I know it’s been done to death all over the internet but not here yet!
If you could choose any actor or actress to be in Star Trek who would you choose?
I recently saw that Nic Cage said he was a Trekkie and I’d absolutely love it if he played an insane alien villain of some sort for an episode or two. Get him in star trek legacy as a crazy ferenghi or something.
I’d like to see Dame Maggie Smith as an Admiral. She’d probably be fantastic at it.
Okay - some weirder takes here but hear me out. I’d love to see a science-vessel focused on anomaly of the week style episodic writing, with moral and ethical quandaries and personal growth and a search for “the meaning of it all” trumping action, adventure, and universe saving.
Accordingly, I’d want that science vessel to be home to a delightfully nerdy crew of pedants, malcontents and misfits, all seeking something outside of the boring federation life or more militaristic vessels.
The list of people that would be amazing to Star or guest:
Neil Patrick Harris as captain
Felicia day as chief science officer.
Aubrey Plaza on tactical, way too smart and capable for her own good (and sardonic style)
William Jackson Harper (Chidi from The Good Place) as first officer
Warwick Davis as chief engineer, with awesome fully custom/adaptive AR controls and a combo of old-man wit and crazy ideas that gets them in and out of jams
With guest turns from David Hyde Pierce (Niles from Frazier), Kristen Bell, Ted Danson, Donald Glover, etc
Just go full nerd with it like discovery tried to, but without the constant intrigue and epic action. Let them be a family growing together and finding a place where they belong, puzzling through each new chapter together. TNG but for 2023 instead of 1988.
Aubrey plaza, warrick Davies and Donald Glover are my favourite of your picks!
I LOVE the idea of William Jackson Harper as a First Officer. I want to see what he does with a confident character.
I know he’s appeared in the new movies before, but I still think Benjamin Cabbagepatch would make a good Data.
I’m sure no one would mind if he played someone else in a series, we are an open minded bunch. Plus, he’s just brilliant.
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Imagine Browder and Black being John and Aeryn but pretending they have no idea who those characters are while playing them perfectly.
Nic Cage would be awesome. I’d love to see Daniel Radcliffe. He definitely has a lot of range.
Oooh that would be great!
I like the idea of a show or even a few one-shots on more science-focused ship.
(This was ostensibly Discovery’s remit in season one, but the plot went quickly in other directions.)
One gets the sense that CBS/Paramount has given direction to avoid too much scientific focus outside of Prodigy, and especially technobabble, but it’s one of the very 90s era Star Trek things that I would like to see one of the new live action shows embrace.
An alternative would be a Starfleet Core of Engineers show focused on a specialized engineering ship along the line of the Relaunch Litverse series of stories/novellas/books. Those dealt with technological problem-solving in response to anomalies and disasters.
I could also see Lucy Liu as a no nonsense Captain.
I’ve just been rewatching Elementary and I think she’d be fantastic.
Keith David. He was great in the outer limits and men at work, and i always wanted to see him captain a starfleet ship.
I mean he’s Admiral Anderson in what’s considered the best “not star trek” star trek videogame of all time. Close enough for me.
It’s just not the same without the crazy eyes and facial expressions.
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I’d like to throw in some Canadian actor suggestions.
While it’s true that Discovery has drawn its seasonal guests stars and background cast among actors working in Canada, there are certainly others I’d like to see.
Ryan Gosling just seems, like Nic Cage, to be the kind of actor to make a interesting guest turn.
Sandra Oh would be great as a challenging captain or flag officer.
Cara Gee (Drummer in The Expanse) can equally play quirky and delightful characters (as she did in the indie film Red Rover). I’d love to see her get a lighter, comic turn in Trek.
Maurice Dean Winte (British-Canadian) is really compelling as Auggie in Surreal Estate, and would be a great guest alien. In fact, it would be great to see Tim Rozen appear as well.
Academy Award nominee Graham Greene - who recently made an impression in a Last of Us episode.
Some younger actors could include those who’ve graduated out of TVO/PBS productions targeted to kids including actor/writer/producer prodigy Jadiel Dowlin Lewis, Adrienna Di Liello, Addison Holley, Dalila Bella, Anna Cathcart, Issac Kragten.
Last, I’d like to see Samora Smallwood - who placed Lt Amin on the Enterprise in Discovery season two and in the Short Trek Q&A, come back as a guest star. She’s gone onto main cast roles in other shows, and a Canadian Screen Award. Even if they didn’t have a place for her as a regular in SNW, she’s more than able to hold a guest turn.
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I think that Terry Chen would be a great choice. I loved the vulnerability and decency he conveyed in his character in The Expanse. He’s also played cold villains, like the one in Continuum.
I also liked Doyle’s Tarka. I’m looking forward to seeing Callum Keith Rennie’s 32nd century Vulcan captain in Discovery’s season 5.
Jeffrey Coombs hasn’t been in Lower Decks, Prodigy or SNW yet. He needs to get on that!
Shohreh Aghdashloo, the actress of Chrisjen Avasarala https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2znSxzcLvvM
Seein him in Peacemaker and how creepy he was in Guardians 3, I would love for Chukwudi Iwuji to show up in Trek. As an antagonist especially.
I’m still hopeful the Quentin Tarantino Trek happens, mostly for his directing/writing but I guess it relates to the question since he usually acts in a some part in his films. What happened with this anyway?
I’d rather see Cronenberg take a shot at a limited streaming series.
He seems to have come to the end of the run of his body horror progression.
More, he’s already working in the franchise playing the enigmatic Kovich and knows the Toronto crews (and their parents in some cases he’s said).
