It seemed unlikely that Star Trek: The Next Generation would be a success when it made its premiere in 1987. Would viewers embrace a follow-up series that took place a century after the first programme and had a totally new cast despite the fact that the cherished original Star Trek ensemble was still enormously popular in reruns and a successful film series? The result was a resounding yes, and TNG, as it is often referred to by fans, went on to give birth to an entire extended Trek universe that is still going strong today.
Star Trek: The Next Generation, which takes place in the 24th century, follows the exploits of the Enterprise-D starship’s crew as they, like their forebears before them, explore strange new worlds, look for new life and new civilizations, and bravely travel where no man has gone before. This is your guide to the series’ actors, looking back at the roles they played on the science fiction classic (and, in some cases, still performing!) and providing a glimpse of recent activities.
Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden)
In Season 1 of TNG, Dr. Crusher serves as the Enterprise’s chief medical officer. She disappears in Season 2 after being abruptly moved to Starfleet Medical, but she reappears in Season 3 after being reinstated on the starship. The back-and-forth was brought on by the behind-the-scenes conflict that led to McFadden’s dismissal from the series and subsequent rehire. The crew’s problems are fixed by Crusher, who could potentially be Captain Picard’s future love interest. McFadden has a long history as a choreographer, but her latest on-screen appearance was in an NCIS episode in 2017. (Fun fact: She oversaw the puppet movement and choreography for Jim Henson’s Labyrinth.)
Data (Brent Spiner)
Lt. Commander Data is a highly developed android who serves as the Enterprise’s second officer and spends the most of the series attempting to understand what it is to feel emotions and be a human. He was created to sort of be the “Spock figure” on TNG. He and Picard’s connection turns out to be one of the show’s defining friendships, and Spiner briefly took over the role for season one of Picard. Spiner is still in demand as a voice and TV actor. He most recently made six appearances in Penny Dreadful: City of Angels, and in Independence Day: Resurgence, he returned to the character of Dr. Brackish Okun.
Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis)
Troi is the other notable alien in the cast of the programme, along with Worf. Despite being partly human, she has the ability to empathise through telepathy thanks to her Betazoid heritage, which she frequently uses in her role as the ship’s counsellor. Troi and Riker were a couple before they were reunited as members of the Enterprise crew, and although the show frequently implies that the two may one day get back together, their relationship doesn’t formally resume until the TNG cast made the transition to the big screen. In Picard, where Troi and Riker remain blissfully married, Sirtis played Deanna once more. She has recently made appearances in episodes of the sci-fi series Titans and The Orville, and she continues to act frequently in both films and television.
Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton)
La Forge was the Enterprise’s helmsman when The Next Generation first aired, but in season two, he was promoted to chief engineer, a position he held for the rest of the programme. Despite being legally blind, Geordi can “see” because to a distinctive mechanical helmet that covers his eyes and transmits electromagnetic scans to his optic nerves. Although Geordi occasionally struggles with his condition, he rarely allows it to get in the way of the task at hand. Burton is most recognised outside of TNG for 21 seasons as the anchor of the PBS educational programme Reading Rainbow. He is a skilled TV director and the host of the podcast Levar Burton Reads, in which he reads a different short story in each episode. Burton would now be the host of Jeopardy! if Twitter had its way, but regrettably, his devoted following will have to make do with the five episodes of the game show he guest hosted in 2021.
Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart)
Every ship requires a captain, and Jean-Luc Picard is the Enterprise- D’s. It was never going to be simple to find a replacement for William Shatner’s James T. Kirk, so Gene Roddenberry, the man behind both the original series and TNG, made the prudent choice of casting an actor with an entirely different vibe. Stewart, a renowned British stage actor with a scattering of film and television credits, portrayed Picard as the anti-Kirk: a harsh tactician who prefers diplomacy to violence in pursuit of victory. Stewart’s commanding presence helped Picard establish himself as a cultural icon. The character anchored seven seasons of TNG, four feature-length spinoffs, and a recent revival/spinoff series, Star Trek: Picard, which is presently available to stream on Paramount+. Season 2 will premiere early in 2019. In addition to playing Picard, Stewart starred in five X-Men movies as Charles Xavier, better known as Marvel’s Professor X. Most recently, he took on the character of Merlin in the 2019 children’s Excalibur story The Kid Who Would Be King. He also played Bosley in the Charlie’s Angels remake that same year.
