Summary
- Ray Wise portrayed Liko in TNG & Arturis in Voyager, showcasing his range in the Star Trek franchise.
- Wise's memorable role in Twin Peaks as Leland Palmer is just one example of his extensive acting career.
- Numerous actors from Twin Peaks, such as Carel Struycken and Michael J. Anderson, have also appeared in Star Trek episodes.
Twin Peaks actor Ray Wise portrayed two different characters in the Star Trek franchise. Wise's first Star Trek appearance came in Star Trek: The Next Generation season 3, episode 4, "Who Watches the Watchers," in which he plays Liko, a member of a Vulcan-like species being observed by the United Federation of Planets. In Star Trek: Voyager season 4, episode 26, "Hope and Fear," Wise portrayed Arturis, a member of an unnamed species designated Species 116. Ray Wise is most known for his role in Twin Peaks and Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me as Leland Palmer, the father of the ill-fated Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee), whose murder becomes the central mystery of the series.
Prior to the genre-bending Twin Peaks, Wise appeared in episodes of Dallas, The A-Team, Knots Landing, and L.A. Law. Wise stayed busy after Twin Peaks ended, continuing to appear in various episodes of popular television shows, including Charmed, Dawson's Creek, The West Wing, 24, CSI, Law & Order: SVU, and Castle. Wise played Robin Sr. in six episodes of How I Met Your Mother, Ed Baxter in five episodes of Mad Men, and Marvin in 91 episodes of Fresh Off the Boat. Wise has also appeared in nearly 100 movies, including X-Men: First Class, Swamp Thing, Jeepers Creepers 2,God's Not Dead 2, and Chris Pine's Poolman.
Ray Wise Appeared In Star Trek: TNG & Voyager
In Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 3, Episode 4 - "Who Watches The Watchers" & Star Trek: Voyager Season 4, Episode 26, "Hope and Fear"
In Star Trek: The Next Generation's "Who Watches the Watchers," Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and the USS Enterprise-D head to the planet Mintaka III to resupply the Federation outpost there. The Federation has been secretly monitoring the Mintakan people to see how their proto-Vulcan society progresses. When their holographic camouflage malfunctions, Ray Wise's Liko sees it and is injured when he tries to investigate. Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden) then beams Liko to the Enterprise to treat his injuries. She attempts to erase his memories of the encounter, but the procedure is unsuccessful, leaving Liko with the belief that Captain Picard is a god.
In "Who Watches the Watchers," a scientist named Palmer goes missing, which results in multiple characters referencing his name as they search for him. Ray Wise's character on Twin Peaks is named Leland Palmer and "Who killed Laura Palmer?" became a tagline for the show.
Ray Wise's character in Star Trek: Voyager's "Hope and Fear," Arturis, visits the USS Voyager after helping Neelix (Ethan Phillips) acquire supplies. As his species can translate almost any language, Arturis helps decode an encrypted message that Voyager received from Starfleet. Former Borg drone Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) grows suspicious of Arturis and Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) later comes to share her suspicions. Arturis eventually reveals that his homeworld was recently assimilated by the Borg and he blames Voyager for interfering in the war between the Borg and Species 8472. Thankfully, Commander Chakotay (Robert Beltran) and Voyager's crew are able to thwart Arturis's plan before he turns them over to the Borg.
Ray Wise Is One Of Many Twin Peaks Actors In Star Trek
Twin Peaks returned with an 18-episode revival on Showtime in 2017, with many of the main cast returning.
Ray Wise is certainly not the only actor from David Lynch's cult classic to pop up in Star Trek. Carel Struycken portrayed the imposing Giant on Twin Peaks, who sometimes appeared in the dreams of Special Agent Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan). Struycken appeared in several episodes of Star Trek, as Mr. Homn, the mostly silent valet of Lwaxana Troi (Majel Barrett). Michael J. Anderson also played a mysterious figure who popped up in Cooper's dreams, a character known as The Man From Another Place. Anderson appeared in an episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine as Rumpelstiltskin.
Wendy Robie and Madchen Amick both had major roles in Twin Peaks, as Nadine Hurley and Shelly Johnson, respectively, but only played minor roles in Star Trek. Robie played a Cardassian scientist on DS9, while Amick appeared as an incarnation of a shapeshifter on TNG. In Twin Peaks, Richard Beymer played Benjamin Horne, and he appeared in three episodes of DS9 as Bajoran resistance leader Li Nalas. David Warner has three Star Trek roles, including Klingon Chancellor Gorkon in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country and Cardassian Gul Madred in TNG's "Chain of Command" two-parter. In Twin Peaks, Warner plays the menacing Thomas Eckhardt. There are many more connections between Twin Peaks and Star Trek, and both series have come to have passionate and devoted fan bases.
