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Before Picard season 3, let's take stock which actors have appeared in the most shows...
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00:00Whether you're doing sci-fi or horror, comedy or tragedy, casting is a vital part of any work of film or television.
00:08Star Trek is no different. Across nearly 56 years of televisual history, countless hundreds, maybe even thousands of actors have crossed the bridges of the various titular ships
00:18and rubbed shoulders with some of the most recognisable faces in all of sci-fi.
00:22Finding somebody to sit through the often arduous process of make-up, particularly Ferengi, as many of this list have experienced,
00:29before delivering monologues of Technobabble and unpronounceable Klingon, is going to be a tall order for any actor.
00:36It's no surprise, then, that the makers of all things Trek will occasionally have a flick through the pages of their phonebooks
00:42to find the names of Star Trek stalwarts, who have reliably given great performances for years, and in some cases, decades.
00:49These, then, are the names of those that cast and directors can always rely on in times of need.
00:55Whether main cast, recurring characters, or explosive cameos, the actors on this list have returned to the bridge time and time again,
01:03and their names truly are a part of Trek history.
01:06So, with that in mind, then, I'm Ellie with Trek Culture, and here are 10 Star Trek actors who have appeared in the most shows.
01:13Before we begin, just to let you know, we will not be including the recent announcement that the Next Generation cast will be returning to Season 3 of Picard,
01:21because technically it hasn't happened yet. Or maybe this article was written a while ago.
01:26Number 10. Tim Russ
01:27Many actors have appeared in at least three incarnations of Trek, but none have the honour of sharing the screen with four separate series captains.
01:36For that honour, we must go to Tim Russ.
01:39Audiences' first encounter with Russ would be in the Next Generation episode's Starship Mine,
01:44as a member of a group of mercenaries attempting to steal Trilithium resin from the Enterprise-D during a Baryon sweep.
01:51Succumbing to a well-placed Vulcan nerve pinch by Picard, this would be a one-and-done deal for the character.
01:57In a weird display of typecasting, Russ would pop up again in Deep Space Nine under heavy Klingon makeup as somewhat of a wrongun.
02:04Employed by the Tril Varad, Klingon mercenary Takar arrives on the station to help his employer forcibly extract the Dax symbiont from Jadzia,
02:12as part of a tense hostage situation with Captain Sisko.
02:16Russ would share the screen with Captain Kirk in the movie Generations,
02:19but his most iconic role would be that of Voyager's resident Vulcan and Hursuit security officer Tuvok.
02:25A loyal confidant of Captain Janeway, Tuvok would be the first Vulcan presence on board a ship since Spock,
02:32and his frequent frustrations with the emotions of his illogical crewmates,
02:36looking at you, Neelix, would give the writers plenty to play with.
02:409. Randy Oglesby
02:42Whilst many actors have appeared on multiple shows,
02:45there are only a handful who have portrayed as many different characters as Randy Oglesby.
02:50Originally appearing in The Next Generation as an unnamed artist in the chorus of Ramatizian mediator Reva,
02:57whose genetic deafness forced him to communicate to others through his telepathic retinue,
03:02Oglesby would catch up on the name character front by portraying twins Arkel and Roquel in Deep Space Nine.
03:08The actor would memorably return to Deep Space Nine as the menacing Silerin Prynne,
03:12a Cardassian who murders members of Kira's Shakar resistance cell,
03:16who were responsible for his disfiguring during an attack before attempting to steal Kira's unborn baby.
03:22Oglesby would return in a couple of one-and-done deals as refugee Kira in Voyager
03:26and space scavenger Trenal in Enterprise before sinking his teeth into the recurring role of Zindi scientist Degra in Enterprise.
03:34Responsible for the superweapon that first brought the Zindi to Earth's attention,
03:38Degra and his people are manipulated by the time-traveling sphere-builders into trying to wipe out humanity.
03:44It is only by the intervention of Archer and the Enterprise that Degra could convince his species of this existential threat
03:50and, at the expense of his own life, prevent all-out intergalactic war.
03:548. J.G. Hertzler
03:57The gravel-voiced John Garman Hertzler is one of only five actors to play seven or more roles in Trek.
04:04Originally appearing in the Deep Space Nine premiere Emissary,
04:07Hertzler portrayed the Vulcan captain of the USS Saratoga,
04:10one of many ships which would fall at the hands of the Borg at Wolf 359,
04:16a loss which would also cause the death of then-commander Sisko's wife, Jennifer.
04:20It would be later in Deep Space Nine that Hertzler would shine as the Klingon general Martok and his changeling doppelganger.
04:26The latter of these connected, but separate roles would put into motion the Klingon invasion of Cardassia,
04:32before the former is rescued and plays a pivotal role in the all-out Dominion War,
04:37later ascending to the role of Chancellor.
04:40He would also appear as the changeling Lass,
04:42who comes into direct conflict with Martok after murdering a Klingon on the promenade.
