Star Trek has several actors who have delivered some incredible performances in other movies and TV shows outside of the world of the franchise. It is often hard for TV actors to move into roles in movies, which is why so many television stars make their careers on the small screen. Looking at some of the biggest stars in Star Trek, names like William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, and Jonathan Franks, their main success was almost exclusively on Star Trek and the franchise’s movies. However, that is not to say they didn’t have a great random movie or TV appearance here or there.
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Here is a look at 10 of the best performances by Star Trek cast members in non-franchise roles.
10) Colm Meaney in Layer Cake
Colm Meaney was a fan favorite actor who played Miles O’Brien on both Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine for 225 total episodes. However, if anyone wants to know how talented this Irish actor really is, go back and watch him in the British gangster movie Layer Cake in 2004. Directed by Matthew Vaughn, the movie stars Daniel Craig as a London cocaine distributor named XXXX, while Meaney stars as his liaison to the mob boss for whom he works. The film was great fun and is similar to what Guy Ritchie was doing around the same time.
9) Alison Pill in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
Alison Pill played Dr. Agnes Jurati in 20 episodes of Star Trek: Picard. Seeing Agnes become the Borg Queen was a huge moment in the series, and it was great for people who remember her from one of her greatest roles, that of Kim Pine in Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. In the brilliant Edgar Wright comic book adaptation, Kim was the drummer in Scott’s band, Sex Bob-Omb, and was someone who was always willing to tell Scott the truth, even if that wasn’t something he wanted to hear. Pill even returned a decade later to voice Kim in the animated series, Scott Pilgrim Takes Off.
8) LeVar Burton in Roots
LeVar Burton has one of the most impressive careers of any Star Trek actor, and the most impressive thing is that Star Trek: The Next Generation was his middle stop. His breakout role came in the 1970s when he starred as the enslaved Kunta Kinte in the seminal ABC miniseries Roots. He earned an Emmy nomination for that intense and emotional performance. He then joined the Star Trek franchise as Geordi La Forge from 1987 to 1994. At the same time, his career took another unique direction as he became the face of Reading Rainbow for 23 years, where he won 12 Daytime Emmy Awards.
7) Doug Jones in Pan’s Labyrinth
Doug Jones has enjoyed an amazing acting career thanks to his ability as a contortionist. In Star Trek, he appeared as Saru in Star Trek: Discovery from 2017 to 2024. However, before he joined the Star Trek franchise, he had one of the most impressive careers in Hollywood, almost always playing a monster. He starred as Abe Sapien in the Hellboy movies, Silver Surfer in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, Ice Cream Man in Legion, and Amphibian Man in The Shape of Water. However, the best movie he ever appeared in was Guillermo del Toro’s masterpiece, Pan’s Labyrinth, where he portrayed both The Faun and the terrifying Pale Man.
6) William Shatner in Miss Congeniality
A lot of people remember William Shatner’s early career role in the Twilight Zone masterpiece episode, “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet,” where he played an airplane passenger who sees a gremlin on the aircraft’s wing. While that remains iconic, Shatner’s best performance when he wasn’t playing Captain Kirk came in the Sandra Bullock action-comedy Miss Congeniality. What was best about this film was that Shatner played what seemed to be an over-the-top version of his own personality, a sarcastic and quick-witted man who had no filter and was willing to say and do just about anything to amuse himself.
5) Whoopi Goldberg in The Color Purple
Whoopi Goldberg has made her name in recent years as a daytime talk show host, but she was, at one time, one of the best actresses working in Hollywood. Of course, Star Trek fans remember her well from Star Trek: The Next Generation, where she played Guinan, a role she returned to in 2022 on Star Trek: Picard. However, she also had some solid movie roles, including an Oscar-winning performance in Ghost. Her best role, however, was as Celie Harris Johnson in the historical drama The Color Purple, which earned her an Oscar nomination. While she didn’t win for that role, it was still the best performance she delivered in any movie.
4) Jason Isaacs in Harry Potter Franchise
Jason Isaacs has had a lot of great movie and TV roles over his career, including a brilliant turn in the war movie Black Hawk Down and a fun turn in the HBO series The White Lotus. In Star Trek, he starred as Captain Gabriel Lorca in Star Trek: Discovery, a role which earned him an Empire Award and a Saturn Award nomination. However, it is hard to beat his performance as Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter franchise, one of the primary Death Eaters who was also the father of Harry’s childhood bully. Draco.
3) Leonard Nimoy in Invasion of the Body Snatchers
Very few people remember Leonard Nimoy from anything other than Star Trek and Star Trek-adjacent roles (like in The Big Bang Theory). It speaks volumes that Nimoy almost became Spock to the world thanks to his iconic performance, one which is likely the best in the franchise, even over William Shatner’s Captain Kirk. However, Nimoy had an incredible movie role after his TV run as Spock ended, but the year before the first Star Trek movie. Nimoy starred as Dr. David Kibner in the fantastic horror movie Invasion of the Body Snatchers in 1978. One of the greatest horror movie remakes of all time, Nimoy was in one of the primary roles and delivered a brilliant performance before slipping back into Spock’s role for most of the next decade.
2) Patrick Stewart in Logan
Patrick Stewart was always more than just Jean-Luc Picard in the Star Trek franchise. He was a classically trained Shakespearean actor and had several iconic performances before ever stepping onto the set of Star Trek: The Next Generation. However, after the TV series ended, Stewart joined another franchise and created another iconic role for himself as Professor Charles Xavier in the X-Men movies. Today, Stewart is as well known for Professor X and Captain Picard, and the best performance in that franchise came in Logan, where he was a mentally broken mutant who threatened the world as his mind continued to deteriorate.
1) Wil Wheaton in Stand By Me
Wil Wheaton starred in Star Trek: The Next Generation as Wesley Crusher, a role he has a complicated relationship with. While Wheaton has said he loves his castmates, the experience of making the series was never great, thanks to a toxic home life where his parents pushed him into the roles. Today, he prefers his writing and side projects to anything to do with Star Trek. Interestingly, his best movie performance came before Star Trek when he appeared in the Rob Reiner movie Stand by Me. It was Wheaton’s emotional performance that carried the story’s great conclusion, and he was spectacular in this early role.
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