Things You Only Notice In Star Trek: The Next Generation After Watching It More Than Once – Looper

It’s true that “Star Trek” often re-casts actors as multiple characters, with “Re-Animator” star Jeffrey Combs playing no less than three iconic roles in the franchise. But when rewatching “The Next Generation,” you might be surprised to discover several future “Star Trek” series regulars popping up in minor roles. And no, we’re not talking about Colm Meaney or Rosalind Chao, whose characters on “TNG” moved over to “Deep Space Nine.”

It starts quite early on, with Armin Shimmerman playing the Ferengi Letek in the series’ fifth episode, “The Last Outpost.” Shimmerman played a couple of other small roles on “TNG” before joining the cast of “DS9” in 1993 as the Ferengi bartender Quark. “Voyager” star Tim Russ guest stars as a thief in the Season 6 episode “Starship Mine,” while his future co-star Ethan Philips, who plays Neelix, turns up as a Ferengi in “Ménage à Troi.” Similarly, Max Grodénchik — who later starred as Rom on “DS9” — plays a scheming Ferengi scoundrel in “Captain’s Holiday,” while Gul Dukat himself, Marc Alaimo, turns up as a different Cardassian in “The Wounded” and as a French card player in “Time’s Arrow.”

Most interesting, though, is Robert Duncan McNeill, who later played Lt. Tom Paris in “Star Trek: Voyager.” McNeill plays disgraced Starfleet cadet Nick Locarno in the “TNG” episode “The First Duty,” who wound up serving as the inspiration for the Tom Paris character (per Entertainment Tonight).