Star Trek And RoboCop Have Some Major Connections
If you think the only connection between Starfleet and Omni Consumer Products is that they both follow a Prime Directive, think again. Star Trek and RoboCop appear on the surface to be polar opposites: one is an optimistic vision of a future utopia, and the other takes place in a dystopian capitalist nightmare. And yet, the two franchises have one big thing in common—actors.
Kurtwood Smith In RoboCop
It turns out that several of the cast members from the first RoboCop have also appeared in Star Trek, and vice versa. Kurtwood Smith, best known as Red Foreman from That ’70s Show, starred in RoboCop as the gang leader, drug trafficker, and all-around jerk Clarence Boddicker. Smith was so convincing as the slimy criminal whose violent execution of police officer Alex Murphy inadvertently leads to RoboCop’s creation that it’s hard to picture him in something as hopeful as Star Trek.
Kurtwood Smith’s Many Star Trek Roles
And yet Smith has appeared in the Star Trek universe not once but three different times. The first time was as the President of the Federation in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. Smith showed up next as the Cardassian Thrax on an episode of Deep Space Nine. The actor’s third and final Star Trek role saw the RoboCop alumn joining the cast of Voyager as the scientist Annorax.
Ray Wise In Star Trek And RoboCop
Ray Wise of Twin Peaks fame played Clarence Boddicker’s partner in crime, Leon Nash, in the first RoboCop. Much like his co-star, Wise also guest-starred on an episode of Star Trek: Voyager. One thing the actor has over Kurtwood Smith, however, is his guest role in an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, often considered the crown jewel of the franchise.
Miguel Ferrer
This list doesn’t stop there. Miguel Ferrer, a First Officer in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, also appeared as Bob Morton, head of the RoboCop project, in the 1987 film of the same name. Ferrer was also on Twin Peaks, making Ray Wise and him triple threats.
Ronny Cox
Veteran actor Ronny Cox is also a Star Trek/RoboCop double agent. Cox appeared first as slimy executive Dick Jones in RoboCop before playing Capt. Edward Jellico on two episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Cox recently made a return to Starfleet, portraying the now Admiral Jellico on two episodes of Star Trek: Prodigy in 2022.
Peter Weller
The big one, however, has to be Peter Weller. That’s right, even RoboCop himself left Detroit and caught a ride to the Alpha quadrant. Weller’s first role in the Star Trek universe was the xenophobic Terra Prime leader John Frederick Paxton in episodes of Star Trek: Enterprise. Yes, we know that’s the bad one that nobody likes, but technically, it still counts.The actor later returned to Federation space as a corrupt Starfleet Admiral in 2013’s Star Trek Into Darkness. Yes, we know it’s the other bad one that nobody likes. Look, Peter Weller might suck at picking Star Trek roles, but RoboCop is a straight classic, so he gets a pass.
Believe it or not, there are even more Star Trek actors who pulled double duty in the Star Trek universe, but we’ll save those for a future article.
