Skip to main content

Which actor has portrayed the most distinct roles in the Star Trek universe?


This question got me to thinking about how there have been many actors who have had several roles across the Star Trek franchise. It seems that once an actor demonstrates good performance in that franchise, it is very likely (at least more so than in other franchises, or it might just be my imagination) that they will be seen as another minor or major character later on.


So, I'm now curious to know which actor has had the most distinct roles in the franchise. Some likely candidates have already been named in the linked thread (e.g.: Majel Barrett, Jeffrey Combs) but I'd like to know if these are really the top ones?


Note that this question is asking about distinct roles. That is, variations of the same character (e.g.: holographic or dream-state representations, shapeshifters or alien possessions, etc.) do not count. I'd also like to exclude very closely related characters (e.g.: ancestors, descendants, similarly-crafted androids, etc. - I was originally going to include these, but then realized that Brent Spiner might be an all-too-easy winner).


Also, to keep this question in an SE-sized scope, I'm only looking to draw from primary-universe live-action productions up to and including ENT. That includes:



  • TOS, and related films


  • TNG, and related films

  • DS9

  • VOY

  • ENT


This excludes:



  • J.J. Abrams' Star Trek universe

  • TAS

  • Books


  • Comics

  • Video Games

  • Fanfic


Related: Which character in Star Trek has been played by the most actors?



Answer



While trying to add to Kyle's answer, I came across Randy Oglesby's entry on IMDB. The trivia blurb at the top of his page actually gives the answer: there are four actors who are tied for seven Trek roles each:



Editor's Note: It seems IMDB does not count the appearances of Hertzler & Combs as "Holosuite Guests" from the DS9 episode What You Leave Behind in their tally. When we add these in, it leaves Hertzler & Combs alone as being tied with 8 appearances each.


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

futurama - How much time is lost in 'Time Keeps on Slippin''

In time Keeps on Slippin' , Farnsworth creates a basketball team which he matures by abusing Chronitons. This leads to time skipping forward by random, but ever increasing amounts. How much time was skipped in this way? Answer Unfortunately, I don't think a good estimate can be made for this, for two reasons: Many of the time skips move forward by an indeterminate amount of time. At one point, the Professor mentions localized regions of space skipping forward much more than others. We then see two young boys on the street below complaining about having to pay social security, only to suddenly become senior citizens and start complaining about wanting their money. Thus, each individual could have experienced a different amount of time skippage.

harry potter - How could Expelliarmus beat Avada Kedavra?

I want to be very careful about how I ask this question – I am not asking How did Voldemort die? [CLOSED] Below the text is the relevant passages from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows if anyone wants to review them (I'm sorry for the amount of text). How did Expelliarmus beat Avada Kedavra and kill Voldemort? I feel the reason Harry's Expelliarmus overpowered Voldemort's Avada Kedavra curse has to do with who was master of the Elder Wand and how the Elder Wand works. I've always had trouble understanding fully how the Elder Wand works, though. How much did the fact that Voldemort never truly won or mastered the Elder Wand factor into how Expelliarmus reacted to Avada Kedavra and caused Avada Kedavra to rebound and kill Voldemort? An answer based in book canon would be especially welcome, but any canon source really is fine. Harry heard the high voice shriek as he, too, yelled his best hope to the heavens, pointing Draco’s wand: ‘ Avada Kedavra !’ ‘ Expelliarmus !...

game of thrones - Is Syrio Forel dead?

In the episode 'The Pointy End' (Season 1 Episode 8) when Arya runs from the Lannister guards you hear the sound of a sword being dropped (around 4:56): [embedded content] After that neither Syrio or Ser Meryn Trant is never mentioned or seen in the show again, except when Arya mentions to the Hound that Ser Meryn Trant killed Syrio. Is there any mention in the books that Syrio actually dies?

tolkiens legendarium - Difference between elves and dwarves blacksmithing in the Lord of the Rings

Both the elves and the dwarves were famous for their metal work in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, but what is the difference between what they made, and which one had the better skill of making amours and swords? Answer James Christopher's answer sums up the second part of your question well, but as to the difference in what they made, a little more detail is needed. Once the Elves learned to forge with steel, the shape of the sword changed, now being able to take on the form of a great broadsword or a light and agile curved sword. Additionally, they took great pride in decorating their swords. As we see in the Lord of the Rings , some swords like Sting had magical properties such as glowing blue when orcs are near. As far as the use of Mithril, lotr.wikia has two contradictory passages: Thus, Elven blades became renowned as great weapons, capable of performing deeds beyond the skill of their handlers and were even more glorious when the use of Mithril was allowed to the Elves. ...