Given that its creator, Ronald D. Moore was a key creative force behind the Star Trek franchise in the 1990s, it’s hardly surprising that multiple Trek actors have appeared in Battlestar Galactica. However, even before its 2004 reboot, Battlestar Galactica crossed over with Star Trek multiple times. Star Trek: The Original Series‘ OG Klingon actor, John Colicos played Battlestar Galactica‘s original Baltar, while Star Trek: The Next Generation‘s Q actor John de Lancie had a minor role in the original BSG during his early career.

However, Ronald D. Moore’s Battlestar Galactica reboot made the connections with the Star Trek franchise more pronounced. The former Star Trek: Deep Space Nine writer and producer named Kara “Starbuck” Thrace after DS9‘s Kira, and that was just the start. The Battlestar Galactica reboot brought in multiple actors from the 1990s Star Trek era in which Ronald D. Moore came to prominence, while also making names of up-and-coming actors who would go on to appear in Star Trek‘s revitalized modern era.

9

Callum Keith Rennie in Star Trek: Discovery

Cylon Number Two Is Captain Burnham’s Number One

Callum Keith Rennie played the various incarnations of Leoben throughout Battlestar Galactica. Callum Keith Rennie’s performance made the Number Twos more sympathetic than some of their fellow Cylons, though his obsession with Starbuck (Katee Sackhoff) was unnerving. Thanks to his role in Due South, Callum Keith Rennie was a well-known face by the time he joined BSG in 2004, and only strengthened his reputation as a character actor between the end of Battlestar Galactica and Star Trek: Discovery season 5.

Given Callum Keith Rennie’s extensive list of roles in popular cult shows like 24, and The Umbrella Academy, it’s surprising that it took so long for him to appear in Star Trek. Rennie made his Star Trek debut as Commander Rayner in Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 1, “Red Directive”, and has been bumped up from Cylon Number Two to Number One. Callum Keith Rennie has freshened up the Discovery cast, so it’s disappointing that the show’s cancelation means that Star Trek fans won’t get to see more of Rennie’s Commander Rayner.

8

James Callis in Star Trek: Picard

Gaius Baltar actor played Jean-Luc Picard’s father.

James Callis brilliantly played the vain, cowardly Gaius Baltar in all four seasons of Battlestar Galactica. Baltar’s arc was fascinating, starting out as a traitor and Cylon collaborator, before becoming a failed politician and cult leader. While Baltar in BSG is Callis’ best-known role as an actor, he’s gone on to appear in movies and TV shows as diverse as Bridget Jones’ Baby and Rick and Morty. James Callis also appeared in five episodes of 12 Monkeys, co-created by Terry Matalas, who went on to showrun Star Trek: Picard season 3.

However, it was Star Trek: Picard season 2 in which James Callis appeared, playing Maurice Picard, the father of Jean-Luc. In Picard season 2, episode 7, “Monsters”, Jean-Luc is trapped inside his memories, interacting with a Starfleet psychiatrist who has the face of his father. In later flashbacks, Maurice Picard rises above his bad reputation in Star Trek: The Next Generation, by gaining context from both Callis’ nuanced performance, and the revelations about Jean-Luc’s mother.

7

Dean Stockwell in Star Trek: Enterprise

Grat in Season 1, Episode 21, “Detained”

Despite an incredible career working with auteur directors like David Lynch and Wim Wenders, Dean Stockwell is best known as Al from Quantum Leap. When his co-star Scott Bakula was cast as Captain Jonathan Archer in Star Trek: Enterprise, a Dean Stockwell guest appearance became a forgone conclusion. Dean Stockwell played the tyrannical prison warden Grat in Enterprise season 1, episode 21, “Detained”, a brutal and xenophobic man who went toe to toe with Archer over the treatment of his Suliban prisoners.

Years later, Dean Stockwell was cast as John Cavil, the key architect of the Cylon plan in Battlestar Galactica. Stockwell’s performance as Cavil was more like the brutal prison warden from Star Trek: Enterprise than Sam Beckett’s charismatic best friend in Quantum Leap. Cavil was the most memorable BSG villain, so vicious was his hatred for the human Colonists and anyone who dared to cross him.

6

Kate Vernon In Star Trek: Voyager

Commander Valerie Archer in Season 5, Episode 4, “In the Flesh”

Long before she played Ellen Tigh in Battlestar Galactica, Kate Vernon had appeared as Commander Valerie Archer in the Star Trek universe. In Star Trek: Voyager season 5, episode 4, “In the Flesh”, the USS Voyager encounters a fully functioning replica of Starfleet Headquarters. It is quickly revealed to be a staging ground for a future invasion of Earth by the Species 8472 aliens against whom Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) had previously sided with the Borg Collective. Janeway eventually negotiates peace with Species 8472, given hope by the romance that blossomed between Archer and Chakotay (Robert Beltran).

As a member of Battlestar Galactica‘s Final Five Cylons, Kate Vernon played a similar role as Ellen Tigh. As one of the earlier humanoid Cylons, Ellen played a key role in creating a new breed of Cylon that was organically indistinguishable from humans. These humanoid Cylons then infiltrated all levels of life in the Twelve Colonies ahead of the devastating attack in Battlestar Galactica‘s 2003 pilot miniseries. Unlike in Star Trek: Voyager, peace could not be found ahead of the devastation caused by Battlestar Galactica‘s Cylons.

5

Nana Visitor In Star Trek: DS9

Battlestar Galactica, Season 4, Episode 6, “Faith”

As well as inspiring Starbuck’s real name, Kara Thrace, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine‘s Major Kira actress Nana Visitor also had a guest role in Battlestar Galactica. Ronald D Moore played a major role in shaping the story of DS9 from season 3 onward, so it was hardly surprising that one of Deep Space Nine‘s regulars appeared in BSG. Nana Visitor was cast as Emily Kowalski in BSG season 4, episode 6, “Faith”, in which she formed a bond with the terminally ill President Laura Roslin (Mary McDonnell).

