Watching Heroes

Star Trek and Heroes have been interwoven since the beginning of the series. Hiro and Ando made several Star Trek references in “Genesis” and they have continued throughout the series. Did you notice Kaito’s license plate on his limo read “NCC-1701″…the service number of the Starship Enterprise? There have also been several cast crossovers. You may know the obvious Star Trek connections, but there are probably many more than you realize.

George Takei is probably the most famous Star Trek alum to grace the cast of Heroes. Takei starred as Sulu on the original series and in six Star Trek films. On Heroes, he had a recurring role as Hiro’s father, Kaito Nakamura. 

Nichelle Nichols joined Heroes cast in Season 2 as Nana, a relative of Micah’s. You’ll remember Nichols from her role as Lt. Uhura on the original Star Trek series. Her role on Star Trek was groundbreaking in that she was a minority and a woman playing a major role in the crew of the Enterprise. She was also part of the first interracial kiss on television when she locked lips with Captain Kirk.

Dominic Keating has a minor role in Season 2 as Irish mobster, Will, who was involved in the Peter Petrelli amnesia storyline. You may remember Dominic as part of the crew on the latest Star Trek series, Enterprise. On that series, he played Lt. Malcolm Reed, tactical officer of the Enterprise.

Zachary Quinto is currently starring in the latest installment of the Star Trek series as a young Mr. Spock. Quinto, of course, stars as the villain, Sylar, on Heroes. He bears a striking resemblance to a young Leonard Nimoy, making him an excellent choice for the J.J. Abrams movie.

Those are the biggies but did you also know that:

• Malcolm McDowell, who played Mr. Linderman in season 1, starred as Tolian Soran in Star Trek Generations. You might remember him as the man who killed Captain Kirk!
• Cristine Rose (Angela Petrelli) played a Klingon in an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation.
• Erick Avari, who played Dr. Chandra Suresh, appeared in guest roles on Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and Star Trek: Enterprise.
• Joanna Cassidy, older generation “Hero” Victoria Pratt, starred as the vulcan T’Les in two episodes of Star Trek: Enterprise.
• Thomas Dekker, Claire’s friend Zach and Terminator’s new John Connor, appeared in the movie Star Trek Generations and two episodes of Star Trek: Voyager.
• Brad Greenquist (Kaito’s assistant) appeared in four different roles on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, and Enterprise.

Believe it or not this is not all of them! There are even more connections on the Star Trek page at Heroes Wiki!