sparkling filmography under his belt. You may (or may not) have noticed that he was in the final Picard-era Trek movie, 2002’ Star Trek: Nemesis. Although the main antagonist was played by Tom Hardy before he became an A-lister, Ron Pearlman played a Reman guard in the film. He was under a lot of prosthetics, but you can still just about make him out.

9. James Avery

If you’re a child of the 90s then James Avery will be best known to you as the actor who played Uncle Phil on the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air with Will Smith. But he also played a Klingon general in the fourth season of Star Trek: Enterprise. James Avery also tried out for the part of Worf, that eventually went to Michael Dorn.

8. Kelsey Grammar

This one is hard to imagine but yes, Frasier himself is one of those famous actors who had a role on Star Trek. It was a pretty good one too as he played Captain Morgan Bateson of the USS Bozeman. Sporting a rather fine beard, he appeared in just one episode of season five of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Perhaps there is an idea there for a future series with captain ‘Frasier’ Bateson at the helm of a new starship?

7. Tom Morello

Now, this is a cool one. Especially if you’re a rock music fan. If you’re not, then Tom Morello is the guitarist in legendary bands Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave. Being a huge Trek fan, he asked to be part of Star Trek: Insurrection, but he was largely unnoticed because of makeup. Because of this, he was offered a part as crewman Mitchell in Voyager to make up for it. He was in a scene with captain Janeway too, so it wasn’t all bad.

6. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson

This one is more of the legendary cameos from a now A-list actor. Back in the ’90s when he moved from wrestling to acting, this was Dwayne’s first proper acting role. True to form, he actually played a Pendari who beat Seven of Nine in a fight on Star Trek: Voyager. The Rock’s career has gone from strength to strength since his debut on Voyager, so hopefully, he looks back fondly on his Trek beginnings.

5. Kim Cattrall

Yep, Samantha from Sex in the City was one of the actors on Star Trek. Before she was ‘enjoying’ herself in New York City she had a rather cool role on Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. She played a Vulcan helmsman called Valeris in the movie and was part of a tense ‘mind meld’ scene with Leonard Nimoy on the bridge. If you watch the scene back now, it’s clear to see where she got some of the inspiration for her more risqué scenes in the hit show that followed next.

4. Kirstie Alley

Keeping the theme of strong women is our number four offering, Kirstie Alley. Another star of Cheers! like Kelsey Grammar earlier in our list, Kirstie actually appeared in a movie as opposed to Next Generation like Kelsey. She starred as Lt Saavik in Wrath of Khan. One of her highlights was being given the special honour of guiding the Enterprise out of spacedock, much to the dismay of Admiral Kirk at the time. The look on Dr McCoy’s face is worth another watch alone.

3. Seth Macfarlane

This is possibly the ultimate fan-boy casting. It’s no secret that Seth is a huge Trekkie; you only have to look at the Trek references in his shows; not to mention The Orville, which is a huge Star Trek send-up. It’s no surprise then, that he was given a part as a Starfleet engineer in two episodes of Star Trek: Enterprise. It’s odd watching him play a straight role as you expect him to burst out with a Peter Griffin voice at any moment, but to give him credit, he pulls it off very well.

2. Iggy Pop

Yep, the ever-youthful godfather of punk and singer of The Stooges was actually in Star Trek. He played a villainous Vorta called Yelgrun in a Deep Space Nine episode entitled “The Magnificent Ferengi”. Although he was under quite a bit of makeup, you can quite clearly see it’s Iggy; especially when he speaks with that unmistakable drawl. His performance is superb, and he even manages to add some humour to the role. You also feel that at any moment he may remove his shirt and start gyrating around the ship.

1. Christopher Lloyd

Our number one choice for the greatest ever Star Trek ‘cameo’ goes to…Christopher Lloyd. It would be a further three years before he plays the iconic Doc Brown on Back to the Future. Before those dizzy heights he was one of many actors on Star Trek. He played the fantastic rebel Klingon commander Kruge on Star Trek iii: The Search for Spock. Having portrayed largely comedy roles previous to appearing in the movie, Kruge was a departure for him to play. He nailed the role perfectly; displaying the evil and powerful nature of the character, but with an endearing cheekiness to go with it. Christopher Lloyd has mentioned in recent interviews that he had a lot of fun playing such an evil character, and it showed. With plenty of Star Trek shows coming now and in the future, there could be plenty of possibilities for him to return as another character. We live in hope.

That’s our list of ten actors, you didn’t realise had been in Star Trek. Did we miss any? Which was your favourite? Let us know in the comments below.

Check out more of our Sci-Fi articles HERE.

Read about IMDB information on Star Trek HERE.

