10 actors have explored the final frontier in Star Trek and faced deadly Xenomorphs in the Alien franchise. Ridley Scott’s Alien premiered in 1979 and remains one of the most influential science fiction horror films of all time. Following Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) and the doomed crew of the Nostromo, Alien spawned numerous sequels, prequels, and crossovers, including projects that are still in the works as of 2024. From the facehugger to the chestburster to the adult Xenomorph, the team behind Alien also created some of the most iconic visuals in cinema.
Star Trek has its own fair share of iconic aliens, though not even the Borg, inspired by H.R. Giger’s Alien designs, are quite as viscerally horrifying as those in Alien. Beginning when Star Trek: The Original Series premiered in 1966, Star Trek became an even more expansive franchise than Alien, with a dozen TV series and 13 Star Trek movies. From the 1970s until today, every decade has seen new Star Trek and Alien projects, so it makes sense that several actors have appeared in both franchises.
Brad Dourif only appeared in three episodes of Star Trek: Voyager as Ensign Lon Suder, but his character made quite an impression. A Betazoid member of the Maquis, Suder suffered from violent tendencies he tried to control, but he had no outlet for them as a crewmember of Voyager. In Voyager season 2, episode 16, “Meld,” Suder murdered Crewman Frank Darwin and was confined to his quarters on the ship.
When the Kazon attacked and took over Voyager in the Star Terk: Voyager two-parter, “Basics,” Suder helped retake the ship. Brad Dourif made Suder complex and suitably creepy, perhaps channeling some of the psychopathic traits of Dourif’s Alien: Resurrection character, Dr. Jonathan Gediman. Gediman was part of the science team that cloned Ellen Ripley, and he became a bit too obsessed with the Xenomorphs.
In Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 2, episode 10, “Sanctuary,” Orser played a Skrreean farmer named Gai, who was bonded to the Skrreean representative Haneek (Deborah May). In a later episode of DS9, season 3, episode 21, “The Die is Cast,” Orser appeared as a Changeling masquerading as Romulan Tal Shiar agent Colonel Lovok. Orser’s next Trek appearance came in Star Trek: Voyager season 4, episode 5, “Revulsion,” where he portrayed Dejaren, a hologram who developed a hatred for organic lifeforms.
In his final Star Trek appearance, Orser played Loomis in a Star Trek time travel episode — Star Trek: Enterprise season 3, episode 11, “Carpenter Street.” Loomis was a human blood bank worker who had been recruited by the Xindi in 2004 as part of their plan to destroy humanity. Leland Orser appeared in Alien: Resurrection as Larry Purvis, a civilian who became an unwilling host to a Xenomorph egg.
Before achieving mainstream fame portraying Hellboy in Guillermo del Toro’s two Hellboy movies, Ron Perlman appeared in Alien Resurrection as the crass mercenary, Ron Johner. Premiering in 1997, Alien: Resurrection was one of the first big Hollywood films Perlman starred in. His Star Trek appearance came not long after, in 2002’s Star Trek: Nemesis, where he was physically unrecognizable as the Reman Viceroy.
Although the Viceroy is never named in Star Trek: Nemesis, he serves as the second-in-command of the Reman forces and becomes one of Praetor Shinzon’s (Tom Hardy) most trusted advisors. The Viceroy used his telepathic abilities to help Shinzon violate the mind of Counselor Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis), although this contact allowed Troi to trace the Viceroy’s mind later. The Viceroy is eventually killed in a one-on-one fight with Commander William Riker (Jonathan Frakes).
Long before Raymond Cruz appeared as Tuco Salamanca in Breaking Bad, he played human soldier, Vargas, in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 7, episode 8, “The Siege of AR-558.” Vargas was one of the soldiers assigned to protect the communication array on the planet known as AR-558. Vargas survived the five-month assault until Captain Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) arrived with reinforcements, but he was killed during the Jem’Hadar’s final attempt to take the array.
In Alien: Resurrection, Cruz portrayed Private First Class Vincent “Vinnie” Distephano, a dedicated soldier initially on the side of Dr. Mason Wren (J. E. Freeman). Wren was part of the scientific team that cloned Ellen Ripley as part of their plan to recreate the Xenomorph species. After Wren tried to betray the other survivors, Distephano switched sides. Cruz almost made it to the end of Alien: Resurrection, but became the last causality of the Xenomorph.