Katherine Pulaski (Diana Muldaur)
Dr. Pulaski takes over as CMO while Dr. Crusher is away for a season, but the character leaves the show when Crusher returns in Season 3. Muldaur just made her first on-screen acting debut in nearly two decades in Sidney Furie’s docudrama Finding Hannah.
Yar serves as the Enterprise’s head security officer during season one, but Crosby was dissatisfied with his job, which led to Yar’s death close to the season’s conclusion. Due to some time-rift shenanigans, the character does recur a few times, and Crosby eventually takes on a second role on the programme when she makes an appearance as Sela, Yar’s half-Romulan daughter. Crosby is still acting now and has recently appeared in several episodes of The Walking Dead, Ray Donovan, and Suits.
Q (John de Lancie)
De Lancie, who played the mysterious Q on The Next Generation, who delighted in playing practical jokes on Jean-Luc on that show and frequently placed the entire human species on trial, will also returning for season two of Picard. Eight episodes of TNG include Q, including the start and end of the show. Over the years, De Lancie has consistently worked as a voice actor and TV actor. In 2019, he finished his role as the character Discord on My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, who was partially based on Q.
Tasha Yar (Denise Crosby)
Guinan is a kind and experienced bartender who would gladly serve you a drink in the Ten-Forward lounge of the Enterprise and perhaps offer some free sound advice. She would appear in 28 episodes of the show, and Goldberg is set to play the part in season two of Picard. She was a fan favourite. (However, since Guinan is an El-Aurian, an alien species that ages gradually and has a lifespan of several centuries, it will be interesting to see how they handle Whoopi’s ageing.) Here on Earth, Goldberg has hosted The View, a mainstay of daytime TV chat shows, since 2007.
Wesley Crusher (Wil Wheaton)
Wesley, the son of Dr. Crusher, accompanies her on the Enterprise and is arguably the most contentious character in the ensemble. Wesley initially annoys Picard (and occasionally the audience), but with time he grows to be a vital member of the Enterprise crew and is finally appointed a ship ensign. After Season 4, Wheaton left the show, however he would later continue to play Wesley in guest roles. His subsequent career as an actor, writer, and Internet celebrity has been varied. On The Big Bang Theory, where he appeared repeatedly as Sheldon’s arch enemy over the course of 17 episodes, he is well known for portraying a fictionalised version of himself. Currently hosting the Star Trek aftershow The Ready Room, Wheaton is rejoining the Star Trek family.
Will Riker (Jonathan Frakes)
First officer of the Enterprise Commander William T. Riker can be more agitated than Picard, who is typically cool and collected. Riker, who is portrayed by the first beardless but eventually heavily bearded Frakes, is an essential member of the Enterprise crew who can captain the bridge or lead the away team in the case that Picard is assassinated by the Borg or anything. Frakes started making the transition to a profession in filmmaking while he was on the show. In addition to two feature films starring the Next Generation cast, Star Trek: First Contact and Star Trek: Insurrection, he also directed eight episodes of the television show. Frakes has directed several episodes of Deep Space Nine, Voyager, Discovery, and Picard outside of the Trek universe. He has also been a sought-after TV director for years, having worked on shows like The Librarians, Burn Notice, and Leverage. In 2020, he voiced Riker in Star Trek: Lower Decks and returned to the role for two episodes of Picard.
Worf (Michael Dorn)
Lt. Commander Worf, a Klingon officer whose distinctive forehead ridges characterised the Klingon look from TNG onward, may stand out more than anybody else on the Enterprise-D bridge. When it comes to his adopted Starfleet family and the Klingon culture he left behind, Worf frequently feels torn between the two. After Tasha Yar’s passing, he is appointed the ship’s chief security officer. Later, when Dorn joined the cast of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine after TNG’s conclusion, he made history as the first principal character to move to a spinoff series. In more recent times, Dorn has provided voice acting for programmes like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Lion Guard, and Invincible.
