5 Best Guest Star Appearances on Star Trek:
5. Christopher Lloyd
The odd numbered Star Trek films were generally considered to be much weaker than the evenly numbered ones, but for me Star Trek III had at least one gem, the performance of Christopher Lloyd as Klingon Commander Kruge. Angry Klingons were a trademark of the Original Series and their loathing for Kirk was like a virus that swept the empire. Lloyd had the unenviable task of playing the first Klingon in a leading role of the movie series and following the maniacal tyrant 'Khan' in the previous film must've brought about some added pressure! Thankfully he rose to the challenge. Lloyd shows his dark side as the power hungry Kruge who seeks to uncover the secrets of the Genesis device in order to 'preserve his race'. His deep and withered voice, when forced, perfectly suited the Klingon language. This is particularly evident when he executes his weapons officer for destroying the USS Grissom, a decision he made in a mere 5 seconds. Pulsating with anger and clearly frustrated that his master plan has hit a speed bump, you could be forgiven for thinking Lloyd has been playing a Klingon for years. Throughout the film, his character has to deal with some horrendous set backs, particularly when his crew attempt to hi-jack the Enterprise only to be blown to smithereens. With each set back, Lloyd raises the bar in terms of the intensity of his conviction. He cleverly avoids the comfort zone of playing it in a vengeful manner which would have been boring since the villain in the previous movie was motivated primarily by vengeance. Instead, he comes across more determined and driven to achieve his goal. In fact, shortly after Kirk has killed the Klingon boarding party, Kruge comes face to face with his nemesis only to growl "GENESIS, I WANT IT!!". You can feel Lloyd's drive, more evident than anger over the loss of his crew. Right to the end, he feels more like a character who wants something, but has to go through Kirk to get it, rather than someone who wants Kirk dead, motivated by revenge. On a separate note, I find it interesting that Christopher Lloyd's ship is eventually stolen by Kirk and used to travel backwards in time, then back to the future. Hmm. Sounds familiar Chris!