10 Star Trek: TNG Facts You Probably Didn't Know

10. Stephen Hawking And Star Trek

Stephen Hawking was a long time Star Trek fan. He made a guest appearance in Descent (the 26th episode of the 6th season), becoming the first and only actor to play himself. In this episode Data played poker with the holographic version of the famed scientist.

Over the years, Stephen Hawking played himself in various guest appearances in shows like Futurama and the Big Bang Theory, but TNG was a highlight for him.

Earlier that year, while at Paramount, he asked to tour the TNG set. Hawking spoke about how he requested to sit in the captain's chair, and that it was "rather more comfortable and a lot more powerful" than his wheelchair. He made it clear he would be open to a guest appearance and the writers made it happen. Data actor Brent Spiner has spoken about how filming the scene is one of his favorite memories from TNG.

Hawking remained a lifelong fan of the series. Years later, when J.J. Abrams was directing the second of his Star Trek films, Benedict Cumberbatch was hired to play Khan. This was kept secret, and meant to be a big reveal within the film. Cumberbatch later confessed that while he wasn't meant to tell anyone, he confided who he was secretly playing to Hawking.