Star Trek is more famous for its starships than any other fictional franchise. The way ships are treated in Star Trek is distinctive; the fictitious vessels in the world must adhere to a particular design aesthetic as well as laws and in-universe physics. Instead, of serving as restrictions, all those characteristics help to give Star Trek’s ships a more authentic feeling.
The USS Voyager, which appeared in each episode of Star Trek: Voyager, is the ship’s most well-known incarnation. Even while the Intrepid is rightfully adored, it never quite struck the proper aesthetic notes. It performs all the duties that a ship from the Star Trek: The Next Generation era should perform, but it accomplishes so by appearing to be a spoon.
Here is a list of every actor who has ever played the captains of Star Trek’s amazingly futuristic ships.
1. Sean Kenney (Captain Pike – Star Trek TOS)
Physically challenged Fleet Captain Christopher Pike Jeffrey Hunter played the physically healthy Pike and “Arena” and “A Taste of Armageddon” as Lieutenant DePaul. After playing small roles in The Impossible Years (1968) and Star Trek, Kenney went on to play the protagonist in other movies, including How’s Your Love Life? In 1971, the cult horror movie The Corpse Grinders (1971), and Slumber Party ’57 (1976). As a professional photographer starting in 1980, Kenney mostly specialized in promotional photography.
2. Jason Isaacs (Captain Lorca – Star Trek Discovery)
Jason Isaacs was a Liverpool native. At Bristol University, where he was studying law, he fell in love with theater and went on to direct, produce, and participate in numerous performances there as well as at the National Student Theatre Festival and the Edinburgh Festival. After earning his degree in 1985, he enrolled at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama before starting his career in 1988.
Det. Michael Britten from the NBC series Awake (2012), Dr. Hunter Aloysius “Hap” Percy from the Netflix supernatural mystery drama streaming series The OA (2016-2019), and Captain Gabriel Lorca from the first season of Star Trek: Discovery (2017-2018) are some of the television roles that Isaacs has played.
3. Anson Mount (Captain Pike – Star Trek Discovery)
American actor Anson Adams Mount IV was born on February 25, 1973. In addition to playing the Marvel Comics superhero Black Bolt in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) media franchise (appearing in Inhumans and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness), he is well-known for his television roles as Cullen Bohannon in the AMC western drama series Hell on Wheels, Jim Steele on the NBC drama Conviction, and Captain Christopher Pike in Star Trek: Discovery (2019) and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (2022–present). He also appeared in the coming-of-age movie Crossroads with Britney Spears (2002). He sits on the METI board of directors (Messaging Extraterrestrial Intelligence).
4. Bruce Greenwood (Captain Pike – Star Trek reboot movies)
Stuart Bruce Greenwood is a Canadian actor and producer who was born on August 12, 1956. He is well-known for his portrayals as Captain Christopher Pike in J. Edgar and John F. Kennedy in Thirteen Days, for which he received the Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture. The Star Trek reboot series by J. Abrams. He received three Canadian Screen Award nominations, including one for Best Actor (for the role of Elephant Song) and two for Best Supporting Actor (for The Sweet Hereafter and Being Julia).
5. Patrick Stewart (Captain Picard – Star Trek TNG)
An English actor with a career spanning seven decades in stage performances, television, film, and video games, Sir Patrick Stewart OBE was born on July 13, 1940. For the Olivier, Tony, Golden Globe, Emmy, and Screen Actors Guild Awards, he has received nominations. He was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on December 16, 1996. Queen Elizabeth II knighted him in 2010 for his contributions to the game.
Stewart rose to fame as Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987–1994), the series’ follow-up movies, and Star Trek: Picard (2020-present). He played Ebenezer Scrooge in TNT’s A Christmas Carol (1999), King Henry II in Showtime’s The Lion in Winter, and Captain Ahab in the USA Network series Moby Dick (1998). He also rose to fame for his comic roles in the BBC drama Extras and the NBC sitcom Frasier, for which he was nominated for a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series.
6. Avery Franklin Brooks (Captain Sisko – Star Trek DS9)
Avery Franklin Brooks, an American actor, director, singer, storyteller, and educator, was born on October 2, 1948. Brooks has given many other performances to critical acclaim, but he is best known for his television roles as Captain Benjamin Sisko on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. On Spenser: For Hire and its spinoff A Man Called Hawk, he was known as Hawk, and as Dr. Bob Sweeney in the Academy Award-nominated movie American History X. He has received three NAACP Image Awards nominations and a Saturn Award nomination. Brooks was also given the William Shakespeare Award for Classical Theatre by the Shakespeare Theatre Company, as well as admission into the College of Fellows of the American Theatre.
7. William Alan Shatner (Captain Kirk – Star Trek TOS and Original Cast movies)
Actor William Alan Shatner was born in Canada on March 22, 1931. In a seven-decade career, he is best known for playing James T. Kirk in the Star Trek series, from his 1965 television series debut as the Enterprise’s captain in the second pilot to his final appearance as Admiral Kirk in the seventh Star Trek feature film, Star Trek Generations (1994). One distinguishing fact about the popularity of his being a Star Trek captain is that his Starfleet tunic and pants sold for $72,000 which is one of the most valuable Star Trek collectibles recorded in the history of this famous TV series and movies.
Before transitioning to leading roles in several US television shows, Shatner started his screen acting career in Canadian films and television projects. In all 22 episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation and all episodes of Star Trek: The Original Series, he played James Kirk. The first seven Star Trek films, as well as The Animated Series. He has written several novels that detail his experiences prior to, during, and following his service with Starfleet.
8. Chris Pine (Captain Kirk – Star Trek reboot movies)
Actor Chris Pine was born in the United States on August 26, 1980. As Lord Devereaux in The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement, Pine made his feature film debut (2004). James T. Kirk in the Star Trek reboot movie series (2009–present), Will Colson in Unstoppable (2010), Cinderella’s Prince in Into the Woods (2014), Jack Ryan in Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit (2014), Toby Howard in Hell or High Water (2016), Bernie Webber in The Finest Hours (2016), Steve Trevor in Wonder Woman (2017) and Wonder Woman 1984 (2020), Dr. Alexander Murry in A Wrinkle in Time (2018), Robert the Bruce in Outlaw King, and Dr. Alexander Mur (2018). Jack Frost was portrayed by Pine in the Rise of the Guardians (2012).