12 Actors Who Hated Being On Star Trek

8. Grace Lee Whitney

Jeffrey Dean Morgan Star Trek
CBS

Grace Lee Whitney has one of the sadder stories when it comes to Trek alumni. She was an actress and singer before being cast in Star Trek. She appeared in eight episode of the first season of the Original Series, playing Yeomen Rand, Kirk's personal assistant. However, she was then released from her contract. She went on to claim that she had been sexually assaulted by a producer on the series and that Leonard Nimoy had been of great support to her during that time.

She returned to the franchise for The Motion Picture, after co-star DeForrest Kelley found that she was unemployed. She appeared in four of the movie, two internet episodes and returned for the 30th anniversary special, Flashback, with George Takei. She also managed to capitalise on her Trek fame by releasing Trek themed music in this period of her career.

She suffered from alcoholism and substance dependency, but was able to get off both as she went on. She was quoted later in life as preferring to be seen as a survivor of addiction than as a Star Trek cast member. She died in May, 2015, just months after her old friend Leonard Nimoy. The Star Trek Continues episode Divided We Stand is dedicated to her memory.

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Writer. Reader. Host. I'm Seán, I live in Ireland and I'm the poster child for dangerous obsessions with Star Trek. Check me out on Twitter @seanferrick