10 Actors Who Were In The Orville AND Star Trek

3. Marina Sirtis

Marina Sirtis guest starred in Sanctuary, the second-season episode of The Orville already mentioned on this list (and will be again!). As Deanna Troi, she appeared in The Next Generation, Voyager, Enterprise, Lower Decks, and Picard, as well as appearing in four films. Here, she returned under the experienced eye of director Jonathan Frakes.

Frakes and MacFarlane had been searching for the right performer to play the schoolteacher aboard the ship, though their search was frustrated by no one quite meeting the part. MacFarlane also wished to cast Sirtis, though had been waiting for something a little bigger to come along.

It was Frakes who convinced him to approach her for Sanctuary, which led to both men reaching out to her at almost the same moment. In a whirlwind of schedules, she was on set less than 48 hours later. She described the experience as like returning to The Next Generation, crediting Frakes with understanding exactly how to direct (and light) her properly.