Star Trek and The Twilight Zone are remembered as two of the most iconic TV series of the 1960s, and they also featured many actors who appeared in both. The Twilight Zone began airing in 1959, and it immediately made waves with its anthology-style stories that often included surprise twist endings and strong moral lessons. Like Star Trek, The Twilight Zone was an incredibly progressive sci-fi show, and many of the lessons imparted by the episodes reflected real-world problems. Both series were groundbreaking in their own way and launched ongoing franchises that persisted through the decades including movies and additional TV series.
The anthology style of The Twilight Zone necessitated a slew of actors, and each episode featured an entirely different cast. As such, the best episodes of The Twilight Zoneoften included guest stars who were some of the greatest 1960s TV actors. The Twilight Zone ended in 1964 and Star Trek began just a few years later in 1966, and many of the roles played by Star Trek actors were some of the earliest in their careers. Even if they only played bit parts on The Twilight Zone, it wasn’t hard to see the star power that would eventually land them starring roles in Gene Roddenberry’s vision of the future.
William Shatner – “Nick Of Time” (S2, E7) & “Nightmare At 20,000 Feet” (S5, E3)
By the time William Shatner stepped into The Twilight Zone, he was established as a film actor and had also made frequent guest spots in TV shows. His first appearance came in The Twilight Zone, season 2, episode 7, “Nick of Time”, where he played Don Carter, a newlywed who was infatuated with a machine at a diner that seemingly predicted his fate. The Captain Kirk actor was understated in the role, and he took a back seat to his co-star, Patricia Breslin, who really sold just how creepy the devilish mystic seer was. Interestingly, the episode had no twist, but instead imparted a lesson about making one’s own fate.
A few years later, Shatner starred in The Twilight Zone, season 5, episode 3, “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet”, where he played Robert Wilson, an airplane passenger who was the only witness of a gremlin on the ship’s wing. Shatner was his hammy best in the role, and the episode itself went on to become iconic. Even if the gremlin was cheesy, Shatner’s performance perfectly matched the overall energy of the story. Far from the heroics he would later display as Kirk in Star Trek, Shatner showed another side of himself as the cagey and paranoid passenger in the truly scary Twilight Zone episode.
Leonard Nimoy – “A Quality Of Mercy” (S3, E15)
Like a plot ripped straight from the adventures of the Enterprise on Star Trek, The Twilight Zone, season 3, episode 15, “A Quality of Mercy” explored deep themes of pacifism and, as its title suggested, mercy. Spock actor Leonard Nimoy had a bit part in the episode that told the story of an upstart officer during WWII who ordered his men to advance on a helpless squadron of Japanese soldiers during the dying days of the war. Nimoy played Hansen, one of the American soldiers, but the episode’s true star was Dean Stockwell, who played Lt. Katell.
The episode had problematic elements by today’s standards, but its message of clemency was brilliantly embodied through Katell’s mysterious trading of places with the Japanese squadron leader. The best episodes of Star Trekoften featured similar moralistic themes, though Rod Serling’s Twilight Zone approached them through the supernatural as opposed to hard-line science fiction. Unlike other episodes, the twist came in the middle of the story, but its message was as clear as any other classic Twilight Zone outing. Nimoy’s role in the episode was somewhat perfunctory, but he was still able to show flashes of charisma that were eventually suppressed when he played the Vulcan science officer, Spock.
James Doohan – “Valley Of The Shadow” (S4, E3)
Ironically, Star Trek‘s James Doohan appeared in one of The Twilight Zone‘s most science-fiction-centric episodes, just a few years before he would be Chief Engineer Montgomery Scott on the Enterprise. The Twilight Zone, season 4, episode 3, “Valley of the Shadow” saw a reporter get trapped in a mysterious small town that possessed extraterrestrial technology they kept from the outside world. Doohan played a small role as Johnson in the underrated Twilight Zone episode, and his naturalistic performance hid the town’s darker side. While Star Trek showed the positive side of technology, “Valley of the Shadow” was quite the opposite.
Often overlooked because of its bloated length, “Valley of the Shadow” was one of the many Twilight Zone season 4 episodes that were nearly an hour long, but that didn’t detract from the brilliant storytelling. The episode’s strong moral point about the dangers of technology when not used for peaceful purposes shined through, but it also had emotional depth as seen in the romantic story between Phillip and Ellen. Though Doohan didn’t have the Scottish brogue that would exemplify Scotty on Star Trek, he did get to show off a layered and nuanced performance that was both creepy and familiar at the same time.
