Star Trek and Star Wars are two of the most popular sci-fi franchises. While the former was the first to appear on small screens with The Original Series, the latter made the genre popular with its groundbreaking special effects and blockbuster storytelling. The popularity of Star Wars even led Star Trek to be revived and several other spinoffs were developed.
Although there have been several films, Star Trek is usually considered to be best made for TV or in the long-form format. Star Wars too has branched out to streaming with its Disney+ offerings, with shows like The Mandalorian and Andor gaining success. With both franchises spanning wide, naturally there will be some actors crossing over.
1. George Takei
George Takei is best known for his role as Hikaru Sulu in Star Trek: The Original Series. Sulu was the helmsman of the USS Enterprise and was one of the main crew members aboard Captain James T. Kirk’s ship. He was reportedly meant to represent Asia in the future, seen as a symbol of peace despite its wars.
Takei’s Sulu is one of the most iconic characters in the Star Trek canon. He reprised his role in the original films as well, and made cameos in Star Trek: Voyager and Lower Decks. So, it is surprising that George Takei went to the other side and featured in Star Wars as well. He voiced the role of the Neimoidian leader Lok Durd.
Lok Durd only appeared in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, the animated series (the character is also mentioned in Catalyst: A Rogue One Novel). He was reportedly supposed to be a recurring villain but that did not come to be and he eventually died out as a character. Takei’s performance was well-received.
2. Simon Pegg
British actor and writer Simon Pegg is best known for his collaborations with filmmaker Edgar Wright in the Three Flavors Cornetto Trilogy. The actor is also a certified nerd and has written films such as Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, Run Fatboy Run, and Paul. He has a recurring role as Benji Dunn in the Mission Impossible franchise.
Pegg had his fair share of nerdgasms when he joined J.J. Abrams’ reboot of Star Trek as Montgomery Scott. The chief engineer was first played by James Doohan in the original series and faced issues with that casting. However, Pegg nailed it as Scott and even continued to the screenplay of Star Trek Beyond.
Pegg rejoined Abrams in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, acting as both an unofficial Star Wars consultant and as the character of Unkar Plutt (via EW). Plutt is a junk dealer who interacts with Daisy Ridley’s Rey. While Pegg may not have the same frontline role as Scotty in Star Trek, he got to fulfill his geeky dreams with TFA.
3. Brent Spiner
Brent Spiner is best known for his role as Data, the android aboard the USS Enterprise-D in Star Trek: The Next Generation. He is one of the most iconic characters in pop culture, with his stardom reaching the heights of characters like Spock and Captain Kirk. His journey to understanding humanity and turning human is one of the most profound arcs in TNG.
Spiner returned to the role in Star Trek: Picard. He also played Data’s evil twin Lore and his creator Dr. Noonien Soong. The actor’s performance has widely been regarded as one of the best of the franchise, with Sir Patrick Stewart even remarking that if anyone should have won the Emmy for the show, it should have been him.
While Brent Spiner branched out and did a number of roles in other franchises such as Independence Day and more, he also had a brief appearance in Star Wars. The actor voiced the role of the Empire Senator Gall Trayvis in Star Wars Rebels. He portrayed the role in two episodes of the animated series.
4. Christopher Lloyd
Christopher Lloyd is best known for his role as Dr. Emmett Brown in the Back to the Future franchise. He is one of the most prolific actors in Hollywood and has been a part of multiple incredible films and shows. He got his breakthrough with the sitcom Taxi and since then he has been an irreplaceable part of pop culture.
Lloyd played Commander Kruge in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock. The actor delivered a great performance in the film starring the TOS cast. He shared the screen with William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, and more. His appearance in the Star Wars franchise was more recent as he had a small role as Commissioner Helgait in The Mandalorian.
5. Ron Perlman
Ron Perlman seems to not be a fan of showing his real face. The Hellboy star first donned prosthetics for his role as Reman Viceroy in the TNG film Star Trek: Nemesis. The film was one of those duds in the film franchise and effectively killed it for good until J.J. Abrams rebooted it. Perlman starred alongside Tom Hardy’s Shinzon in the film.
Perlman went on to the other side, playing another alien species in Star Wars: The Clone Wars. He voiced the Trandoshan ship captain Gha Nachkt in the show.
6. Clancy Brown
Clancy Brown is best known for his gruff and tough voice that is best suited for antagonist roles. He has voiced Lex Luthor in the DC Animated Universe, appearing in multiple shows such as Superman: The Animated Series and Justice League Unlimited. He also lent his voice to Mr. Karabs in Spongebob Squarepants.
Brown has portrayed multiple roles in the Star Wars franchise. He voiced Montross in the video Star Wars: Bounty Hunter, and played a variety of roles in Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Rebels. His most recurrent role was Savage Opress and Ryder Azadi. He also appeared in The Mandalorian as Burg.
Clany Brown had a live-action appearance in Star Trek: Enterprise as Zobral in the season 1 episode ‘Desert Crossing’.
7. Deep Roy
Deep Roy’s most memorable role is probably of the Oompa Loompas in Tim Burton’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The actor, stuntman, and puppeteer has done a variety of roles in film and TV. He was reportedly the stand-in for Yoda in Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back, though he was uncredited. He went on to play an Ewok in Return of the Jedi.
Roy had a more prominent yet filled with prosthetics role in J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek film series. He played Keenser, the mute sidekick of Montgomery Scott in all three films of the Kelvin timeline.
8. Patty Maloney
Patty Maloney is another diminutive actress who played a variety of roles in Hollywood. The actress was seen as Lumpy, the son of Chewbacca in Star Wars Holiday Special, where she shared the screen with the golden trio: Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, and Carrie Fisher. She also played the role of a carnival performer in Star Trek: Voyager.
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