Summary

  • Star Trek: The Next Generation and Lost share a connection through actors appearing in both iconic shows.
  • Both series feature characters navigating strange occurrences and mysterious phenomena in their respective universes.
  • From renowned guest stars to memorable roles, these actors brought their talent to both TNG and Lost.

Star Trek: The Next Generation and Lost may not seem to have much in common beyond being science fiction television shows, but several actors appeared in both shows. Following the adventures of Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and the USS Enterprise-D, TNG picked up about a century after the events of Star Trek: The Original Series. Although TNG got off to a bit of a rocky start in its first two seasons, it would go on to produce some of the best science fiction television of all time. Over the course of seven seasons, the Enterprise-D explored the galaxy, encountering numerous strange aliens and unexplainable anomalies.

The characters on ABC's Lost also experienced their fair share of bizarre and unexplained mysteries. After Oceanic Flight 815 crash lands on an island, the survivors must continue to fight for their lives as increasingly strange occurrences begin happening on the island. After Lost's debut twenty years ago in 2004, the J.J. Abrams-produced series quickly became a hit, its twists and turns inspiring intense speculation and numerous conspiracy theories. Both Star Trek: The Next Generation and Lost are often ranked among the best television shows of all time, and here are 10 actors who appeared in both iconic shows.

Actor

Star Trek: TNG Character

Lost Character

Fionnula Flanagan

Dr. Juliana Tainer

Eloise Hawking

Daniel Roebuck

Jaron (Romulan Civilian)

Dr. Leslie Arzt

John Pyper-Ferguson

Eli Hollander

Arnie Bocklin

Dan Gauthier

Lt. Sam Lavelle

Peter Ross

Sam Anderson

Hotel Royale Assistant Manager

Bernard Nadler

April Grace

Ensign Maggie Hubbell

Beatrice "Bea" Klugh

Saul Rubinek

Kivas Fajo

Clark Finney

Susan Gibney

Dr. Leah Brahms

Melissa Dunbrook

Michelle Forbes

Ensign Ro Laren

Karen Decker

Terry O'Quinn

iral Eric Pressman

John Locke
Dwayne Johnson, Ashley Judd, & Kirsten Dunst with the Star Trek logo
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10 Fionnula Flanagan

Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 7, Episode 10 - "Inheritance" / 7 Episodes of Lost

Lost 316 Eloise Hawking Fionnula Flanagan

Fionnula Flanagan only appeared in one episode of TNG, where she played Dr. Juliana Tainer, the ex-wife of Dr. Noonien Soong (Brent Spiner). Juliana aided Dr. Soong in his work, including helping him create the android Lt. Commander Data (Brent Spiner). In "Inheritance," the Enterprise visits Atrea IV, where Juliana is living, and she reunites with her "son," Data (although he does not her). In Lost, Fionnula Flanagan played the oldest version of Eloise Hawking, the mother of physicist Daniel Faraday (Jeremy Davies), and the leader of the group known as the Others.

Data later discovers Juliana to be an advanced android created by Soong and imbued with the memories of the real Juliana.

9 Daniel Roebuck

Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 5, Episodes 7 & 8 - "Unification" / 9 Episodes of Lost

Lost Exodus Daniel Roebuck Dr. Leslie Arzt

Popular character actor Daniel Roebuck played a Romulan Civilian (identified in tie-in fiction as Jaron) in the Star Trek: The Next Generation two-parter, "Unification." Jaron was a member of the underground movement to reunite Romulans and Vulcans that Ambassador Spock (Leonard Nimoy) had begun. When Captain Picard and Data first arrived on Romulus, Jaron was one of the Romulans who led the pair to the caves where the underground movement had its base of operations. In Lost, Roebuck portrayed former science teacher Dr. Leslie Arzt, who survived for 44 days on the island before accidentally blowing himself up with some dynamite the survivors found.

8 John Pyper-Ferguson

Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 6, Episode 8 - "A Fistful of Datas" / Lost Season 6, Episodes 17 & 18 - "The End"

Lost The End John Pyper-Ferguson Oceanic Delivery Man

TNG's "A Fistful of Datas" followed Counselor Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis), Lt. Worf (Michael Dorn), and Worf's son Alexander (Brian Bonsall) as they became trapped in a Western program on the holodeck. Initially, John Pyper-Ferguson played the holographic outlaw Eli Hollander, who was known as one of the best gunslingers in the West. Worf arrested Hollander, but the character was later replaced by an image of Data (complete with his android abilities) when the holodeck malfunctioned. Pyper-Ferguson only had a brief appearance in Lost, as an Oceanic Airlines delivery man who delivers a coffin in the series finale.

7 Dan Gauthier

Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 7, Episode 15 - "Lower Decks" / Lost Season 5, Episode 9 - "Namaste"

Lost Namaste Dan Gauthier pilot

In TNG's "Lower Decks," Dan Gauthier played Lt. Sam Lavelle, a lower decker on the USS Enterprise-D who strongly desired a promotion. Sam tried to ingratiate himself with Commander William Riker (Jonathan Frakes), believing that the senior officer did not care for him. Sam often ed his fellow lower decker friends for poker nights, and he soon learned that one of his friends, Barjoan Ensign Sito Jaxa (Shannon Fill), was up for the same promotion as him. After Sito was tragically killed on a mission, Sam got the promotion, but felt some guilt regarding his friend's death. Gauthier briefly appeared in one Lost episode as a pilot named Peter Ross, who is killed when his plane crash-lands on an island.