George Takei – “The Encounter” (S5, E31)
The Twilight Zone‘s themes continued to resonate years later, and the controversial season 5, episode 31, “The Encounter”, tackled the complicated issue of race. The story centered around two men in an attic, one a young Japanese American, the other a white man who had fought in WWII, and a strange sword that seemed to possess them. George Takei played Arthur Takamori and gave one of the best performances of his entire career that saw him largely carry the episode alongside his co-star Neville Brand. Though it approached its subject through the supernatural with a surreal twist, the lesson that the episode was imparting had crystal clarity.
The episode’s racial themes kept it out of syndication for years, and even decades later it hadn’t lost any of its power to shock. Every Star Trek actor’s best role outside the franchise allowed them to show off more of their talents, and The Twilight Zone essentially gave the entire stage to Takei to perform. The two-person episode was staged very much like a play, and there was very little action to detract from the riveting back and forth between Takei and Brand. Though Star Trekfeatured a more subdued George Takei as Hikaru Sulu, his turn in The Twilight Zoneshowed off every bit of his dramatic talents.
Twilight Zone Actors Who Appeared In Starfleet:
-
Sally Kellerman
as Dr. Elizabeth Dehner in
ST
(S1 E3) “Where No Man Has Gone Before” and as Office Worker in
TZ
(S4 E8) “Miniature” -
Anthony D. Call
as Dave Bailey in
ST
(S1 E10) “The Corbomite Maneuver” and as Lee Helmsman in
TZ
(S4 E2) “The Thirty-Fathom Grave” -
Paul Comi
as Stiles in
ST
(S1 E14) “Balance of Terror” and as Marcusson in
TZ
(S1 E25) “People Are Alike All Over”, 1st Officer John Craig in (S2 E18) “The Odyssey of Flight, and Psychiatrist in (S4 E11) “The Parallel” -
Garry Walberg
as Hansen in
ST
(S1 E14) “Balance of Terror” and as Reporter #3 in
TZ
(S1 E1) “Where is Everybody?” -
Joan Marshall
as Areel Shaw in
ST
(S1 E20) “Court Martial” and as Wilma in
TZ
(S3 E18) “Dead Man’s Shoes” -
William Meader
as Board Officer in
ST
(S1 E20) “Court Martial” and as Brawling Townsman in
TZ
(S4 E4) “He’s Alive” -
Byron Morrow
as Admiral Komack in
ST
(S2 E1) “Amok Time”, Admiral Westervliet (S3 E8) and as Martian in
TZ
(S1 E25) “People Are Alike All Over” -
Jerry Catron
as Second Denevan in
ST
(S1 E29) “Operation – Annihilate!”, Montgomery in (S2 E6) “The Doomsday Machine” and (S2 E10) “Journey to Babel” (uncredited) and as Guard in
TZ
(S1 E18) “The Last Flight” -
William Windom
as Commodore Decker in
ST
(S2 E6) “The Doomsday Machine” and as The Major in
TZ
(S3 E14) and Dr. Wallman in (S4 E8) “Miniature” -
Felix Locher
as Mr. Johnson in
ST
(S2 E12) “The Deadly Years” and as Club Member in
TZ
(S2 E25) “The Silence” -
Louie Elias
as Inmate Guard in
ST
(S1 E9) “Dagger of the Mind” (uncredited), 1st Technician in
(S3 E4) “And The Children Shall Lead”, Engineer in (S3 E5) “Is There in Truth No Beauty?” (uncredited), Crazed Crewman in (S3 E9) “The Tholian Web” (uncredited), Troglyte #1 in (S3 E21) “The Cloud Minders”, and as Sailor in
TZ
(S4 E2) “The Thirty-Fathom Grave” -
Dick Geary
as Security Guard in
ST
(S3 E5) “Is There In Truth No Beauty?”, (S3 E7) “Day of the Dove”, (S3 E11) “Wink of an Eye”, (S3 E12) “The Empath” (uncredited), Scalosian (S3 E11 “Wink of an Eye”, Andorian in (S3 E14) “Whom Gods Destroy), Cloud City Sentinel #1 (S3 E21) “The Cloud Minders”, and as Pinto Sykes in
TZ
(S3 E7) “The Grave” -
Arthur Batanides
as D’Amato in
ST
(S3 E17) “That Which Survives” and as Leader as
TZ
(S1 E3) “Mr. Denton On Doomsday” and Tabal in (S3 E6) “The Mirror” -
John Hoyt
as Dr. Phillip Boyce in
ST
“The Cage” and as Dr. Loren in
TZ
(S2 E8) “The Lateness of the Hour” and Ross in (S2 E28) “Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up?”
