this post was submitted on 30 Jun 2026
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[–] Spock1240@startrek.website 1 points 17 hours ago

I think Alexander Siddig did good in Game of Thrones. I like his acting of Prince Doran Martell.

[–] bgainor@thelemmy.club 2 points 1 day ago

John De Lancie in Breaking Bad. Not that he was bad as Q, of course, but he didn't usually have very meaty material to work with.

[–] AnchoriteMagus@sh.itjust.works 73 points 4 days ago (4 children)

Walter Koenig was a great Chekov, but his role as Bester the PsyCop from Babylon 5 was a more nuanced role that gave him way more to do.

Bester was so great. Great vilain

[–] astronaut_sloth@mander.xyz 15 points 4 days ago (1 children)

I came here to say this. I first saw Walter Koenig as Chekov, but I really loved him as Bester. I've heard that he lights up when people bring up Bester at conventions and such.

[–] AnchoriteMagus@sh.itjust.works 11 points 4 days ago

Can confirm. I was an avid 90s Star Trek convention attendee, and got to hear a couple quick Bab5 anecdotes from him years ago.

[–] i_stole_ur_taco@lemmy.ca 12 points 4 days ago

Bester still gives me the creeps.

[–] SpaceNoodle@lemmy.world 11 points 4 days ago

Best character in the entire series. Never before would have imagined Walter making my skin crawl.

[–] Mostly_Gristle@lemmy.world 31 points 4 days ago (2 children)

Karl Urban was an okay Dr. McCoy, but the 157 different roles he played on Xena Warrior Princess was where he really shined the brightest.

[–] Enkrod@feddit.org 11 points 3 days ago

I honestly enjoyed him more in Dredd (where he had to do more with less) than in Star Trek.

[–] okwhateverdude@lemmy.world 6 points 3 days ago (2 children)

TIL!

Really only a handful, but that hilarious he had a few characters

[–] cybervseas@lemmy.world 8 points 3 days ago

Jeffrey Combs must have been busy.

[–] justaman123@lemmy.world 4 points 3 days ago

He really did have range with them. I watched Xena when I was a kid, and I had no idea they were the same actor

[–] gasgiant@lemmy.ml 32 points 4 days ago (7 children)

For me Colm Meaney wins this hands down. Good in Star Trek but great in other things.

Layer Cake, It's always sunny in Philadelphia and Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa are the 3 that come to mind first.

[–] nullPointer@programming.dev 10 points 4 days ago

pretty good in the "Hell on Wheels" series. It also features Anson Mount.

The Commitments.

[–] mactan@lemmy.ml 8 points 4 days ago

great villain in stargate atlantis

[–] SharkWeek@lemmy.blahaj.zone 7 points 4 days ago

Con Air, as the baddie.

The Man Who Went Up A Hill And Came Down A Mountain, as a goodie.

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[–] mercano@lemmy.world 21 points 4 days ago (2 children)

Andreas Katsulas had a recurring role as Commander Tomalak on TNG, but he absolutely shone as G’Kar on Babylon 5, especially in later seasons.

[–] crimson_iris@piefed.social 6 points 4 days ago

He gave me goosebumps in several scenes, especially this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJmuHNDcXLQ

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[–] ValueSubtracted@startrek.website 29 points 4 days ago (2 children)

Bakula on "Quantum Leap"

Eve Harlow on "Agents of SHIELD"

[–] FordBeeblebrox@lemmy.world 13 points 4 days ago (1 children)

There’s an episode of Scrubs where Bakula plays a janitor and secretly wants to leap back as a little Easter egg

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[–] SiliconAvatar@startrek.website 17 points 4 days ago (2 children)

It would be easy to just gesture vaguely at all of Sir Patrick Stewart's career. But your question was about better performances than in Trek, and I actually think he did an excellent Picard during the original TNG run. Not quite a hot take, I know.

However, for a double off-Trek billing, I suggest Green room (2015) where he plays against Anton Yelchin among others. It's a pretty taut little thriller about a punk band on the road that realise to their horror that their gig for the night is at a neonazi club out in the sticks. It goes downhill from there.

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[–] SpaceCowboy@lemmy.ca 9 points 3 days ago

There's a an admiral in Star Trek Beyond that looked familiar, I had to look it up and it's Shohreh Aghdashloo. A forgettable role, only noteworthy because I recognized the actor.