Mariner and the Lower Deckers from Star Trek: TNG
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6 Sam Anderson

Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 2, Episode 12 - "The Royale" / 24 Episodes of Lost

Another recognizable character actor, Sam Anderson appeared in TNG's "The Royale" as the Assistant Manager of the hotel and casino called Hotel Royale. When Riker, Data, and Worf visit this strange casino on a planet that should not be able to life, Anderson's character is the first person they speak to. Eventually, the Enterprise away team uncovers the truth about the strange casino and its cast of characters - they were all created by mysterious aliens based on a cheesy crime novel entitled Hotel Royale. Anderson played survivor Bernard Nadler on Lost, who chose to live in seclusion with his wife Rose (L. Scott Caldwell) on the island away from the other survivors.

5 April Grace

5 Episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation / 4 Episodes of Lost

Lost Live Together Die Alone Bea

In five episodes of TNG, April Grace played Ensign Maggie Hubbell, one of the transporter chiefs aboard the Starship Enterprise. Chief Miles O'Brien (Colm Meaney) was the character most often seen acting as the transporter chief, but Maggie's occasional presence helped the Enterprise crew feel larger. Maggie also appeared in the pilot episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, in which Captain Picard temporarily relived her to personally transport O'Brien to space station Deep Space 9. On Lost, Grace portrayed Bea Klugh, one of the mysterious Others who seemed to hold a leadership position.

4 Saul Rubinek

Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 3, Episode 22 - "The Most Toys" / Lost Season 2, Episode 2 - "Adrift"

Lost Adrift Saul Rubinek

Although Saul Rubinek only appeared in one episode of TNG, he portrayed one of the most memorable and hated guest characters. In "The Most Toys," Rubinek played the trader Kivas Fajo, who kidnapped Data in order to add the unique android to his own personal collection. Fajo had little regard for anyone but himself and he did not care at all about Data's autonomy. Fajo was so loathsome that Data seemed prepared to shoot him with a deadly disrupter weapon despite the android's protocols preventing violence. Rubinek also appeared in only one episode of Lost, as an attorney for Oceanic survivor Michael Dawson (Harold Perrineau).

3 Susan Gibney

2 Episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation / Lost Season 4, Episode 4 - "Eggtown"

Lost Eggtown Susan Gibney

Susan Gibney played scientist Dr. Leah Brahms in two episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation. She was first introduced in TNG season 3, episode 6, "Booby Trap," as part of a holodeck program Lt. Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton) used to help repair the engines of the Enterprise. Brahms had helped design and build the Enterprise's warp engines, and her expertise helped La Forge solve the problems the Enterprise was experiencing. Geordi also developed a crush on the holographic Brahams, which became even more awkward when the real Brahams visited the Enterprise in TNG season 4, episode 16, "Galaxy's Child." On Lost, Gibney portrayed Los Angeles District Attorney Melissa Dunbrook, who tries to convict Oceanic survivor Kate Austen (Evangeline Lilly) of several crimes.

Susan Gibney also appeared in two episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine as Captain Benteen. Gibney briefly reprised the role of Leah Brahms as part of an illusion in Star Trek: Lower Decks season 3, episode 3, "Mining The Mind's Mines."

LeVar Burton as Geordi La Forge and Susan Gibney as Dr. Leah Brahms
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2 Michelle Forbes

9 Episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation / Lost Season 4, Episode 12 - "There's No Place Like Home, Part 1"

Michelle Forbes' Ensign Ro Laren debuted in the aptly titled Star Trek: The Next Generation season 5 episode, "Ensign Ro." Prior to being assigned to the Enterprise-D, Ro had been court-martialed and demoted after a disastrous away mission. Although Captain Picard became a mentor to the Bajoran officer, she eventually abandoned Starfleet to the rebel group known as the Maquis. As seen in Star Trek: Picard season 3, however, Ro later returned to Starfleet and warned Picard about the Changeling infiltration. In one episode of Lost, Forbes played Karen Decker, a public relations representative of Oceanic Airlines who helped prepare the so-called Oceanic Six to speak with the press.

1 Terry O'Quinn

Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 7, Episode 12 - "The Pegasus" / All 121 Episodes of Lost

In one of Commander Riker's best TNG episodes, "The Pegasus," Terry O'Quinn played iral Erik Pressman, Riker's former commanding officer. As a young ensign on the USS Pegasus, Riker escaped with Captain Pressman when the ship's crew mutinied due to Pressman's involvement in illegal activity involving an experimental cloaking device. When Pressman visited the Enterprise-D many years later, Riker struggled with his conscience but eventually revealed the truth to Captain Picard.

Locke was one of the show's most interesting and complicated characters, whose belief in the magic of the island led him to make some very questionable choices.

In his most well-known and Emmy-winning role, Terry O'Quinn portrayed Oceanic survivor John Locke in every episode of Lost. Locke was one of the show's most interesting and complicated characters, whose belief in the magic of the island led him to make some very questionable choices. Although Locke is very different from Star Trek: The Next Generation's iral Pressman, Terry O'Quinn brought his stoic, confident energy to both characters.