Twilight Zone Actors Who Appeared As Civilians:
-
James Gregory
as Dr. Tristan Adams in
ST
(S1 E9) “Dagger of the Mind” and as Air Force General in
TZ
(S1 E1) “Where Is Everybody?” and Confederate Sergeant in (S3 E4) “The Passerby” -
William Sargent
as Dr. Thomas Leighton in
ST
(S1 E13) “The Conscience of the King” and as The Project Manager in
TZ
(S4 E11) “The Parallel” and Dr. Mel Avery in (S5 E12) “Ninety Years Without Slumbering” -
John Crawford
as Commissioner Ferris in
ST
(S1 E16) “Galileo Seven” and as Joe in
TZ
(S2 E23) “One Hundred Yards Over The Rim” -
Gene Lyons
as Ambassador Fox in
ST
(S1 E23) “A Taste of Armageddon” and as Psychiatrist in
TZ
(S2 E1) “King Nine Will Not Return” -
Frank Overton
as Elias Sandoval in
ST
(S1 E24) “This Side of Paradise” and as Robert Sloan in
TZ
(S1 E5) “Walking Distance” and Harry Wheeler in (S4 E5) “Mute” -
Ken Lynch
in Vanderberg in
ST
(S1 E25) “Devil in the Dark” and as Charlie in
TZ
(S1 E3) “Mr. Denton On Doomsday” -
John Harmon
as Rodent in
ST
(S1 E28) “City on the Edge of Forever”, Tepo in (S2 E17) “A Piece of the Action” and as Georgie in
TZ
(S3 E33) “The Dummy” and Clark in (S4 E14) “Of Late I Think of Cliffordville” -
Sarah Marshall
as Janet Wallace in
ST
(S2 E12) “The Deadly Years” and as Ruth Miller in
TZ
(S3 E26) “Little Girl Lost” -
John Fiedler
as Hengist in
ST
(S2 E14) “Wolf in the Fold” and as Mr. Dundee in
TZ
(S2 E11) “Night of the Meek” and Field Rep #3 in (S3 E6) “Cavender is Coming” -
Stanley Adams
as Cyrano Jones in
ST
(S2 E15) “The Trouble with Tribbles” (uncredited) and as Rollo in
TZ
(S3 E13) “Once Upon a Time” and Jensen (S5 E32) “Mr. Garrity and the Graves” -
William Schallert
as Nilz Baris
ST
(S2 E15) “The Trouble with Tribbles” and as Policeman at Accident in
TZ
(S1 E33) “Mr. Bevis” -
Morgan Jones
as Colonel Nesvig
ST
(S2 E26) “Assignment: Earth” and as Trooper Dan Perry
TZ
(S2 E28) “Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up?” and Captain in (S4 E11) “The Parallel” -
Don Keefer
as Cromwell in
ST
(S2 E26) “Assignment: Earth” and as Dan Hollis in
TZ
(S3 E8) “It’s A Good Life”, Spierto in (S4. E17) “Passage on the Lady Anne”, and Fred Danziger in (S5. E20) “From Agnes – with Love” -
James Wellman
as Professor Starnes in
ST
(S3 E4) “And The Children Shall Lead” and as 2nd Man in Line in
TZ
(S3 E24) “To Serve Man” (uncredited) -
Jason Wingreen
as Dr. Linke in
ST
(S3 E12) “The Empath” and as 1960 Conductor in
TZ
(S1 E30) “A Stop at Willoughby”, Mr. Shuster in (S3 E10) “The Midnight Sun”, and Director in (S4 E18) “The Bard” (uncredited) -
James Daly
as Flint in
ST
(S3 E19) “Requiem For Methuselah” and as Gart Williams in
TZ
(S1 E30) “A Stop At Willoughby” -
Phillip Pine
as Col. Green in
ST
(S3 E22) “The Savage Curtain” and as Virge Sterig in
TZ
(S1 E13) “The Four of Us Are Dying” and Leonard O’Brien in (S4 E15) “The Incredible World of Horace Ford” -
Joseph Mell
as Earth Trader in
ST