She plays Avasarala in The Expanse. Total powerhouse performance.

[–] Kojichan@lemmy.world 21 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Definitely Scott Bakula.

At the same time, I'm getting the feeling they weren't given the greatest scripts or directors to work with on Enterprise.

I was excited to see where Archer and Malcom would go with their characters, but now they've been distilled too far into an angry little men.

I get the reasoning, but come on. Malcom's a complete wanker past season 3, and Archer's face never changes beyond "It's all about the mission!"

Conversely, I believe Robert Picardo nails his hammy characterization of The Doctor perfectly.

[–] FordBeeblebrox@lemmy.world 11 points 4 days ago

I love the fact that even still with shows like Prodigy or Academy, he’s still willing to show up with that trademark EMH snark

[–] sanzky@beehaw.org 8 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (5 children)

Whoopi Goldberg for The Color Purple.

Michelle Yeoh in Everything Everywhere All at Once

Louise Fletcher in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

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[–] ruuster13@lemmy.zip 18 points 4 days ago

Whoopi Goldberg, Sister Act II

[–] Zephorah@discuss.online 14 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

Mulgrew. Flemeth. (Kidding).

Levar Burton will always be reading rainbow guy, no matter what he does.

Zachary Quinto. Silar. One of the better villains, until the writers went on strike and the show fell off the rails. Granted, this likely just marks the man’s range as an actor.

John Cho. The Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon.

Koenig. Bester.

You could argue that everything Stewart does is equally well done. Scrooge. X. Gurney.

[–] nullPointer@programming.dev 18 points 4 days ago (4 children)

Jeff Combs was excellent in "The Frighteners"

[–] Zorque@lemmy.world 17 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Jeff Combs was excellent in everything, though.

[–] lividweasel@lemmy.world 11 points 4 days ago

Jeff Combs was ~~excellent~~ in everything, though.

[–] SiliconAvatar@startrek.website 7 points 4 days ago (4 children)

And Re-animator, and Castle freak. He has a very good track record in a certain subset of horror movies!

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[–] thebardingreen@lemmy.starlightkel.xyz 6 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Armin Shimmerman was just as good as Principal Snyder as he was as Quark.

I met him at a convention once and got him sign a letter as Principal Snyder, suspending my friend (who's a huge Buffy fan) from Sunnydale High and threatening to expel her. He read it and thought it was hilarious.

[–] Kirk@startrek.website 3 points 3 days ago

That's an awesome story and I agree he was great in that role.

[–] SteleTrovilo@beehaw.org 16 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Benedict Cumberbatch, Sherlock

[–] NigelFrobisher@aussie.zone 2 points 3 days ago

Benny in the behind-the-scenes footage from The Hobbit in his mo-cap suit.

[–] Dippy@beehaw.org 7 points 3 days ago

Brent Spiner was brilliant in Master of Disguise, a phenomenal movie

[–] SteleTrovilo@beehaw.org 13 points 4 days ago (1 children)
[–] Rhaedas@fedia.io 19 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Any of his roles are awesome, but I'd hold McCoy up there with the rest. I believed he was the doctor. Criticize the script for lines and actions, but Karl nailed the mannerisms. As he always does. He's got a Gary Oldman ability to become something different every time.

[–] astronaut_sloth@mander.xyz 11 points 4 days ago (1 children)

100% agree. Of all of the Kelvin cast, he felt like Bones. Karl Urban was a fantastic casting decision.

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[–] Zorque@lemmy.world 10 points 4 days ago (1 children)

I think Patrick Stewart was pretty great in that episode of Extras.

[–] sanzky@beehaw.org 5 points 3 days ago (1 children)

curiously, the podcast "the incomparable" made an episode exactly about this topic (more specifically, performances before their trek appearances ) https://www.theincomparable.com/theincomparable/823/

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[–] Enkrod@feddit.org 6 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Damn, nearly did not recognize Keating, his performance in that gif gives heavy David Tennant to me.

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[–] SteleTrovilo@beehaw.org 10 points 4 days ago (3 children)
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[–] MalikMuaddibSoong@startrek.website 9 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Anthony Montgomery (Travis Mayweather) as Postmaster P in Leprechaun in the Hood

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