10 Great Star Trek Performances That Made You Love Bad People
The good guys may lead the series but it's the bad guys who really get our hearts pumping.
Star Trek is a lucky, lucky franchise. It has existed for so long that the writers have had to come up with new threats and challenges for the crews to face along the way. The Klingons, the Romulans, the Borg, the Dominion, the Vidiians, the Kazon, the Hirogen - all have their moments of utter villainy to seriously mess up the crews' days.
Captain Kirk had his demons and Captain Sisko faced a literal one. Captain Janeway faced fear and Commander Burnham took on royalty.
Villains are usually the most enjoyable characters to watch on screen as they usually have the most fun in playing their scenes. Whether covered in make up or as human as you and I, they are dotted throughout the franchise, often recurring when fan demand is high enough.
With some of them falling into the role of anti-heroes, perhaps it is not fair to class them all as villains? Or maybe their dashing charms are what adds to their villainy, as they slide their way into the sights of the heroes, challenging everything that they can along the way.
From genetic supermen to many faced guests, these villains are the ones we remember the best. Some appear only once and some appear countless times, popping up when the characters least need them. The audience, however? We love them all, naughty or nice! How memorable are they? Well, tell me....
How many lights do you see?
10. John Frederick Paxton - Peter Weller
This late addition to the series saw one of Enterprise's more dastardly villains, played by the wonderful Peter Weller. Fans who might not be as familiar with Enterprise would probably recognise him sooner as Admiral Marcus from Star Trek Into Darkness and, while he is great in that film, it is here that he is a truly awful person.
He is responsible for the creation and subsequent death of Trip and T'Pol's baby daughter. That alone would be enough to simply hate this character and consign him to the scrap heap in terms of the fans' memories. However, Weller delivers a tense and frustratingly endearing portrayal.
Paxton, like many zealots both on and off screen, wants to save Earth for Humanity only. He is willing to do whatever it takes to make that happen and through Weller's portrayal, while it is unlikely many will sympathize with him, there is an honesty in what he does that is hard to ignore.
The best villains are those who don't see themselves as evil. Paxton wants to save Humanity from inter-breeding and dilution of the so-called pure blood lines that are being ruined by other species. While this is an idea that is hardly unique to Star Trek, it was one of the first times that the idea had been explored in the franchise.
Much like his later character, Weller does what he can to stand by his beliefs. And thanks to his brilliant acting, it's hard to hate him for it.