No matter which part of the franchise, there’s something the Star Trek production teams were always great at: bringing back actors they’d already worked with for different roles. Merritt Butrick was Kirk’s son David and T’Jon on The Next Generation, Marc Alaimo was a Romulan on TNG before becoming Gul Dukat on Deep Space Nine, Suzie Plakson was Worf’s lover K’Ehlayr as well as a Vulcan, a Q, and an Andorian. The list goes on, and it’s a lot longer than you’d imagine.
For the purposes of keeping the list surprising, we’re leaving out all the main cast members who appeared as different characters in other series or movies. We’ve made one exception for someone who was a regular cast member for one season, but already had a history with the original series. Feel free to guess before scrolling down!
Some of these are no-brainers and some will hopefully give you that “who knew?” sense of discovery. And speaking of Discovery, let’s hope we get to see of these actors there, too! Here are 10 Actors Who Played Multiple Roles on Star Trek.
10. Michael Dorn
Michael Dorn only just makes the list for having played Lt Worf in the Next Generation as well as General Worf in the Undiscovered Country movie. He also, bizarrely, played Worf on an episode of the TV series Webster in the episode Webtrek, different show, same character. Two characters isnt much but some may not know that he also holds a credit as Risa Tourist in the Next Generation episode The Captains Holiday. As well as his feature film performances he returned again as Worf in DS9 and managed to make even more of the character. He also played Willie Hawkins in the dream episode as well as various episodes of Family guy as Worf. Various voice roles in computer games are also noted.
9. Mark Lenard
8. Tim Russ
Tim Russ was of course Tuvok in Star Trek Voyager, and a damn fine performance of a Vulcan it was. He had to show a breadth of emotion, but he has also appeared in a couple of other episodes. In The Next Generation episode “Starship Mine”, where Captain Picard risked being killed by a radiation sweep, Tim played Devor, one of the thieves. In the film Star Trek Generations he also appeared as a random Lieutenant on the Enterprise B in one of those hey, wasnt that moments and is credited as the voice of Tumar in the Starship Farragut animated episodes. He is also soon to be seen in the upcoming TV movie Star Trek Renegades but that is as Tuvok. Its worth mentioning though just for the fact that a new Star Trek story in the classic universe is due out later this year.
7. Malachi Throne
Another one of those who, oh, that guy actors is Malachi Throne. Few can be said to bridge the old and the new Star Trek in such an odd fashion. He was on set with Leonard Nimoy in both his first ever and last Star Trek television episodes (not counting the new movies) and was originally offered the role of Dr McCoy but turned it down. In the original pilot The Cage he provided the voice for the telepathic jail keepers and later took on the role of Commodore Jose Mendez in The Menagerie from the original series. The obvious link between those two episodes is interesting, but he then rather randomly got a role on The Next Generation as Senator Pardek in the Unification two parter. Pardek had worked for years to unify Vulcan and Romulus only to launch an attack on Vulcan that was foiled by the Enterprise with Picard at the helm. Although hardly canon it should be noted that he was also cast as Korough in the New Voyages episode In Harms Way
6. Diana Muldaur
Hands up who watched the appearance of Dr Roman Polaski on the Next Generation Enterprise and thought, hold on, I know that face, wasnt she. And you were right, she was. But she was also two of them. Best known for her work on LA Law, the gifted actress was, in the Star Trek context, better known for her excellent performance as Dr Miranda Jones, a blind, telepathic aide to the Medusan Ambassador Kollos in Is There In Truth No Beauty. But she also appeared as Ann Mulhall in the thought provoking Return To Tomorrow whose body was taken over by Sargons wife, Thalassa. This technically pushed her appearances up to three characters since she was required to play both the human Mulhall and the alien as two distinct individuals. When she appeared on The Next Generation then as Dr Beverly Crushers temporary replacement she earned her fourth character credit and, more importantly, her first recurring role in the Star Trek universe. Always professional and believable, as well as being a beautiful woman both in early years and later, she was a welcome addition to the Next Generation cast and the Star Trek universe as a whole.
5. Majel Barret
Being the voice of the Starfleet computer in every series of Star Trek, including the first of the reboot films, isnt enough to get you on our exclusive list. Being one of only two actors to survive the pilot and appearing as 3 different characters in the Star Trek universe though, that will do it no problem. Majel Barret aka Majel Roddenberry first appeared as Number 1, the first officer of the Enterprise on The Cage. When the show was given an unprecedented second pilot though all but she and Leonard Nimoy were jettisoned. Majel returned as Nurse Christine Chapel, Doctor McCoys able assistant and unrequited lover of Spock. Her inclusion was somewhat controversial but personal life aside she became an integral and well-loved member of the crew. So much so that she even appeared in Star Trek The Motion Picture as the fully qualified Dr Chapel. When The Next Generation series came along she again provided the role voice of the Starfleet Computer, but it was her unforgettable performances as Lwaxana Troi that once again sealed her place as a Star Trek legend. Her attempted courtship with Captain Picard and his reactions to her were a great source of comic relief, but she was also capable of more dramatic outings such as admitting to the loss of a daughter she never spoke of. Majel, we salute you.