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9 Bands You Forgot Played Themselves In Movies

Published

1 year ago

January 4, 2022

Aaron Phillips

Wayne's World image — _{Paramount Pictures}

There are more bands than you think that played themselves on the big screen. Here are nine bands you might’ve forgotten appeared in movies.

1. Alice Cooper – Wayne’s World (1992)

Being a teenager in the nineties was great for many reasons. Two of those being the release of the Wayne’s World movies. The genius that is Mike Myers created one of the best music-based films of all time. Plus, he convinced one of the greatest rock musicians of all time to be in it. If you’re not a geek like me, you may have forgotten that Alice Cooper was featured in the film. It had the iconic scene of Wayne and Garth meeting, Alice, backstage on bent knees. We’re not worthy, indeed. Alice himself pulls off the diva Rockstar brilliantly, even though he’s a genuine, down-to-earth guy who plays a lot of golf.

2. Primus – Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey (1991)

Let’s try and erase the recent Bill & Ted movie from our memory and head back to 1991 for their bogus journey. They come from the future to kill the non-robot versions of themselves and ruin their performance at a Battle of the Bands competition. What’s cool is the band who are playing before them. Californian alt-metal kings Primus. Although the clip is only short, they play themselves and sound as you would expect. Epic.

3. Fall Out Boy – Sex Drive (2008)

You’d be forgiven for forgetting about this one. The teen sex comedy from 2008 is forgettable and won’t really appeal to anyone apart from its teen target audience. If you can sit through all the cringe-inducing moments, you will spot pop-rockers Fall Out Boy. They are performing in a barn in front of some drunk Amish teenagers. There’s a reason for that, but I won’t bore you with it here. What is good, is the soundtrack of the film. As well as Fall Out Boy, it features Airbourne, AC/DC and weirdly, Kenny Loggins.

4. Twisted Sister – Pee Wee’s Big Adventure (1985)

Paul Reuben’s character Pee Wee Herman made his big-screen outing in 1985. The children’s show star had a scene where he is being chased through a studio parking lot. Unbeknown to him, glam rockers Twisted Sister are recording a music video on a car. Lead singer Dee Snider is always up for a laugh, so it’s no surprise they’re featured. The clip is brilliant. Pee Wee’s prop-laden bike is just about to crash into Twisted Sister and the look on Dee’s face is genius. Go check out the clip.

5. David Bowie – Zoolander (2001)

Who can forget the brilliant Zoolander? Starring Ben Stiller as the dippy model, it’s one of the funniest comedies ever made. One of the best scenes of the film is the walk-off. This involved Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson’s characters doing a catwalk-off. Of sorts. Can you remember who refereed it? The legend himself, David Bowie. It’s not the first time Bowie was in a movie – remember Labyrinth? But this time, he plays himself. And does it with all the cool swagger you would expect.

6. The Mighty Mighty Bosstones – Clueless (1995)

I can’t say that I was a massive fan of this teen comedy at the time. The plot revolves around Alicia Silverstone’s character giving her friend a makeover. The premise doesn’t sound like it lends itself to a cool band cameo. You’d be wrong, though. There’s a scene where the lead characters go watch a gig. The band that are playing are The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. The Boston ska-punk legends are only on stage for a moment, but it’s a slick clip. It certainly brings the film up a level on the cool stakes.

7. Daft Punk – Tron: Legacy (2010)

This sequel to the original sci-fi classic is a cracking movie. The visuals and effects are stunning, as is the atmosphere of the film. The music to the film is also rather special. A futuristic and dystopian movie could only have one act doing the score, and that’s Daft Punk. It works a treat. The music is intertwined into the movie and becomes a part of it. The delicious electronica is the perfect complement to the visuals. The French electronic masters also have a cameo at the end of the movie. They’re spinning the decks in a blink-and-you-miss-it scene.

8. Aerosmith – Wayne’s World (1993)

We’ve already had an appearance from the first film further up our list, and the second doesn’t disappoint either. The plot revolves around Wayne and Garth putting on their own music festival. Book them and they will come, is the advice given. And they certainly did. The headline band for the festival were none other than Aerosmith themselves. They do a sterling effort on stage as performers. And Steven Tyler also shows that he can handle his own on the acting front too.

9. Reel Big Fish – BASEketball (1998)

Trey Parker and Matt Stone star in this bizarre and hilarious sports comedy. Written by the king of spoof David Zucker, it’s become a cult classic. The soundtrack heavily features ska-punkers Reel Big Fish. They do a brilliant rendition of A-HA’s Take on Me, which they also perform in the movie. The band are the entertainment at the stadium where Parker and Stone are competing. You can tell by the footage that the band are clearly enjoying themselves. They add a touch more fun to an already hugely funny film.

That’s our list of nine bands who played themselves in movies. Did we miss any of your favourites? Let us know in the comments below.

Check out our list of actors in bands HERE.