The universes of Star Trek and The Walking Dead may be opposites in terms of tone, but the franchises share many of the same actors. While Star Trek looks at the future with optimism and celebrates everything good about humanity, The Walking Dead often does the exact opposite. As various survivors fight to stay alive in a world overtaken by the dead, they often fall back on their worst impulses. Still, the world of The Walking Dead is not entirely without hope, and Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) and his fellow survivors must rely on one another to endure a world occupied by zombies.
BothStar Trek and The Walking Dead celebrate found families and the resilience of humanity, albeit in vastly different settings. Since Star Trek: The Original Series began in 1966, the franchise has depicted a future where humanity not only survived but thrived. And while not every Trek series has been quite as optimistic as TOS, they all feature characters who continually fight for what’s right. No matter the setting or the tone, it is often the characters who make a story succeed, and this is true of both Star Trek and The Walking Dead. These franchises have introduced some of pop culture’s most beloved characters, and those characters would be nothing without the actors who play them. Here are 12 Star Trek actors who have also starred in The Walking Dead franchise.
The Complete Star Trek Timeline Explained
From James T. Kirk to Jean-Luc Picard, from Kathryn Janeway to Michael Burnham, we’re breaking down the full chronological timeline of Star Trek.
12 Sonequa Martin-Green
Star Trek: Discovery & The Walking Dead
Sonequa Martin-Green leads the cast of Star Trek: Discovery with her incredible performances as Captain Michael Burnham. Although Burnham began the series by leading a mutiny that started the Federation/Klingon war, Michael has since saved the USS Discovery and the galaxy numerous times. Captain Burnham has come a long way since her introduction and Martin-Green can be riveting in the role. Before being cast in Discovery, Martin-Green appeared in 45 episodes of The Walking Dead as Sasha Williams, a pragmatic, no-nonsense survivor who knows her way around a sniper rifle.
Sonequa Martin-Green originally auditioned for the role of Michonne (which went to Danai Gurira). Then-showrunner Glen Mazzara loved her audition so much that he created the character of Sasha specifically for her.
11 Denise Crosby
Star Trek: The Next Generation & The Walking Dead
Denise Crosby portrayed the ill-fated Lt. Tasha Yar on Star Trek: The Next Generation, before leaving the show late in season 1. Despite her departure, Crosby would return to play other versions of Yar, as well as Yar’s half-Romulan daughter, Sela. As the Chief Security Officer on the USS Enterprise-D, Yar often acted as the first line of defense against alien threats. Unfortunately, Yar was often regulated to the background as a character, which led Crosby to move on to other roles. Crosby appeared in three episodes of The Walking Dead as Mary, a prominent figure in the cannibalistic Terminus community who briefly terrorizes Rick and the other survivors.
10 Michelle Hurd
Star Trek: Picard & The Walking Dead: Dead City
In all three seasons of Star Trek: Picard, Michelle Hurd plays Commander Raffi Musiker, a close friend of Admiral Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart). Raffi accompanies the aging admiral on his adventures in Picard seasons 1 and 2 before she lands a position on the USS Enterprise-G alongside her former lover, Captain Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan). Hurd’s performance as Raffi became one of the best elements of Picard and her character is a wonderful addition to the Star Trek family. Hurd appears in the premiere episode of The Walking Dead: Dead City, as a bar owner named Jones who has a run-in with Maggie Greene (Lauren Cohan) before being devoured by walkers.
Michelle Hurd is married to Garret Dillahunt, who stars as John Dorie in three seasons of another Walking Dead spin-off, Fear the Walking Dead.
9 Brenda Strong
Star Trek: The Next Generation & Fear The Walking Dead
Although Brenda Strong may be best known for narrating Desperate Housewives as Mary Alice Young, she appeared in an early episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. In TNG season 1, episode 17, “When the Bough Breaks,” Strong plays Rashella, an inhabitant of the planet Aldea. When the Aldeans, who cannot have children, kidnap several kids from the USS Enterprise-D, Rashella forms a special bond with a young girl before the girl must be returned to her parents. In four episodes of Fear the Walking Dead, Strong plays a woman named Ilene Stowe who grew unstable after the deaths of her husband and daughter.
8 Matt Frewer
Star Trek: The Next Generation & Fear The Walking Dead
Max Headroom star Matt Frewer pops up in Star Trek: The Next Generation season 5, episode 9, “A Matter of Time,” as Berlinghoff Rasmussen, who claims to be a historian from the future. Over the course of the episode, it’s revealed that Rasmussen actually hails from the past and has traveled to the future with a stolen time machine. Rasmussen plans to steal yet more technology from the 24th century and then return to his time of the 22nd century to sell it. Matt Frewer has a short five-episode arc in Fear the Walking Dead as a cynical survivor named Logan, who acts as an antagonist for Morgan Jones (Lennie James) and his fellow survivors.
The role of Berlinghoff Rasmussen was originally written for the iconic Robin Williams, but he was busy starring in Steven Spielberg’s Hook.