“The Cage” (uncredited) and as Jimmy in
TZ
(S3 E18) “Dead Man’s Shoes”
Twilight Zone Actors Who Appeared As Aliens, Robots, Etc.:
-
Abraham Sofaer
as The Thasian in
ST
(S1 E2) “Charlie X” and Melkotian (S3 E6) “Spectre of the Gun” and Dr. Stillman in
TZ
(S1 E35) “The Mighty Casey” -
Sherry Jackson
as Andrea in
ST
(S1 E7) “What Are Little Girls Made Of?” and as Comfort Gatewood
TZ
(S3 E23) “The Last Rites of Jeff Myrtlebank” -
John Astin
as Capt. John Daley in
ST
(S1 E13) “Conscience of the King” (uncredited) and as Charlie in
TZ
(S2 E23) “A Hundred Yards Over the Rim” -
Oliver McGowan
as Caretaker in
ST
(S1 E15) “Shore Leave” and as Officer in
TZ
(S1 E11) “And When the Sky Was Opened” (uncredited) -
Jon Lormer
as Dr. Theordore Hoskins in
ST
“The Cage”, Tamar in (S1 E21)
“The Return of the Archons” and Old Man in (S3 E8) “For the World Is Hollow and I Have Touched The Sky” and as Minister in
TZ
(S1 E26) “Execution”, Man in (S2 E12) “Dust, Strauss in (S3 E23) “The Last Rites of Jeff Myrtlebank”, and Minister in (S4 E7) “Jess-Belle” -
Harry Townes
as Reger in
ST
(S1 E21) “The Return of the Archons” and as Arch Hammer in
TZ
(S1 E13) “The Four of Us Are Dying” and Henry Ritchie in (S2 E26) “Shadow Play” -
Monty O’Grady
as Council Member in
ST
(S1 E23) “A Taste of Armageddon” (uncredited) and Miner in (S1 E25) “The Devil in the Dark” and as Crowd Member in
TZ
(S2 E9) “The Trouble with Templeton” and Cameraman (S3 E24) “To Serve Man” (uncredited) -
David Armstrong
as Eminiar Guard in
ST
(S1 E23) “A Taste of Armageddon” and Kartan in (S1 E29) “Operation: Annihilate!” (uncredited) and as Worker in
TZ
(S2 E27) “The Mind and the Matter” and Security Guard in (S3 E24) “To Serve Man” (uncredited) and Surgeon in (S3 E31) “The Trade-ins” and Van Driver in (S3 E35) “I Sing The Body Electric” and Passenger in (S5 E3) “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet” (uncredited) -
David Opatoshu
as Anan 7 in
ST
(S1 E23) “A Taste of Armageddon” and as Dorn in
TZ
(S4 E3) “Valley of the Shadow” -
Robert Sampson
as Sar 6 in
ST
(S1 E23) “A Taste of Armageddon” and as Chris Miller in
TZ
(S3 E26) “Little Girl Lost” -
John Burnside
as Eminiar Guard in
ST
(S1 E23) “A Taste of Armageddon” (uncredited) and as Soldier in
TZ
(S1 E19) “The Purple Testament” and Cameraman in (S3 E24) “To Serve Man” (uncredited) -
Peter Brocco
as Claymare in
ST
(S1 E26) “Errand of Mercy” and as Mr. Marshak in
TZ
(S1 E13) “The Four of Us Are Dying” and Alien in (S3 E30) “Hocus-Pocus and Frisby” (uncredited) -
Arlene Martel
as T’Pring in
ST
(S2 E1) “Amok Time” and as Girl in Bar in
TZ
(S1 E12) “What You Need” and Nurse in Morgue in (S2 E17) “Twenty Two” -
Celia Lovsky
as T’Pau in
ST
(S2 E1) “Amok Time” and as Viola Draper in
TZ
(S5 E23) “Queen of the Nile” -
Michael Forest
as Apollo in
ST
(S2 E2) “Who Mourns For Adonis?” and as Steve in
TZ
(S5 E18) “Black Leather Jackets” -
Vic Perrin
as The Keeper in
ST
