Best Appearances By Star Trek Actors

Summary

• Rene Auberjonois played a despicable politician in Stargate, different from his role in Deep Space Nine.
• Colm Meaney’s character in Stargate Atlantis displays a darker side compared to his role in Star Trek.
• John Billingsley’s SG-1 character is a fun supporting role like from his character on Enterprise.

Stargate and Star Trek are two of the most iconic science fiction franchises of all time. As such, they’ve both endured for decades, spawning multiple spin-offs and relaunch series, making it no surprise that a few actors have appeared in both.

Between SG-1, Atlantis, and Universe, the Stargate franchise was a staple throughout the 90s and 2000s. Star Trek filled a similar role with Next Generation, Voyager, Deep Space Nine, and Enterprise. With hundreds of combined episodes between them, there were ample opportunities for main and otherwise notable Star Trek actors to appear on Stargate, including some all-time fan-favorites.

10

Rene Auberjonois

Stargate SG-1 Season 4, Episode 2 “The Other Side”

Fans of Deep Space Nine will know Rene Auberjonois as the stoic, enigmatic Changeling Odo, head of security for the eponymous space station. Throughout the series, Odo remains an almost constant curmudgeon, but always in service to his duty and the safety of those around him.

In the SG-1 episode “The Other Side,” all the trademark curmudgeonliness remains, but Alar’s motivations couldn’t be further from Odo’s. In the role of Alar, Auberjonois plays a despicable, Nazi-esque politician whose primary goal is to ensure the genetic “purity” of his people. Luckily, the SG-1 crew is able to end his reign in a swift and decisive way.

9

Colm Meaney

Stargate Atlantis – Multiple Episodes

For Star Trek fans in the 90s, Colm Meaney is an instantly recognizable face. Like Michael Dorn’s Worf, Meaney’s character Miles O’Brien is a main cast member on both The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine. Unlike Dorn, however, Meaney also appears in multiple episodes of Stargate Atlantis.

In Stargate, Meaney plays Cowen, leader of one of the non-Earth human groups, the Genii. Star Trek fans will know Meaney’s O’Brien character as a sweet, loving family man and loyal friend, but Cowen is anything but. His deathly stares and blatant threats to the Atlantis team let Meaney finally showcase his darker side as an actor.

8

Connor Trinneer

Stargate Atlantis – Multiple Episodes

Connor Trineer plays Chief Engineer Trip Tucker throughout Star Trek: Enterprise, portraying the character as a respectable genius hiding behind the guise of a simple, small-town boy. His Atlantis character, Michael, is night-and-day different from Trip, and thankfully gets a meaty 10 episodes over which to develop.

Unlike most other Star Trek actors appearing on Stargate, Trinneer gets to play a recurring villain over multiple seasons. Michael is an excellent villain for Atlantis. After a dubiously successful attempt to cure him of his Wraith DNA, which the team then hid from him, Michael becomes a lifelong enemy and leaves some fans feeling like he’s at least partially justified.

7

John de Lancie

Stargate SG-1 – Multiple Episodes

Actor John de Lancie has a unique role in the combined universe of Star Trek and Stargate. He appears in multiple episodes of The Next Generation as the whimsical space god Q and multiple episodes of SG-1 as the ambitious, self-serving Colonel Simmons, both of which serve similar functions.

Of course, Simmons does not stop time and alter reality like Q is wont to do, but he nonetheless serves the same plot purpose for the SG-1 team. In both incarnations, he recurs season to season in order to present a roadblock to our heroes from on high. The biggest difference is that, instead of being omnipotent and full of riddles like Q, Simmons is merely a bureaucrat willing to screw anyone over to further his career.

6

Nicole de Boer

Stargate Atlantis Season 5, Episode 7 “Whispers”

Nicole de Boer has an interesting position among Deep Space Nine actors, in that she is one of two to play the character of Dax. Terry Farrell played her first incarnation, Jadzia Dax, and de Boer her second incarnation, Ezri Dax. The last main cast member added to Deep Space Nine, she is also one of the last to cameo on Stargate, appearing in season five of Atlantis.

In the episode, de Boer plays a member of another Atlantis team that assists the usual group with a classic monster hunt. De Boer plays Alison Porter similarly to Ezri Dax, but the disturbing, horror-like theme of the episode makes that trademark innocence stand out in contrast, to good dramatic effect.

5

Jolene Blalock

Stargate SG-1 – Multiple Episodes

A fan-favorite character from Enterprise, T’Pol is portrayed by Jolene Blalock, who helped establish the character’s surprisingly dimensionalized personality. Blalock played T’Pol true to her Vulcan nature, keeping her emotions subtle and only emoting when truly earned.

Blalock’s SG-1 character, Ishta, is a very different role from T’Pol, outwardly and overtly portrayed as a fierce but passionate warrior. Introduced as a love interest and character foil for Teal’c, Ishta is also a Jaffa, though thankfully for Blalock, one capable of more humor and fun than Teal’c.

4

John Billingsley

Stargate SG-1 Season 6, Episode 8 “The Other Guys”

John Billingsley plays the lovably upbeat physician Phlox on Enterprise, and in many ways, his short-lived SG-1 character is much the same. Phlox maintains a fascination with Starfleet and humanity in general, delighting simply in supporting them as needed.

Billingsley’s character in SG-1, Simon Coombs, is also a supporting character, and that is his central purpose. His episode, “The Other Guys,” is a fun idea for the series, sidelining the main team for much of its length and letting the otherwise faceless supporting crew save the day for once, including the likable underdog Coombs.

3

Armin Shimerman

Stargate SG-1 Season 1, Episode 8 “The Nox”

Though his appearance in the Stargate universe is limited to one early episode of SG-1, fans will no doubt recognize Armin Shimerman quickly, if not for his face, then certainly his voice. Throughout all seven seasons of Deep Space Nine, Shimerman plays Quark, the greedy but endearing Ferengi bartender, a role he has reprised on multiple other occasions.

On SG-1, Shimerman plays Anteus, the wise leader of a seemingly primitive tribe. It’s later revealed that the tribe’s apparent lack of sophistication is actually a deliberate and cunning ruse, but it still gives Shimerman the chance to showcase his acting chops in the most un-Ferengi way possible.

2

Marina Sirtis

Stargate SG-1 Season 4, Episode 7 “Watergate”

Though it will forever be debated with intense fervor, the majority opinion holds that, other than perhaps the original series, The Next Generation is the best of all the Star Trek series. A major part of its enduring love is its main cast, which includes Marina Sirtis as counselor Deanna Troi.

Sirtis appears in the SG-1 episode “Watergate” as Dr. Markov. In contrast to her role as Troi, Markov is a fiercely intelligent, assertive scientist. Sirtis is as good as ever in the role, and it helps show off her more serious side, all in a very fun episode that focuses on an alien species that appears to be living underwater.

1

Robert Picardo

Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis – Multiple Episodes

Robert Picardo has the honorable distinction of being the only main cast member of a Star Trek series to become a series regular on Stargate. After debuting in SG-1, Picardo’s character Richard Woolsey became a regular on Atlantis, and even appeared in the recent Stargate Universe.

Picardo’s role in Star Trek: Voyager was outstanding but monotonous, due to the character’s existence as a service hologram. Woolsey is anything but, as the initially unassuming, stock cameo grows into a delightfully fleshed-out, moral character who ultimately becomes the leader of the Atlantis expedition.