10 Star Trek Actors Who Died In 2020

8. Anthony James

Star Trek The Neutral Zone
CBS

Star Trek: The Next Generation's first season came to a close with the return of the Romulans, one of the major antagonists of the Original Series. Much attention was directed, and rightly so, to Mark Alaimo's Romulan Tebok, but the officer sitting to the side of him was oft forgotten. This actor's name was Anthony James.

He, along with Alaimo, had the honour of debuting the updated look for the Romulans in Star Trek. The disctinctive bowl cut and V-shaped ridges on the brow would become a staple of Romulan appearance for much of the next two decades.

James was a prolific actor, with his first film appearance being in the Best Picture winning film, In The Heat Of The Night. The majority of his career would be taken up with villainous roles in Westerns, although he also made appearances in Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, Beauty and the Beast, the A-Team and Charlie's Angels.

He appeared in several more films, with his final film appearance being in another Best Picture Winner - Clint Eastwood's Unforgiven. At this point, he retired from acting. He would go on to publish a book of art and poetry in 1994, Language of the Heart, and an autobiography, Acting My Face, in 2014.

He passed away on 26th May 2020 from cancer. He was 77 years old.

Contributor
Contributor

Seán is the host and head writer/presenter for TrekCulture, as well as a writer/presenter on WhoCulture and WhatCulture Horror. He has authored two novels, dozens of short stories, and hundreds of articles for WhatCulture. He holds a Master of Arts in Creative Writing from University College Dublin. As part of his work with TrekCulture, Seán has been invited to participate in collaborations with Roddenberry Entertainment, as well as contributing to several Star Trek community projects. An avid fan of Star Trek, Doctor Who, and the horror genre at large, Seán's expertise has helped develop these channels to the successes they are today. As host of the Ups & Downs series on TrekCulture, Seán has become internationally recognised for his positive yet critically informed approach to reviewing every episode of modern Star Trek, ensuring he is one of the go-to voices in the Trek community. Favourite Quote to describe himself: "I'm serious about what I do, just not always about the way that I do it"