Star Trek Cast Members

From LoveToKnow Sci-Fi

Some Star Trek cast members earned their notoriety on Star Trek, and in some cases actors have made the decision to leave the show to avoid being typecast. Unfortunately, that career move wasn't always the best.

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Cast Members Who Left Star Trek

Not all Star Trek cast were happy with their roles and some left for undisclosed reasons:

Tasha Yar

The original series held on to all the regular cast for the short duration of the show. However, when The Next Generation aired, security officer Tasha Yar, played by Denise Crosby, died by the end of the first season in the episode Skin of Evil because she wanted to leave the show. She was the first Star Trek character to permanently die. Of course when it comes to sci-fi, death isn't always quite as permanent as in real life. With parallel dimensions and alternate time lines, Denise Crosby returned as a guest star in later TNG episodes as Tasha Yar's offspring and as Tasha from an alternate timeline.

Wesley Crusher

Wil Wheaton, who played the gifted but young Wesley Crusher on Star Trek the Next Generation also decided to leave the show early in the seventh season. This was accomplished in an episode called "Journey's End" where Wheaton's character decides to leave Starfleet in favor of a journey in self exploration as he accompanies a trans-dimensional being known as the Traveler. Even before this final episode, Wheaton's appearances had become less as his character went to earth to attend Starfleet Academy.

Kess

Jennifer Lien, who played Kess, left the Voyager crew early in the show. Reports of why she left are unconfirmed. Some say she was asked to leave to make room for Jeri Ryan who played Seven of Nine.

Characters That Crossed Trek Shows

While a few actors chose to leave Trek, many others took full advantage of the science fiction saga. Many of the Star Trek cast members have gone on to be directors or have furthered their acting careers. Those who fully enjoyed their Star Trek experience have made guest appearances from one show to another. For example, three of the cast members from the original series appeared on The Next Generation. These include:

Leonard Nimoy who played the logical half Vulcan, half human Science officer. He not only made a guest appearance on TNG, but played a recurring role as his original character that even carried over to the latest Star Trek movie. It helps that Vulcans live for hundreds of years which makes the appearance believable within the Star Trek universe.
DeForest Kelley who played Leonard "Bones" McCoy in the original series made a guest appearance in the first episode of TNG as an admiral of 137 years of age.
James Doohan who played Scotty (Montgomery Scott), the miraculous engineer who could always get a little more out of the Enterprise appeared on TNG as his original character who has been promoted to captain. The older Scotty had been trapped in a transporter buffer for 75 years and when rescued is a man without a place or a purpose.

This tradition carried over as actors from TNG appeared on Star Trek Deep Space Nine, many beyond cameo guest appearances. For example, Chief Miles O'Brien, played by Colm Meaney, left the Enterprise when he was promoted from transporter chief to Chief of Operations on the space station known as Deep Space Nine. And after the Enterprise was destroyed and Deep Space Nine came under Federation rule, Michael Dorn who played the Klingon, Worf, became a part of the regular cast carrying his character over with popular success.

Mrs. Gene Roddenberry

Another cast member worth mentioning is Majel Barrett, the wife of the creator of Star Trek, Gene Roddenberry. She appeared in the original series as Nurse Chapel, and as the computer voice. This second role carried over to every Star Trek episode as well as every movie. Not only that, but she appeared as Lwaxana Troi, ‎the unpredictable and meddlesome mother of Counselor Troi in TNG. She appeared in Deep Space Nine in the same role.