Latter-day Saint Star Trek Actors and Writers

This is a brief list of Star Trek authors and writers who happen to be Latter-day Saints and/or Utahns. Although there are obvious parallels* between "Star Trek" and Latter-day Saint history, theology, and culture, thematic comparisons are not a part of this list. This information is simply an offshoot of material in other databases, and pertains only to actors and authors, without regard to what they wrote about or what type of characters they played.

Given the large number of actors who have appeared as guest characters and regular cast members in the various Star Trek series and films, and the number of Latter-day Saint actors working in Hollywood, it is likely that many more names could be added to this list if more complete information was available.

Mark Deakins

Star Trek: Insurrection (1998) - Tournel (one of the principle Ba'ku)

Star Trek: Voyager: "Unimatrix Zero": Part 1 and 2 (episode # 7.1) 10/4/2000 playing "Axum" in episode: "Star Trek: Voyager" playing "Axum" in episode: "Unimatrix Zero" (episode # 6.26) 5/24/2000 "Star Trek: Voyager" playing "Hirogen SS Officer" in episode: "Killing Game, The: Part 1" (episode # 4.18) 3/4/1998 "Star Trek: Voyager" playing "Hirogen SS Officer" in episode: "Killing Game, The: Part 2" (episode # 4.19) 3/4/1998 Keene Curtis "Star Trek: Voyager" (1995) playing "old man" in episode: "Sacred Ground" (episode # 3.7) 10/30/1996 Tom Nibley "Star Trek: The Next Generation" (1987) playing "Neil" in episode: "Starship Mine" (episode # 6.18) 3/27/1993 Kevin Rahm "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" (1993) playing "Norvo Tigan" in episode: "Prodigal Daughter" (episode # 7.11) 1/4/1999 Robert Walker Jr. (LDS? He IS the son of Robert Walker from "Strangers on a Train") "Star Trek" (1966) playing "Charlie Evans" in episode: "Charlie X" (episode # 1.2) 9/15/1966 Son of Jones, Jennifer and Robert Walker (I). B. Franklin Thatcher "Of Cabbages and Kings" (2nd place winner) in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (1998) "I Am Become Death" in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds II W. R. Thompson Star Trek, the Next Generation #30: Debtor's Planet Star Trek, the Next Generation: Infiltrator Ken Rand "I am Klingon" (Star Trek: Strange New Worlds anthology, 3rd place) Gregg Keizer Non-fiction includes "Spaced-out scenarios: Doom, Descent, and Star Trek ... oh my!" Galaxy Quest (1999) David Howard Spoof of Star Trek

Parallels: With over 25 years of television episodes, collectively, 9 feature films, and well over 100 novels, the body of "Star Trek" media is immense. It has dealt with countless themes and been produced by scores of people. Such a large body of work is a reflection of the society which produced it, and "Star Trek" it is likely that there are parallels between "Star Trek" and every major religious group, culture, or philosophy -- not just the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. There is no reason to think that "Star Trek" is "particularly Latter-day Saint" in its overall outlook. The creator of the franchise, Gene Rodenberry, was deeply humanistic, as were Joseph Smith, Brigham Young and other Latter-day Saint leaders. But Rodenberry was also an atheist, whereas Latter-day Saint theology is clearly theistic.

For an extensive examination of the ethics and philosophy of Star Trek, including chapters covering Christian aspects of Star Trek, we recommend The Ethics of Star Trek by Judith Barad and Ed Robertson (New York: HarperCollins, 2000).

Some of the most obvious parallels between "Star Trek" and Latter-day Saints occur in the "Deep Space Nine" series, in which Captain Sisko is named the Emissary of the Bajoran people (essentially their prophet), and eventually embraces his role and converts to the Bajoran faith. With its exploration of Bajoran, Klingon, Trill, Ferengi, Dominion and other faiths, "Deep Space Nine" has featured the most overtly religious material of all Star Trek series.

As for the other series, it is interesting to note that the organization of Starfleet resembles the organizational structure of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints more than it resembles the polity of any other church or religion. In both institutions, positions of leadership are filled by appointment, not election, and are filled by people from various careers, not strictly from a single career path (such as a priestly or preacher class). Starship/starbase captains, and Latter-day Saint bishops, consult with their staffs, but are the final decision makers. Privately, bishops and captains rely heavily on two official Counselors (or a First Officer and another senior officer), to discuss matters. These close advisors are expected to challenge the captain/bishop's decisions when they disagree, but ultimately come to a joint decision and present a united front before the rest of the crew/congregation. From a strictly organizational standpoint, it is easy to picture Captain Kirk as a bishop, with Spock and Dr. McCoy his two counselors.


Web page created 15 March 2001. Last modified 20 March 2001.