YouTube The Vorta Yelgrun in "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine"
Over the years, “Star Trek” has featured cameos by several celebrities. Some of them appeared in the franchise long before they were famous. Others snagged guest roles when they were already big names in the industry.
Most of the celebs who appeared in the Trekverse were actors. However, a few big names from the music industry showed up in the franchise as well.
Here are a few of the biggest rockstars who had guest roles in the “Star Trek” universe.
Iggy Pop
Iggy Pop, the stage name James Newell Osterberg created when he formed The Stooges, is synonymous with rockstar life. His maniacal performances and the unique sound he created with The Stooges helped launch punk music.
Later in his career, Iggy Pop started taking small roles in movies and television shows, one of which was “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.” According to the “Deep Space Nine Companion,” showrunner Ira Steven Behr was a huge fan of Iggy. He’d been trying to cast him in one of his shows for years. Behr had actually written a different DS9 role specifically for Iggy, but the timing didn’t work out.
So, Iggy finally ended up as a Vorta named Yelgrun in the episode “The Magnificent Ferengi.”
Vanessa Williams
Vanessa Williams rose to fame when she became the first Black Miss America. However, a scandal led the organization to strip her of her crown. Williams used her Miss America fame to launch her singing career, which rocketed her to fame. Soon she began acting as well. Within a few years, she was a wildly successful singer, Broadway star, and actress.
According to StarTrek.com, Williams was trying to transition from pop star to acting when she landed the role of Arandis in the “Deep Space Nine” episode “Let He Who Is Without Sin…” Earlier that same year, Williams starred in “Eraser,” her first major film role.
Tom Morello
Tom Morello rose to fame as the guitarist of Rage Against the Machine. He went on to form the supergroup Audioslave with fellow rockstars, Chris Cornell, Tim Commerford and Brad Wilk.
Morello fell in love with “Star Trek” when he was a young adult trying to make it in Hollywood. He spent a lot of late nights watching reruns of “Star Trek: The Original Series.” When “Star Trek: The Next Generation” came out, he became obsessed with the new crew and their adventures. He loved the optimistic future that “Star Trek” presented.
Morello actually appeared in the Trekverse twice. He played a Son’a Officer in “Star Trek: Insurrection,” though he wasn’t credited or recognizable. Morello revealed that the role required several hours in the makeup chair. He was completely recognizable for his role as a science officer, Crewman Mitchell, in “Star Trek: Voyager.” He even got to have a brief conversation with Captain Kathryn Janeway.
Mick Fleetwood
Mick Fleetwood is one of the founding members of the iconic British rock band, Fleetwood Mac. In the late 80s, Fleetwood started his acting career with a role in “The Running Man.”
A few years later, Fleetwood landed one of his first television roles. He appeared in the “Star Trek: The Next Generation” episode “Manhunt,” though fans of Fleetwood and the show might have missed him. Fleetwood played one of the fish-like Antedian dignitaries that arrived on the Enterprise at the beginning of the episode. He wore a full mask and elaborate costume for the role, so he was completely unrecognizable.
Fleetwood told The Vancouver Sun that he’d always been a “Star Trek” fan and desperately wanted to appear in the franchise. He didn’t care what role he played or how big it was, but he did have one requirement.
“Promise me that I get to beam down or beam up — at least one of those things. Either up or down, you’ve got to promise me that it’s in the script.”
Fleetwood got his wish when the Antedians beamed aboard the Enterprise. He said that the whole experience was “a lot of fun.”
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