What Happened To The Cast Of Star Trek: Nemesis?

"Star Trek: Nemesis" came at an interesting time for "Star Trek" fans. The franchise continued on television after the end of "Star Trek: The Next Generation," which had led into "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" and "Star Trek: Voyager." On the big screen, however, the cast of "The Next Generation" continued to lead the franchise as the main characters of its movies, which included "Star Trek Generations," "Star Trek: First Contact," and "Star Trek: Insurrection." Not all of those movies were great, to say the least, and by the time "Star Trek: Nemesis" hit theaters in 2002, it was unclear what future this cast had, if any.

"Nemesis" is about Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart) and his crew being sent on a mission to the Romulan Empire, where an evil Picard clone named Shinzon (Tom Hardy) has taken over. This one wasn't well-received either. Roger Ebert disliked the movie, writing that it signaled the death of his interest in the franchise. "I'm smiling like a good sport and trying to get with the dialogue," he wrote, "and gradually it occurs to me that 'Star Trek' is over for me. I've been looking at these stories for half a lifetime, and, let's face it, they're out of gas."

While "Nemesis" may have killed theatrical "Star Trek" movies until the 2009 reboot, the cast of "Nemesis" mostly emerged unscathed. Many are still beloved members of the "Star Trek" family, while others have gone on to even bigger careers elsewhere. 

As Jean-Luc Picard, Patrick Stewart was perhaps the most iconic lead of any "Star Trek" franchise, maybe second only to William Shatner as Captain Kirk from the original show. Stewart's bald head, characteristic warmth, and ability to communicate a world with the raise of an eyebrow made him a beloved part of the series, and fans were eager to follow Picard to the movie theater even after "The Next Generation" went off the air. If you were disappointed by "Nemesis," however, you're not alone. In the decades since the movie's release, Stewart himself has spoken out against it. "'Nemesis' was pretty weak," he bluntly admitted to Variety in 2020.

Thankfully, Stewart had an escape hatch. Beginning in 2000, he found a second iconic role, playing Professor Charles Xavier across a number of movies in the "X-Men" series. Just as he'd become famous sitting at the bridge of the USS Enterprise-D, Stewart became a beloved comic book movie hero while sitting in Professor X's trademark wheelchair. He also starred in "Green Room," one of the best A24 horror movies, and he's done tons of voice acting, too.

In 2020, Stewart brought Captain Picard out of retirement for a series bearing his name on Paramount+. He told Variety that he was only interested in returning to a show that understood the future does not look as idyllic as it did during "The Next Generation," reasoning, "[This] was me responding to the world of Brexit and Trump and feeling, 'Why hasn't the Federation changed?'"

Jonathan Frakes played William Riker on "Star Trek: The Next Generation," reprising him in the films. "Star Trek: Nemesis" is a particularly pivotal chapter for Riker; the movie opens with his wedding to Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis), and it ends with him finally — after years of declining — accepting an offer to command a ship of his own.

By the time "Nemesis" rolled around, Frakes had begun directing. He helmed several episodes each of "The Next Generation," "Deep Space Nine," and "Voyager," and he even directed "Star Trek: First Contact" and "Star Trek: Insurrection." He didn't, however, direct "Nemesis," something he later regretted. "I would have loved to have done 'Nemesis,'" he told Vulture in 2019, revealing that he'd worried about being typecast as a director of only "Star Trek" films. "It's glib to say now," he added. "I wish I had done 'Nemesis.'" Perhaps in his hands, it might've been ... different. Frakes has since directed episodes of everything from "Castle" and "NCIS: Los Angeles" to "Switched at Birth" and "Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce."

He returned to "Star Trek" in 2020, acting in and directing numerous episodes of "Picard." He's also brought Riker to "Star Trek: Lower Decks" in animated form. "When I was asked to play Riker again, I got nervous because I had spent years directing Patrick, but I hadn't done much acting in anything," he told Space.com in 2023. Thankfully, he pushed through, concluding, "I was thrilled with what I got to do as Riker."

Brent Spiner had a lot of fun playing Data on "Star Trek: The Next Generation," the yellow-eyed android who works under Captain Picard. Spiner got so involved with the storytelling of the "Star Trek" universe, in fact, that he's the one who developed the story for "Star Trek: Nemesis," which involved a Data duplicate named B-4 and a scene where Data sacrifices himself for his friends.

Before you pick up your pitchforks, Spiner would like a chance to defend the film. "I think 'Nemesis' got a bad deal," he told TrekMovie.com a few years after its release. "It's not great, let's face it," he admitted, before going on to say he likes it better than "Insurrection" and maybe even "Generations." He added, "Something weird happened with that movie and we tried to analyze what went wrong and whether it was the movie that was bad," ultimately concluding that the cast's time had simply passed.

Spiner has remained a beloved member of the sci-fi community ever since. He starred on the single-season CBS sci-fi show "Threshold," played himself on "The Big Bang Theory," and put in appearances on "Warehouse 13" and "The Guild," among many productions. Finally, he sort-of resurrected Data on "Star Trek: Picard," playing a technically-new android that's a combination of several previous iterations of the character. Speaking again with TrekMovie.com, Spiner joked that he only did it for the money before confessing, "I thought, 'Yeah, I want to be there to play with my friends.'"