7 Raphael Sbarge
Star Trek: Voyager & Fear The Walking Dead
In Star Trek: Voyager season 2, Raphael Sbarge appears in five episodes as Crewman Michael Jonas, a former member of the Maquis who provisionally joined the USS Voyager’s crew. Jones eventually betrayed Voyager to the Kazon, although his treachery was discovered before he could sabotage the ship’s weapons. Sbarge has a memorable one-off role in Fear the Walking Dead season 6, episode 7, “Damage From the Inside” as an unstable survivor named Ed. When some of the show’s heroes stumble upon Ed’s home, they discover he uses his skills as a taxidermist to make walkers even scarier by adding things like deer antlers to their bodies.
6 Jack Donner
Star Trek: The Original Series, Star Trek: Enterprise, & Fear the Walking Dead
Jack Donner has the distinction of being the only actor on this list to have appeared in Star Trek: The Original Series. In TOS season 3, episode 2, “The Enterprise Incident,” Donner plays Romulan Subcommander Tal, who commands his ship in pursuit of the Enterprise after Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) steals a Romulan cloaking device. Donner also appears as a Vulcan priest in two episodes of Star Trek: Enterprise. In one of his final roles before his death in 2019 at the age of 90, Donner appears briefly as an unnamed old man in the pilot of Fear the Walking Dead.
5 Michael Greyeyes
Star Trek: Discovery & Fear the Walking Dead
Indigenous Canadian actor Michael Greyeyes portrays a memorable prisoner named Felix in Star Trek: Discovery season 4, episode 5, “The Examples.” When Captain Burnham arrives with Cleveland Booker (David Ajala) to rescue a group of prisoners before their planet is destroyed, Felix speaks out for his fellow prisoners. Despite securing offers of Federation asylum, Felix chooses to remain on the planet to atone for his past crimes. Greyeyes appears as recurring character Qaletaqa Walker in Fear the Walking Dead season 3. Walker serves as the chief of the Black Hat Reservation, who has a conflict with a nearby ranch where some of Fear’s heroes take refuge.
4 Aaron Stanford
Star Trek: Picard & Fear the Walking Dead
Even eagle-eyed fans may have missed Aaron Stanford’s role in Star Trek: Picard season 3, as he was unrecognizable as the Ferengi crime lord Sneed. In Picard season 3, episode 2, “Disengage,” Raffi arranges a meeting with Sneed, searching for answers about an attack on Starfleet. Sneed unfortunately loses his head when Raffi’s handler Worf (Michael Dorn) arrives to save her after her cover is blown. Stanford appears in six episodes of Fear the Walking Dead as a beer brewer named Jim, who continues to keep his award-winning beer recipe a secret even after the zombie apocalypse.
3 Kirk Acevedo
Star Trek: Picard & The Walking Dead
In Star Trek: Picard season 3, episode 5, “Imposters,” Kirk Acevedo plays Vulcan crime kingpin, Krinn, who thought of Sneed like a brother. After Sneed’s death, Krinn captures Worf and Raffi, forcing them to fight to the death. Worf manages to trick Krinn into thinking he’s dead before he kills Krinn’s bodyguards. Krinn then surrenders, giving Worf and Raffi what they came for. Acevedo appears in season 4 of The Walking Dead as Mitch Dolgen, who served as one of the henchmen of the villainous Governor (David Morrissey).
Aaron Standford and Kirk Acevedo also starred in Star Trek: Picard season 3 showrunner Terry Matalas’ other sci-fi show, 12 Monkeys. The backstory of their Picard characters even mirrors that of their 12 Monkeys characters.
2 Keith Carradine
Star Trek: Enterprise & Fear the Walking Dead
Keith Carradine appeared in one episode of Star Trek: Enterprise as Captain A.G. Robinson, a close friend of Enterprise Captain Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula). Along with Archer, Robinson served as a pilot on the NX Project, and he became the first human to achieve warp 2 during the first test flight of the NX-Alpha. In Fear the Walking Dead, Carradine plays John Dorie Sr., the father of Garret Dillahunt’s John Dorie. A police officer before the outbreak, John Dorie Sr. helps out Fear’s main survivors as he tries to atone for his past.
1 Jeffrey Dean Morgan
Star Trek: Enterprise, The Walking Dead, & The Walking Dead: Dead City
Jeffrey Dean Morgan is likely most recognizable for his portrayal of the iconic villain-turned-antihero Negan on The Walking Dead and its spin-off Dead City. Walking Dead fans may not know that Morgan once appeared in an episode of Star Trek: Enterprise. In Enterprise season 3, episode 11, “Carpenter Street,” Morgan is unrecognizable as a Xindi-Reptilian scientist named Damron. Damron was sent back in time to release a bio-weapon on Earth as part of the Xindi’s plot to destroy humanity, but his plan was eventually thwarted by Captain Archer. Jeffrey Dean Morgan may not be remembered for his one-episode stint on Enterprise, but that doesn’t mean we can’t claim him as part of the Star Trek family.
