Summary

• Clint Howard holds the distinction of being the only actor to appear in Star Trek across five decades.
• Howard portrayed various characters in different series, from a childlike alien to a war-weary medical officer.
• His roles span from Star Trek: The Original Series to Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, showcasing his versatility.

Clint Howard has a whopping 250 acting credits listed on IMDb. Intriguingly, his long list of appearances includes five Star Trek episodes across four different series, playing various characters spanning over five decades. The franchise created by Gene Roddenberry 60 years ago has a habit of reusing actors, particularly those who appear as guest characters. Some, like Jeffery Combs or Vaughn Wallace, have played dozens of characters. Clint Howard, who acted as a child with his brother, actor and director Ron Howard, has a unique distinction among the alumni of actors who boldly went where few have gone before.

Most impressively, there's a 57-year stint of time between Clint Howard's first guest-starring part in the franchise to his most recent one, earning him the honor of being the only actor to appear in Star Trek: The Original Series, the second wave of series and the modern shows, specifically Star Trek: Discovery and Strange New Worlds. Howard has a habit of taking on unusual roles, and his performances within the Star Trek universe are no different. Here's a breakdown of his tenure in the universe from the 1960s to the 2020s.

Updated March 27, 2024, by Joshua M. Patton: Clint Howard shares a quality with many actors involved in something timeless at an early age. As he continued his career, he resented being identified with his role in the original Star Trek, partly because he was a child whose voice was dubbed over by an older actor. This chip on his shoulder may have cost Clint Howard the role of Luke Skywalker. Yet, in the years that followed, along with his other appearances in the universe, the actor has a new appreciation for Star Trek fans who appreciate his work. This article has been updated to add his appearance in Season 2 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds and comport to CBR's current formatting standards.

Balok Was a Miniscule Alien with a Big Laugh and Love of 'Tranya'

Star Trek: The Original Series, Season 1, Episode 10, "The Corbomite Maneuver"

• Original airdate: November 10, 1966

Howard made his Star Trek debut at seven years old when he took on the role of Balok in the Star Trek: The Original Series episode "The Corbomite Maneuver." However, Clint's voice was dubbed over by Walker Edmiston because Balok is an adult alien male who only looks like a child. Essentially, Balok antagonizes the crew of the USS Enterprise by threatening to destroy the starship after they demolish a First Federation marker buoy. Yet, it was all a test to see if the Starfleet crew were compassionate, advanced beings. By the end of the episode, Balok is eager to be friends with the humans he meets.

While this was the 10th episode to air, it was the first one the crew filmed after the second pilot episode, "Where No Man Has Gone Before." It was Balok's only appearance in the universe. Funnily enough, during Comedy Central's roast of William Shatner in 2006, Clint took on the part of Balok again. This time, Clint parodied the character by portraying him as all grown up and addicted to tranya, the beverage he drank and served to the Enterprise's landing party aboard his pilot ship.

Grady, the Odd Resident of a Sanctuary District

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Season 3, Episode 12, "Past Tense, Part II"

• Original airdate: January 9, 1995

In 1995, Howard portrayed Grady, a homeless and mentally ill San Francisco Sanctuary District resident in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "Past Tense, Part II." Grady thinks "brain-sucking" aliens are on their way to invade Earth and believes he can turn himself invisible to hide from the oncoming invasion. Jonathan Frakes directed the episode and was the one to cast Clint Howard in the role, according to Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion by Terry J. Erdmann with Paula M. Block.

Showrunner Ira Steven Behr originally wrote the part for Iggy Pop, a Star Trek fan, but he was touring then. Set in 2024, "Past Tense" is one of the series' most prescient episodes. Of course, the show didn't take 30 years to prove this. While in production, the then-mayor of Los Angeles announced a plan to gather the city's unhoused population into camps like the Sanctuary Districts. While Clint Howard's part in Deep Space Nine was small, he was yet again present for one of the universe's most important episodes.

Muk, One of the Ferengi Raiders on the NX-01

Star Trek: Enterprise, Season 1, Episode 19, "Acquisition"

• Original airdate: March 27, 2002

Howard also appeared on Star Trek: Enterprise as a dim-witted Ferengi pirate named Muk in the Season 1 episode "Acquisition." Muk and his cohorts rendered the crew of the Enterprise unconscious and pillaged their goods, but eventually succumbed to their greed when T'Pol managed to convince Muk that one of his comrades would double-cross and rob him of his share of the profits. After Tucker leads the Ferengi through a maze of corridors to an alleged vault on board the Enterprise, T'Pol gets the drop on the pirates and ambushes them. Later, Muk and the other Ferengi returned the stolen items and left.

This episode featured Howard with other actors who previously appeared on various Star Trek series. Krem was played by Jeffery Combs, who played multiple roles on Deep Space Nine and Voyager and played the Andorrian Commander Shran on Enterprise. Ethan Phillips played Ulis, but he was best known as Neelix on Star Trek: Voyager. The fourth Ferengi, Grish, was played by Matt Malloy in his first role for the franchise, but at the same time he was working as a voice actor on the game Star Trek: Elite Force II as Omag, a Ferengi arms trader. (William Bastiani played the character in Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 5.)

Orion Creep Who Ended Up Helping Tilly

Star Trek: Discovery, Season 1, Episode 15, "Will You Take My Hand?"

• Original airdate: February 11, 2018

Most recently, Howard guest starred as an Orion in the Star Trek: Discovery Season 1 finale, "Will You Take My Hand?" He is the only actor to have played a role in both TOS and Discovery, not through archival footage. In the episode, Tilly sits near him at a bar, and the Orion offers her volcanic vapor to inhale. She refuses at first but later faints after partaking.

Although Clint "The King of Cameos" Howard has the distinction of portraying several personalities in Star Trek, he also made a few fun franchise-adjacent appearances. Most notably, Howard depicted Emmanuel Grayson, a paranoid conspiracy theorist, on an episode of Fringe called "The Road Not Taken," which J.J. Abrams and Alex Kurtzman co-wrote. Grayson thought he was Sarek's son. Like Howard's unhinged character on DS9, he too feared an alien invasion, only this time he believed Romulans were traveling to Earth from the future to alter history. Curiously, the story from this installment was very similar to the plot of Abrams and Kurtzman's 2009 Star Trek film.

Buck Martinez Is a War-Weary Medical Officer on the Klingon Moon J'Gal

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Season 2, Episode 8, "Under the Cloak of War"

• Original Airdate: July 27, 2023

Clint Howard's most recent Star Trek appearance came in Strange New Worlds, during an episode about the Federation-Klingon War. He played Commander Buck Martinez, a medical officer who was complacent about the explosions and onslaught of serving on a Starfleet forward operating base. He introduced Nurse Christine Chapel to Doctor Joseph M'Benga.

While Buck didn't appear much in the episode, he certainly made an impact. It also marked 57 years between Clint Howard's first Star Trek appearance and his most recent. Buck Martinez survived the moon of J'Gal so the character could appear again. Howard could also play another role in a future series as a voice actor or in person.

The Star Trek series mentioned above are all streaming on Paramount+.