The “Star Trek” franchise has a few traditions when it comes to casting. One well-known tradition is casting the same actors in multiple different parts. Actors like Vaughn Armstrong, Jeffrey Combs, and Marc Alaimo played several different characters in multiple Trek shows.
Another lesser-known casting tradition is giving parts to the core cast members’ partners. Here are a few of the “Star Trek” actors that got to work with their real-life partners in the Trekverse.
Patrick Stewart and Jennifer Hetrick
Jennifer Hetrick played Vash, an on-again, off-again love interest of Captain Jean-Luc Picard. In real life, she was Patrick Stewart’s actual love interest. While they were filming the episode “Qpid,” Stewart and Hetrick were engaged. They broke it off before they walked down the aisle, though they remained close.
Alexander Siddig and Nana Visitor
Alexander Siddig and Nana Visitor are probably the most famous in real life “Star Trek” couple. The two met on the set of “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” and quickly became friends, according to People Magazine. However, they didn’t begin dating until a few years later.
Once they did, things moved quickly. According to Visitor’s bio on her old website, she gave birth to their son, Django El Tahir El Siddig, in 1996. She and Siddig tied the knot just about a year later. According to the “Star Trek Deep Space Nine Companion,” the writers came up with the storyline about Kira’s surrogacy for the O’Briens when Visitor revealed that she was pregnant.
Visitor and Siddig divorced in 2001. However, they’re still very good friends.
Armin Shimmerman and Kitty Swink
Fans of “Star Trek: The Next Generation” and “Deep Space Nine” know Armin Shimmerman as one of the first Ferengi in the Trekverse. They also know him as Quark, the most prominent Ferengi in the Trekverse.
However, some fans might not know that Shimmerman’s wife, actress Kitty Swink, was also a “Star Trek” actress. She appeared in two episodes of the show and got to work with her husband in one.
John Billingsley and Bonita Friedericy
“Star Trek: Enterprise” fans know John Billingsley as Dr. Phlox, the Denobulan physician onboard the first iteration of the Enterprise. His wife, Bonita Friedericy, is also a popular actress. Sci-fi fans might recognize her from her role as General Diane Beckman in “Chuck,” which was produced by “Star Trek” veteran Robert Duncan McNeill.
Friedericy is also a Trek veteran herself. She appeared in the episode “Regeneration” as one of the researchers who discovered the Borg drones.
Sonequa Martin-Green and Kenric Green
Sonequa Martin-Green has been the center of “Star Trek: Discovery” since its premiere in 2017. Her husband, Kenric Green, is also an actor. In the show’s second season, he got to join her on the set of “Discovery.”
Green played Mike Burnham, Michael Burnham’s father, in a flashback scene. In an Instagram post about the episode, Martin-Green joked about how funny it was that her real-life husband was playing her onscreen father. She also gushed about how well he’d done in the role.
Mary Wiseman and Noah Averbach-Katz
“Discovery” fans know Mary Wiseman as Ensign/First Officer Sylvia Tilly. They might also know Noah Averbach-Katz as Ryn, the Andorian who escaped the Emerald Chain in the last season of the show.
Averbach-Katz also happens to be Wiseman’s husband. The two met while attending Julliard and started dating. They dated for several years before getting married in 2019.
Wiseman revealed that Averbach-Katz helped her land the role of Tilly. She wasn’t familiar with “Star Trek,” but her husband was a lifelong Trekkie. He coached her for the audition and she got to join the Trekverse. Just a few years later, Averbach-Katz got to live every Trekkie’s dream when he was cast as Ryn.
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