LeVar Burton's Geordi La Forge was born blind, but he wore a VISOR on "The Next Generation" that let him see; ironically, Burton himself was nearly blinded by the prop. That's why Burton was glad Geordi lost the VISOR in "Star Trek: First Contact," seeing instead through ocular implants that took the form of bright-blue contacts in the movies.

Burton was very disappointed by "Nemesis," not mincing words over the years. He told TrekMovie.com that director Stuart Baird was to blame, insisting that the movie would've been much better had Jonathan Frakes directed it instead. "I just think the whole shebang was lacking in a vision that was appreciative of the field of play," he said. "Mr. Baird didn't get 'Star Trek' and Mr. Baird didn't appreciate 'Star Trek.'" Ouch.

In the years since "Nemesis," Burton has remained a pop cultural mainstay. He memorably played himself on "Community," has done lots of voice acting, and starred on "Perception." He's also an experienced TV host stretching all the way back to his "Reading Rainbow" days, which he revived as a social media destination for parents. Finally, thanks to "Star Trek: Picard," Burton got to close the loop on Geordi and right the wrongs of "Nemesis." He told TVLine (via TrekMovie.com), "I can't even describe to you what it's like when we are all together. It's like the universe is right. When we are in the presence of one another, everything is right with the world."

Michael Dorn's Klingon character Worf is a "Star Trek" regular, having been a main character not only on "The Next Generation" but also "Deep Space Nine." In fact, Dorn told Daily Dragon that he holds a unique honor among "Star Trek" vets as the actor to have appeared in the most episodes by far across all shows. "I didn't realize it until the very end," he said. "I didn't know how many episodes I'd done until someone said I did 278 episodes. And five movies. I went: wow."

Dorn has a thriving voice-acting career, having put in time on beloved shows like "The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy," "Danny Phantom," "Duck Dodgers," "Adventure Time," "Ben 10," and many, many more. Dorn was the only choice to voice Battle Beast on "Invincible," too. He even acts in live-action sometimes, playing the president on "Heroes" and Sandman in various sequels to "The Santa Clause."

Like many of the other actors from "Nemesis," Dorn brought Worf back for numerous episodes of "Star Trek: Picard." He's also pitched a show that would focus on Worf, but he's unsure that will ever get off the ground. Recounting the long development process to Daily Dragon, he said, "I wrote the script. I think it's a great script. I really do! ... The fans would all love to see it. But will that translate?"

Marina Sirtis played Deanna Troi on "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and in "Star Trek: Nemesis," guiding the character through her wedding to Riker and her attempts to help stop the destruction the Romulan Empire. Deanna later returned for an episode of "Star Trek: Enterprise," and Sirtis has since put in tons of appearances on various television shows like "The Closer," "Without a Trace," "Grey's Anatomy," and "NCIS."

Thankfully, once you're part of the "Star Trek" family, sci-fi fans will love you forever. Fox didn't quite understand what Seth MacFarlane was aiming for with "The Orville," his loving homage to "Star Trek," but MacFarlane sure knew what the fans wanted. Sirtis appeared on a second-season episode of the show, playing a teacher in an episode directed by none other than her "Star Trek" husband, Jonathan Frakes. "Apparently they had auditioned a bunch of actresses for the role that I played, and they didn't really like any of them," Sirtis told Geektown. Frakes suggested Sirtis, but MacFarlane had been hoping to write her a bigger part someday. "Jonathan said, 'Oh don't be ridiculous, just give her this part!'" Sirtis laughed. "And the next day I was on The Orville!"

Deanna married Riker in "Nemesis," so it makes sense that she, too, returned for "Star Trek: Picard." It helps to love your coworkers!

Tom Hardy had a small part in "Band of Brothers," but "Star Trek: Nemesis" was to be his first leading role. He played Shinzon, the evil man who attempts to seize control of the Romulan Empire. Shinzon is a clone of Jean-Luc Picard, though, and he needs Picard's blood to survive, which meant Hardy's appearance gradually decayed throughout the film. He later told TotalFilm (via GamesRadar) that it was a daunting task, recalling, "I was terrified. Every day on that set, I was terrified -– which worked for the character anyway." It's true; his performance as Shinzon is a curious one, coming across like not just an actor but a character clearly panicked and in over his head. "I was genuinely out of my depth," he explained. "The whole thing was, 'How can I do this?' I took it very seriously."

Nowadays, of course, Hardy is an A-List actor. High-profile roles in films like "Inception," "The Dark Knight Rises," "Mad Max: Fury Road," and "Venom" cemented him as one of the best blockbuster stars of his generation. Furthermore, he's equally at home in big-budget fare and in critical hits like "The Revenant" and "Locke" — which, for the record, is one of the best movies that take place in a single location. 