(S1 E12) “The Menagerie”, Metron in (S1 E18) “Arena” (uncredited), Nomad in (S2 E3) “The Changeling” and Tharn in (S2 E4) “Mirror, Mirror” and as Martian in
TZ
(S1 E25) “People Are Alike All Over” and Jim – Trooper in (S5 E13) “Ring-A-Ding Girl” -
Theodore Marcuse
as Korob in
ST
(S2 E7) “Catspaw” and as Citizen Gregory in
TZ
(S3 E24) “To Serve Man” and Farraday in (S3 E31) “The Trade-Ins” -
Antoinette Bower
as Sylvia in
ST
(S2 E7) “Catspaw” and as Eve Norda in
TZ
(S5 E9) “Probe 7 – Over and Out” -
William O’Connell
as Thelev in
ST
(S2 E10) “Journey to Babel” and as Field Rep 1 in
TZ
(S3 E36) “Cavender Is Coming” -
Julie Newmar
as Eleen in
ST
(S2 E11) “Friday’s Child” and as Miss Devlin in
TZ
(S4 E14) “Of Late I Think of Cliffordville” -
Joseph Bernard
as Tark in
ST
(S2 E14) “Wolf in the Fold” and as Marty Weiss in
TZ
(S3 E3) “The Shelter” -
Michael Pataki
as Korax in
ST
(S2 E15) “The Trouble with Tribbles” and as Jeep Driver (uncredited) in
TZ
(S3 E15) “A Quality of Mercy” -
Joseph Ruskin
as Galt in
ST
(S2 E16) “The Gamesters of Triskelion” and as Genie in
TZ
(S2 E2) “The Man in the Bottle” and Kanamit in (S3 E24) “To Serve Man” (uncredited) -
Nick Borgani
as Hood in
ST
(S2 E17) “A Piece of the Action” (uncredited) and as Townsman in
TZ
(S2 E12) “Dust” (uncredited) -
Roy N. Sickner
as Villager in
ST
(S2 E19) “A Private Little War” (uncredited) and as Bus Driver in
TZ
(S3 E36) “Cavender is Coming” (uncredited) -
Warren Stevens
as Rojan in
ST
(S2 E22) “By Any Other Name” and as Nathan Bledsoe in
TZ
(S3 E18) “Dead Man’s Shoes” -
Jack Perkins
as Master of Games in
ST
(S2 E25) “Bread and Circuses” and as Ground Crewman (uncredited) in
TZ
(S1 E18) “The Last Flight” -
Ian Wolfe
as Septimus in
ST
(S2 E25) “Bread And Circuses” and Mr. Atoz in (S3 E23) “All Our Yesterdays” and as Schwimmer in
TZ
(S5 E8) “Uncle Simon” -
Robert Lansing
as Gary Seven in
ST
(S2 E26) “Assignment: Earth” and as Commander Douglas Stansfield in
TZ
(S5 E5) “The Long Morrow” -
Joanne Linville
as Romulan Commander
ST
(S3 E2) “The Enterprise Incident” and as Lavinia Godwin in
TZ
(S3 E4) “The Passerby” -
Bonnie Beecher
as Sylvia in
ST
(S3 E6) “Spectre of the Gun” and as Mary Rachel in
TZ
(S5 E34) “Come Wander With Me” -
Rex Holman
as Morgan Earp in
ST
(S3 E6) “Spectre of the Gun” and as Charlie Constable in
TZ
(S3 E4) “The Passerby” -
Charles Seel
as Ed in
ST
(S3 E6) “Spectre of the Gun” and as Reverend Wood in
TZ
(S3 E19) “The Hunt” -
Liam Sullivan
as Parmen in
ST
(S3 E10) “Plato’s Stepchildren” and as Jamie Tennyson in
TZ
(S2 E25) “The Silence” and Headmaster in (S3 E37) “The Changing of the Guard” -
Barry Atwater
as Surak in
ST
(S3 E22) “The Savage Curtain” and as Les Goodman in
TZ
(S1 E22) “The Monster Are Due on Maple Street” -
Mariette Hartley
as Zarabeth in
ST
(S3 E23) “All Our Yesterdays” and as Sandra Horn in
TZ
(S5 E15) “The Long Morrow” -
Susan Oliver
as Vina in
ST
“The Cage” and as Teenya in
TZ
(S1 E25) “People Are Alike All Over The Place”