04:47Hertzler returns as a Hirogin fighter in Voyager,
04:49before again donning the Klingon makeup as both an unnamed captain and the jaded advocate Kolos,
04:55whose time defending Archer against the bloodthirsty High Council
04:58inspires him to stand up for the Klingon's forgotten sense of honour.
05:02Finally, lending his voice to a Druk-Mani scavenger in Lower Decks,
05:06Hertzler has joined the coveted Seven-Role Club and rightly takes his place in Trek history.
05:11Number 7. Clint Howard
05:13Actors have appeared in more roles and across more series than Clint Howard,
05:18but none can claim to have played roles at such different times of their lives.
05:22The brother of acclaimed film director Ron Howard first appeared in Trek as far back as 1966,
05:28in the episode The Corbomite Maneuver, at only seven years of age.
05:33Following an accidental foray in First Federation space,
05:36the Enterprise finds themselves in a diplomatic deadlock with a remarkably fake-looking alien,
05:41which later transpires to be a front for the diminutive Baylock, testing the human's ethics.
05:4629 years later, Howard would return to Trek in the Deep Space Nine two-parter past tense,
05:52playing a paranoid Dim by the name of Grady,
05:55who steals Jadzia's comm badge, believing her to be a brain-sucking alien.
05:59Fast forward another seven years, and Howard would reappear as Mewke,
06:03one of three Ferengi who board the Enterprise after knocking the crew unconscious in order to loot their resources.
06:0916 years later, Howard would make his last Trek appearance in the Discovery Season 1 finale,
06:15as an Orion of Kwonos who drugs Ensign Tilly.
06:20It's fair to say nobody's coming for this record any time soon.
06:246. Jeffrey Combs
06:26One of Star Trek's most reliable recurring actors,
06:30to the point where it's basically a meme within the community,
06:33Jeffrey Combs appears in relatively few series,
06:36but he makes a huge impact in those that he does.
06:39After losing out on the role of William Riker to Jonathan Frakes,
06:43the successful auditionee kept Combs in mind when casting Quark's associate Tyron,
06:48in a Deep Space Nine episode that he directed.
06:50Combs clearly made quite an impression,
06:52as he would go on to play the recurring characters of slimy Ferengi Brunt,
06:56and the various clones of Dominion representative Weyoun.
06:59Combs would play the characters in 31 separate Deep Space Nine episodes,
07:04including pulling double duty as Weyoun and Brunt in the episode The Dogs of War.
07:09Following the end of Deep Space Nine,
07:10Combs would return to the franchise as the kidnapper Penk in Voyager,
07:15and Ferengi Krem in Enterprise,
07:17before bagging another recurring character as Jonathan Archer's frenemy,
07:21and kind of racist Andorian commander, Thylek Shran.
07:25After a long time absent from the franchise,
07:27Combs has recently lent his voice to the supercomputer Agimus in Lower Decks.
07:32Although other actors may have appeared in more shows,
07:34with 44 appearances across the franchise,
07:38Combs will always be a favourite.
07:40Number 5. Vaughn Armstrong
07:4212 characters, 8 species, 4 series, and 28 episodes.
07:48Few people can be considered as much of a Star Trek mainstay as Vaughn Armstrong.
07:52Armstrong first appears in the Next Generation episode Hearts of Glory,
07:56as the Klingon captain Korus,
07:57who is attempting to fulfil his destiny as a warrior,
08:00by stealing a freighter before coming into conflict with both the Klingons and the Enterprise.
08:05He would then don the Cardassian neck ridges twice on Deep Space Nine,
08:09as the terrorist-hunting Golda Naar,
08:11and, ironically, the key Cardassian resistance member, Seskaal.
08:15Most of Armstrong's key roles would be with the crew of Voyager,
08:18including a Vidian captain,
08:20a Hirojan hunter,
08:21a former Borg from Seven of Nine's Uni-Matrix,
08:23a Romulan scientist from the past who contacts the crew through a temporal displacement,
08:28and Korath, the Klingon who gives Admiral Janeway technology,
08:31allowing her to travel to the past and return Voyager home.
08:34It wouldn't be until Enterprise's debut in 2001
08:37that Armstrong would get a recurring role within the franchise as Admiral Forrest,
08:42head of the NX project,
08:44who worked closely with the Vulcans in the gestation
08:46and oversight of the Enterprise's first mission,
08:49as well as an unnamed Klingon and two stints as the fussy Kretassans.
08:53Take it as a given, you've seen Vaughn Armstrong.
08:56Number 4. Marina Sirtis
08:58For Deanna Troi, what started as a slightly fluffy role
09:02serving as the Enterprise D's eye candy
09:04would go on to be one of the most enduring
09:06and well-loved characters of the whole franchise.
09:09It's no understatement that this is down to the talents
09:12and tenacity of actress Marina Sirtis.