Gates McFadden enjoyed filming "Star Trek: Nemesis," even if much of the cast wasn't happy with the final product. In a behind-the-scenes featurette for the film called "A Star Trek Family's Final Journey," McFadden reflected on the wedding scene that opened the film. "It was my first week on the shoot, as for many of us, and it was really, really nice. It was so much fun to see each other again, you know?" she said. "I mean, we see each other all the time, some of us, but just not in uniform ... Zipping up the spacesuit once again ... It was great."

McFadden hasn't acted all that much since she stopped playing Dr. Beverly Crusher with regularity. She played herself on an episode of "Family Guy" and then brought Beverly back in a "Family Guy" video game, and she appeared on episodes of "Franklin & Bash" and "NCIS." Otherwise, though, fans likely first saw McFadden again when she returned for "Star Trek: Picard." Whereas McFadden had occasionally expressed disappointment with the way her character's love story with Captain Picard had always been written — fading away any time there was a new woman around to catch his eye — "Picard" gave her the opportunity to work through some really weighty material. "It was the first time ever for me in 'Star Trek.' It felt fabulous. It was terrific," she told Variety. "It was wonderful acting again with Patrick. We've always had a good chemistry on screen."

It's possible to watch "Star Trek: Nemesis" and not even notice that Ron Perlman is in it. After all, he plays the Reman Viceroy, and his face is buried under layers of makeup and complicated prosthetics. In 2010, Perlman told StarTrek.com that, like many fans, he was disappointed in the way the film turned out. "I thought it was uneven. I thought it had some great moments to it, but not enough," he said. "I didn't think it added up, at the end of the day, to being one of the high points in the 'Star Trek' [franchise]."

Thankfully — perhaps because Perlman's face wasn't really visible in the film — it didn't affect his career. In 2004, two years after "Nemesis" bombed, Perlman would cement himself in pop culture history with another prosthetics-heavy performance, leading the cast of "Hellboy." He reprised the red-faced, demonic superhero in several more films and numerous spin-off video games and cartoons.

He's been extremely prolific since he handed the horns off to someone else, showing up on shows as varied as "Poker Face," "Reno 911!," "StartUp," and "Hand of God." He's also starred on three seasons of the British crime show "The Capture," up through 2025.

Dina Meyer was part of the cast of "Starship Troopers," which means her brief appearance in "Star Trek: Nemesis" (as a Romulan Commander named Donatra) cemented her sci-fi legacy for life. Though much of the cast has since voiced their displeasure with "Nemesis," Meyer speaks highly of her time on set. In 2021, she shared a snapshot of herself with her arm around co-star Tom Hardy's shoulders, memorializing the 19th anniversary of the film's doomed release. "What an honor and privilege it was to work with this cast and be a part of such a wonderful franchise," she wrote. "@tomhardy I adore you."

After "Nemesis," Meyer went on to a solid career in film and television. She's maybe best known as Detective Allison Kerry in numerous "Saw" movies, and she's also put in her time on Lifetime, leading films with titles like "His and Her Christmas," "Web of Desire," and "The Boy Next Door."

In 2024, she starred in the titular role of "Katie's Mom," a modern update of "The Graduate." She played a woman who falls in love with her daughter's boyfriend, telling KTLA, "We're so used to seeing beautiful women with older men for so long, that it's kind of nice."

As Captain Kathryn Janeway, Kate Mulgrew was the first woman to command a Starfleet ship at the center of a "Star Trek" show. She was the main character of "Star Trek: Voyager," which concluded the year before "Star Trek: Nemesis" landed in theaters. Mulgrew makes a brief cameo in the film, appearing on a video screen as she fills Picard in on the situation with the Romulans. The scene reveals that Captain Janeway is now Admiral Janeway, showing a promotion between "Voyager" and the film. "That was a strange cameo," she told DenOfGeek in 2022, revealing that she filmed it alone on a soundstage. "It was done very fast."

In 2013, Mulgrew led another television show as Red, one of the main characters on "Orange is the New Black." She stuck with that show until 2019, and she's hopped around to plenty of other shows since, having been on "Mr. Mercedes," "The Man Who Fell To Earth," "The First Lady," and "Flowers in the Attic: The Origin."

Admiral Janeway returned in "Star Trek: Prodigy," an animated show about teens who go joyriding in a Starfleet ship. Mulgrew voiced the character across 40 episodes, advising the youngsters in hologram form.

When "Star Trek: Nemesis" was released in 2002, most audiences likely didn't recognize Alan Dale. The Kiwi actor played a Romulan Praetor named Hiran in the first scene of the film, a man whose grotesque death kicks off the story.

Within a few years, however, Dale would be inescapable. He had been a fixture on Australian television for a while, including on their soap "Neighbours," but when he moved to Los Angeles in his fifties, everything changed for him. He became a reliable presence on 2000s television thanks to memorable roles on "The O.C.," "Lost," and "Ugly Betty," three shows that helped define that decade's television landscape. "I've had a fabulous life but I should have come [to L.A. earlier] instead of going to Australia," he told The NZ Herald.

Dale continues to act. He played fearsome patriarch Joseph Sanders on the "Dynasty" reboot, played King George on "Once Upon a Time," and recurred for years as Homeland Senior Division Chief Tom Morrow on "NCIS."