Jenette Goldstein is best known for her role in Aliens as Private Jenette Vasquez, a cocky marine who is part of the team sent to investigate Hadley’s Hope colony. Like her fellow marines, Vasquez questions Ripley’s experience with the Xenomorph on the Nostromo and believes their mission will be an easy one. Vasquez helps keep Ripley and the young survivor, Newt (Carrie Henn), alive, although she later sacrifices herself to avoid being taken by the aliens.
Jenette Goldstein only had a small role in Star Trek Generations, as a science officer on board the USS Enterprise-B in the opening sequence of the film. Although Goldstein has only had minor roles in the Star Trek franchise, her Aliens character, Vasquez, partially inspired the character of Lt. Tasha Yar (Denise Crosby) on Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Daniel Kash joined the Star Trek family in Star Trek: Discovery season 3, episode 10, “Terra Firma, Part 2,” with a brief appearance as Duggan, an ally of Captain Gabriel Lorca in an alternate timeline of the Mirror Universe. Kash’s more memorable Star Trek appearance came in Discovery season 4, episode 8, “All In,” in which he plays Haz Mazaro, the owner of the Karma Casino Barge.
Captain Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) and Cleveland Booker (David Ajala) had dealings with Mazaro and reached out to him when they were looking for black market isolynium. In Aliens, Kash portrayed Private Daniel Spunkmeyer, a member of the Marine Combat unit sent to investigate Hadley’s Hope colony. Spunkmeyer served as a copilot on the dropship Bug Stomper before he was killed when a Xenomorph stowed away on board.
Upon arriving in the 32nd century in Star Trek: Discovery season 3, Michael Burnham and her crew begin working to aid and rebuild the United Federation of Planets. In the premiere episode of Star Trek: Discovery season 4, Chelah Horsdal’s Laira Rillak is elected as the new Federation President. At odds at first, Captain Burnham and President Rillak become close allies, as they fight to save the Federation from the Dark Matter Anomaly in Star Trek: Discovery season 4.
As a Human, Bajoran, and Cardassian hybrid, President Rillak comes from three different species that have historically been on opposing sides. Laira presents a brighter, more unified future, and her time as a top Federation ambassador prepared her well for the job of the presidency. In Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem, Chelah Horsdal played Darcy Benson, whose husband and son were killed by Xenomorph chestbursters while on a hunting trip.
Character actor Mark Rolston portrayed Private Mark Drake in Aliens, one of the Marines sent to check on the Hadley’s Hope colony. In his first Star Trek role, Rolston played Lt. Walter Pierce in Star Trek: The Next Generation season 7, episode 18, “Eye of the Beholder.” Pierce had killed his girlfriend and her lover out of jealousy while working on the USS Enterprise-D, and Counselor Troi felt empathic traces of the murder eight years later.
In Star Trek: Enterprise season 2, episode 17, “Canamar,” Rolston plays Enolian criminal Kuroda Lor-ehn. After escaping prison, Kuroda had been recaptured when he met Captain Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula), who had been wrongly imprisoned. Archer eventually earned Kuroda’s trust, which helped the Captain get back to the Enterprise. Mark Rolston also appeared briefly in Enterprise season 4, episode 6, “The Augments,” as the Klingon Captain Magh.
Winona Ryder played Amanda Grayson, the human mother of Spock (Zachary Quinto), in J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek (2009). In the alternate Kelvin timeline, Amanda was killed when Nero (Eric Bana) destroyed Vulcan. In Alien: Resurrection, Ryder starred as Annalee Call alongside Sigourney Weaver’s Ripley 8. Call kept her true identity as an Auton secret synthetics had been outlawed after a failed uprising.
Call was originally meant to kill Ripley 8 before the Xenomorph inside her could be harvested, but she arrived too late. Despite being a machine, Call felt sympathy for mankind, which led her to sabotage the Xenomorph breeding program. One of the few characters to make it out of an Alien movie alive, Call apparently achieved her goal, destroying the Xenomorphs and making it to Earth in one piece.