09:14Originally auditioning for the role of Lieutenant Hernandez,
09:17who would later be renamed Tasha Yar,
09:19Sirtis and Yar actress Denise Crosby swapped roles at the behest of Roddenberry.
09:24The rest, of course, is history,
09:26and the idea of the two actresses in each other's roles
09:28after all this time is just baffling.
09:30After her run on The Next Generation,
09:32Sirtis would reprise the role of Deanna for the four movies,
09:35as well as appearing in Voyager as part of the Pathfinder project
09:39to contact the stranded Starfleet vessel
09:41and alongside Jonathan Frakes in the disastrously misjudged Enterprise series finale.
09:46After some time off from the franchise,
09:48Sirtis would lend her voice to the character for the Season 1 finale of Lower Decks,
09:52serving as a commander on board the USS Titan.
09:55Returning to live action in Star Trek Picard,
09:58Sirtis gave one of Troi's best performances in Season 1's Nepenthe.
10:02Number 3. John Delancey
10:04Of the recurring actors who have never made it to the opening credits,
10:08few have become as outstandingly memorable as John Delancey
10:12in his time as the mischievous Q.
10:15Debuting in The Next Generation's opening encounter at Farpoint,
10:18Delancey chewed all the scenery that was afforded to him
10:21as the omnipotent arbiter of humanity's place in the cosmos.
10:25Ultimately deciding to allow Starfleet out further into space
10:28as a trial for their species,
10:30Q would return multiple times over the series run,
10:33turning from antagonist to arrogant and playful anti-hero.
10:36After getting punched in the face by Commander Sisko
10:39at a time when Deep Space Nine was still languishing in The Next Generation's shadow,
10:43Q would move to the Delta Quadrant and begin tormenting Catherine Janeway,
10:47giving Delancey a chance to spice up his performance with some Lothario.
10:51Delancey later lent his voice to Lower Decks,
10:53poking fun at this godlike being's obsession with banal human games,
10:57before a much more serious and nefarious Q appears in Picard's mirror
11:01during the Captain's eponymous series,
11:03continuing the trial he started all those decades ago.
11:072. Jonathan Frakes
11:08If in doubt, add some Riker.
11:11So goes the seemingly unwritten motto of the Star Trek canon,
11:15as since his debut in 1987,
11:17Jonathan Frakes has played the bearded commander
11:19in six separate series and four films,
11:22making him one of the most reliable appearances in Trek history.
11:26Originally chosen from a deluge of potential candidates,
11:29Frakes' youthful energy in The Next Generation created an immensely watchable dynamic
11:34alongside his more stern captain,
11:36and with the growing of the iconic beard in Season 2,
11:39a true icon was born.
11:41Frakes would reprise the role of Thomas Riker,
11:43a transporter accident-created clone,
11:46in the Deep Space Nine episode Defiant,
11:48as well as appearing as OG Riker in Voyager
11:50as part of the trial of the rogue Q, Quinn.
11:53When it was time for Enterprise to call it a day,
11:56the writers decided to completely torpedo the franchise
11:58and draft Frakes in again,
12:00turning the series finale into a holodeck simulation
12:03that not even the actor can bring himself to justify.
12:05Frakes' dulcet tones would appear in three-episode arc
12:08as captain of the USS Titan in Lower Decks,
12:11before coming to the rescue of Picard in the latter's own series,
12:14proving that the actor, the character, and the beard
12:17can still be relied upon to this day.
12:201. Majel Barrett Roddenberry
12:22The first lady of Star Trek and wife to series creator Jean Roddenberry,
12:27it's no wonder that one of Trek's most beloved voices would top this list.
12:31First appearing as number one in the original Star Trek pilot The Cage,
12:35Barrett would unfortunately not make it to the full series in this role
12:38due to studios disliking the idea of a female second-in-command,
12:41but would return as recurring character Christine Chappell
12:44aboard the Enterprise Bridge,
12:45a role she would resume in the animated series alongside many other voices.
12:49Barrett would return in live-action Trek as the bombastic Luoxana Troy,
12:54mother to Deanna Troy,
12:55and effervescent nuisance to the crews of the Enterprise-D and Deep Space Nine.
13:00Taking a particular romantic liking to both Jean-Luc Picard and Odo,
13:04Luoxana's episodes were always marked with hilarious pageantry,
13:07and occasional forays into some truly touching emotion.
13:10Although they may not realise,
13:12many people will know Barrett due to her time as the voice of the ship's computer
13:15across the original and animated series,
13:18The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager Enterprise, and several movies.
13:22With footage from The Cage reappearing in Discovery episode If Memory Serves,
13:27even after her passing, Barrett continues to be a Star Trek institution.
13:31And that concludes our list.
13:33If you can think of any that we missed,
13:35then do let us know in the comments below.
13:37And while you're there,
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13:56I've been Ellie with Trek Culture.
13:58I hope you have a wonderful day and remember to boldly go where no one has gone before.
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