Emily Kowalski and President Roslin bonded while they were undergoing treatment for cancer, and discussed matters of faith and mortality. Those were both key themes of Battlestar Galactica and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, so Nana Visitor’s casting was a perfect way to maintain continuity. While Nana Visitor only appeared in one episode of BSG, she had a pivotal role in Roslin’s story, as she helped the President to confront her own mortality.

4

Rick Worthy In Various Star Trek Roles

Cylon Model #4 has been in multiple Star Trek movies and TV shows.

Rick Worthy played Cylon Model #4, a.k.a. Simon O’Neill in Battlestar Galactica, but he had played multiple roles in Star Trek in the years before BSG. In a role that may have been prophetic, Worthy played the Automated Personnel Units in Star Trek: Voyager season 2, episode 13 “Prototype”. After appearing in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine as Klingon Warrior Kornan, Rick Worthy returned to Voyager as Noah Lessing, one of the wayward Starfleet officers from the USS Equinox in the season 5 finale.

The most notable of Rick Worthy’s Star Trek roles was the one in which his face was hidden underneath layers of prosthetics. In Star Trek: Enterprise, Rick Worthy played Janaar, a Xindi Arboreal scientist, who – like BSG‘s humanoid Cylons – posed an existential threat to humanoid life in the galaxy. Janaar appeared in 10 episodes of Enterprise season 3, during the acclaimed Xindi War arc. It’s just a shame for Worthy that his face was encased in heavy prosthetic makeup and tufts of gray hair to give him his arboreal appearance.

3

Mark A. Sheppard in Star Trek: Voyager

Leucon in Season 6, Episode 19, “Child’s Play”

Not to be confused with Mark Allen Shepherd, who played Star Trek: Deep Space Nine‘s beloved barfly Morn, Mark A. Sheppard has been in everything from Supernatural to Doctor Who. So it’s no surprise that as well as being one of many actors in both Star Trek and The X-Files, Sheppard also played a substantial role in Battlestar Galactica. Mark A. Sheppard was cast as Romo Lampkin in Battlestar Galactica seasons 3 and 4, defending Gaius Baltar in court for effectively selling out the Colonists on New Caprica to the Cylons.

Years earlier, Mark A. Sheppard had appeared as Leucon in Star Trek: Voyager season 6, episode 19, “Child’s Play”. Leucon sacrificed his own son, Icheb (Manu Intiraymi), to the Borg Collective to stop repeated attacks on their planet. Leucon and his wife Yifay (Tracey Ellis) had genetically altered Icheb to have anti-Borg pathogens so that he could infect the Collective. Leucon again tried to sacrifice Icheb when the USS Voyager reunited father and son, making Mark A. Sheppard’s character not unlike Battlestar Galactica‘s self-serving sell-out Gaius Baltar.

2

Rekha Sharma in Star Trek: Discovery

Battlestar Galactica had a big influence on Discovery season 1.

Rekha Sharma played Tory Foster in Battlestar Galactica, advisor to President Laura Roslin, and a member of the Final Five. Tory was responsible for one of Battlestar Galactica‘s most devastating deaths, when she ejected Cally Tyrol (Nicki Clyne) from an airlock. Tory was one of the least apologetic of humanoid Cylons, and never felt guilt over the murder of Cally. Rekha Sharma would again draw on her abilities to play cold, pragmatic characters when she was cast in Star Trek: Discovery season 1.

Rekha Sharma played the USS Discovery’s chief of security, Commander Ellen Landry in Star Trek: Discovery season 1, episodes 3 and 4, “Context is for Kings”, and “The Butcher Cares Not For The Lamb’s Cry”. A stern presence aboard Discovery, Landry distrusted mutineer Commander Michael Burnham, to a fault. The darker tone of Discovery, and storylines involving humanoid characters being alien enemies in disguise drew clear parallels between the Star Trek show and Ronald D. Moore’s Battlestar Galactica reboot.

1

Michelle Forbes In Star Trek: TNG/Picard

From Ensign Ro To Admiral Helena Cain

One of the Battlestar Galactica reboot’s best characters, Admiral Helena Cain, was played by Michelle Forbes. An incredibly talented and in-demand actress, Michelle Forbes’ acting roles encompass everything from the beloved sitcom Seinfeld to more challenging fare like Kogonada’s Columbus. Cain was a weighty role for Forbes, and she was an excellent foil for Edward James Olmos as Captain William Adama. Ronald D. Moore must have known Forbes was the right person for the role, thanks to their prior working relationship on Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Like the arrival of Admiral Helena Cain in Battlestar Galactica, the arrival of Ensign Ro Laren (Michelle Forbes) in Star Trek: The Next Generation threw the show’s existing dynamics into disarray. Michelle Forbes was excellent at portraying how Ro’s tragic upbringing and failures as a Starfleet officer put her at odds with the crew of the USS Enterprise-D. Eventually, Ro betrayed Captain Jean-Luc Picard, a cliffhanger that wouldn’t be resolved until she returned to Star Trek: Picard season 3.

In light of Ro Laren’s TNG arc, the casting of Michelle Forbes as Helena Cain in Battlestar Galactica is one of the finest examples of the elements that Ronald D. Moore brought over from Star Trek for his acclaimed reboot. By rebooting Glen A Larson’s kitschy sci-fi show for a new generation with a host of talent from his time on Star Trek, Ronald D. Moore effectively showed the way forward for the modern franchise. As a new Battlestar Galactica reboot is currently in development, it will be interesting to see how it interacts with the current Star Trek franchise.