4. James Sloyan
Another regular on the Star Trek circuit is James Sloyan. Always professional, always believable and with an emotional depth and breadth that he can make any character come to life. But those talents cannot be hidden behind any mask and we are never fooled when we see him pop up again. Yet, he manages to make each character unique and memorable for their own reasons. His most frequent role was as Dr Mora Pol in The Alternate and The Begotten, both DS9 stories where he played a Bajoran scientist who studied Odo. But he had previously appeared in Star Trek Next Generation as other characters. Perhaps uniquely, he appeared in two different episodes as four different characters. In The Defector he was an apparently lucky escapee who claimed his name was Setol, but he was discovered to be Admiral Alidar Jarok who the Romulans allowed to escape in order to ascertain his loyalty. In Firstborn he played the Klingon kMtar who later turned out to be an older Alexander who had come back from the future to change his own path. Arguably though his best performance was as Mabor Jetrel in the Voyager episode Jetrel. The mass murderer who caused the metreon cascade, a weapon of such awesome destruction that it somehow vaporised its victims. It was said to be a cloud that enveloped the moon of Rinax and resulted in the deaths of 300,000 people. Astonished by the power of the transporter he becomes convinced he can save the victims but alas, it is not to be. He succumbs to metremia after using Neelix as a guinea pig for a potential cure. A complex character to be sure and one which, in the hands of a lesser actor, may have been ridiculous. But with the ever impressive James Sloyan bringing life to the words on the page he was a character that spoke of vengeance and regret.
3. Jeffrey Combs
Jeffrey Combs is one of those actors who just grabs your attention with his physical and vocal performances and there is no rubber mask that can hide him. No matter what they do to him, however much make-up and horns they put on him you immediately recognise that wonderfully seductive yet unnerving cadence. He was Tiron in the DS9 episode Meridian as well as Brunt, a Ferengi liquidator in several other DS9 episodes, famous for hating Quark and wearing a bar of gold pressed latinum on a chain around his neck. But he is perhaps best known as the disturbing and unsettling Weyoun a Vorta diplomat, or at least one of several clones of. The role was specifically written for him by Ira Steven Behr and Hans Beimler for the episode To The Death. The story goes that the character was killed in the episode but that the producers loved Jeffrey, and the character, and decided to find a way to bring him back. He was to return in Ties of Blood and Water revealing the Vorta cloning technology and allowing Jeffrey to be a sort of Doctor Who type character, always the same but with a little splash of individuality to each new clone. His talents were also used to varying degrees as a Patron in Vics Lounge in What You Leave Behind (DS9), as Officer Mulkahey in Far Beyond The Stars (an alternate character in a vision) and Penk in the Voyager episode Tsunkatse. Not done yet, he was to be seen again as Commander Shran, back behind a mask, this time as an Andorian, in several episodes of Enterprise and lastly Krem, a Ferngi pirate in Acquisition, also an Enterprise tale.
2. Tony Todd
There are actors out there who are incredibly famous, yet whose names you may not immediately remember. Tony Todd is one such actor. Ask most people do you know Tony Todd and they may furrow their brow and shake their head slowly, pondering. Show them a picture though and they say oh, THAT guy, yeah, hes awesome. To a certain generation he will always be Candyman but in Star Trek Next Generation he had a recurring role as Kurn, Worfs brother. He first appeared in Sins of the Father/Redemption/Redemption II and returned in Sons of Mogh in DS9. His most memorable performance in Star Trek terms though was in DS9 as Old Jake Sisko in The Visitor. In what was an emotional and extremely well written episode, he played an elderly Jake who lost his father in an accident at 18 which led his life down a path that was both full of success, but also of loss and longing. He lost his wife to his obsession with bringing his father back with Ben, appearing on occasion untempered by time, begging him to let go and enjoy his life. By committing suicide he was able to break the temporal link and send his father back to the moment of the accident, allowing him to change the outcome. He impressed so much, or maybe he was on retainer, he also played Alpha Hirogen in Prey, the slightly disturbing Voyager episode about a race of hunters who liked to play with their food. It should also be noted that he is due to play Admiral Ramirez in the upcoming Axanar.
1. Vaughn Armstrong
Our clear winner, just by virtue of the number of different roles he has played in the Star Trek universe is Vaughn Armstrong. Some of you are nodding your heads, maybe some of you are thinking no, there is another (and if you are then please drop a note in the comments), while others are doing yet more who, oh, that guy faces. Lets just list this out deep breath: Captain Korris in Heart of Glory, Next Generation, Korath in Star Trek the Experience (short), Gul Danar, a Cardassian in the DS9 story Past Prologue, Seskal, another, totally different Cardassian in The Dogs of War/ When It Rains also DS9, Telek RMor, a Romulan from the past communicating through a wormhole in the poignant Voyager story Eye Of the Needle, Lansor/Two Of Nine in Survival Instinct, also Voyager, he was a Vidiian Captain in Fury, Alpha Hirogen in Flesh and Blood, Korath (again) in Endgame, lending canon to the character, all Voyager. Not content with playing a plethora of different and well crafter charaters, he also took on a well-earned recurring role as Maxwell Forrest in various episodes of Enterprise. But the chameleonic actor wasnt to be kept just to one part, oh no, he was also a Klingon Captain in Sleeping Dogs, a Kreetassan Captain in A Night in Sickbay, and his own alter ego Maximillian Forrest in In a Mirror Darkly, all Enterprise episodes. Plus a couple of computer game voice roles. For one man to have played so many different characters and still manage to make each one unique deserves some kind of recognition and since we cant have any awards for this we at least had to make him our number 1. So thanks Vaughn, and congratulations. Is there another actor out there who deserves to be on the list? Are you currently seething that Kurtwood Smith didnt make it in instead of Michael Dorn? Sound off below!
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