What do Star Trek and Adventure Time have in common? It isn’t just the fact that they’re both set in a post-nuclear war future. It turns out that they also have a whole lot of overlapping actors!
Some of these actors appeared on Adventure Time after they had already appeared on Trek. In other instances, the actor appeared on Adventure Time before they joined the Final Frontier. And in addition to 17 Trek actors who appeared on Adventure Time, we also have one bonus entry: the 2022 Star Trek Day MC! How’s that for math?
George Takei
Star Trek: The Original Series actor George Takei (Captain Hikaru Sulu) has appeared in many instantly memorable voice over roles. Ricardio the Heart Guy is no exception. Making his debut in Adventure Time season 1 episode 7, “Ricardio the Heart Guy,” this disturbing villain returns for another major appearance in season 4 episode 19, “Lady & Peebles.”
Takei reprised the role of Sulu for Star Trek: The Animated Series, the six TOS movies, and an episode of Star Trek: Voyager (season 3 episode 2, “Flashback”). Most recently, he appeared in the role in Star Trek: Lower Decks season 3 episode 8, “Crisis Point 2: Paradoxus.”
Jonathan Frakes
In Adventure Time season 5 episode 16, “Puhoy,” we get a glimpse of “Old Man Finn.” After entering a pillow fort built by Jake the dog (John DiMaggio), Finn the Human (Jeremy Shada) enters a pillow world where he lives a full life. As an adult, Finn sports an impressive beard. This explains why Star Trek: The Next Generation‘s Jonathan Frakes was the perfect casting choice.
RELATED: Blu-Ray Review: Secrets of the Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 2 Commentaries.
This isn’t the only time Frakes played an older version of Finn, either. In Adventure Time season 5 episode 36, “Dungeon Train,” he played another older (bearded) version of Finn.
LeVar Burton
The next TNG alum to appear on the show is LeVar Burton (Geordi La Forge). Burton plays the role of Air in Adventure Time season 5 episode 17, “BMO Lost.” Originally known as “Bubble,” this character ultimately achieves their apotheosis after breaking free of the confines that were imposed upon them.
While Air only directly appears in “BMO Lost,” BMO (Niki Yang) refers to them several more times before the conclusion of the series.
Marina Sirtis
In Adventure Time season 5 episode 41, Finn and Lady Ranicorn (Niki Yang) must work together to rescue Jake from a demon dimension. Meanwhile, Jake meets another prisoner: Samantha, played by TNG‘s Marina Sirtis (Deanna Troi).
The demon initially forces Samantha and Jake to fight. However the two dogs ultimately join forces to defeat their captor. At the conclusion of the episode, both Jake and Samantha are freed. Samantha is one of several characters on this list who appear (but do not speak) in the penultimate episode of Adventure Time, season 10 episode 12, “Gumbaldia.”
Rainn Wilson
Rainn Wilson plays the role of Harry Mudd in Star Trek: Discovery season 1 episode 5, “Choose Your Pain,” and season 1 episode 7, “Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad.” He played the role again in the Star Trek: Short Treks episode “The Escape Artist.”
On Adventure Time, Wilson played two different roles. In season 5 episode 46, “Rattleballs,” the episode’s eponymous recurring character was introduced. And in season 6 episode 15, “Nemesis,” Wilson played Peace Master, who learns the hard way not to mess with Peppermint Butler (Steve Little).
Paul Scheer
On Adventure Time, Paul Scheer plays Toronto, partner in crime to the King of Ooo (Andy Daly). He plays various roles as the King demands, including attorney and butler. At the end of the day, Toronto is looking out for number one.
On Lower Decks, Sheer plays the USS Cerritos Chief of Engineering, Andy Billups. Unlike Toronto, Billups is a hardworking (if somewhat naïve) member of the crew.
Dee Bradley Baker
On Adventure Time, Dee Bradley Baker plays many roles. One of the most significant is Cinnamon Bun, first introduced in season 1 episode 1, “Slumber Party Panic.” While Cinnamon Bun is initially the brunt of many jokes, over the course of the ten seasons of the series, he comes into his own. Eventually, he becomes a trusted advisor to Flame Princess (Jessica DiCicco), who treats him with the respect he deserves.
On Star Trek: Prodigy, Baker plays the role of Murf. This enigmatic and possibly indestructable creature is a vocal (if non-verbal) member of the Protostar crew.
RELATED: Star Trek: 8 Trek Pets.
Tom Kenny
On Adventure Time, Tom Kenny plays the martian Magic Man. Over the course of Adventure Time‘s 10-season run, Magic Man eventually became Normal Man. Then, once he assumed the role of leader of Mars, he became King Man. The character played an important role throughout the series, including in the series finale, season 10 episode 13, “Come Along With Me.”
On Lower Decks, Kenny played the role of Malvus, a former associate who holds a grudge against Ensign Beckett Mariner (Tawny Newsome). Kenny has also played many other small roles on Lower Decks, such as the Ferengi in season 1 episode 2, “Ensigns,” and Kynk in season 2 episode 4, “Mugato, Gumato.”
RELATED: Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: 5 Books for Gorn Expertise.
Gillian Jacobs
In Adventure Time season 6 episode 36, we are introduced to the martian Margles, played by Gillian Jacobs. This character was once the lover of King Man. However, she was taken by malevolent chaos entity GOLB and ultimately fell to her death.
In Lower Decks season 1 episode 5, “Cupid’s Errant Arrow,” Jacobs plays Barbara Brinson. While Brinson was initially dating Ensign Bradward Boimler (Jack Quaid), the attraction is eventually revealed to have been caused by a parasite.
Tig Notaro
In Adventure Time season 6 episode 43, Tig Notaro played the role of the Purple Comet. This is one of a series of “Catalyst Comets,” which are agents of change that hit the Earth once every 1000 years.
On Discovery, Notaro plays the role of Jett Reno, Head of Engineering on the USS Discovery.
Rebecca Romijn
Rebecca Romijn plays The Empress on Adventure Time. The Empress was first introduced in season 7 episode 7, “Everything Stays,” which was part of the Adventure Time: Stakes arc. As a member of the Vampire King’s Court, the Empress is one of the foes Marceline the Vampire Queen (Olivia Olsen) must face to regain her powers.
On Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Romijn reprises the role of Number One. Originated by Majel Barrett-Roddenberry in the original pilot for TOS, “The Cage,” Romijn first played the role in several season 2 episodes of Discovery.
RELATED: Geek Girl Authority Crush of the Week: Number One.
Lauren Lapkus
Originally introduced in Adventure Time season 8 episode 8, current the Ice Elemental is Patience St. Pim. Played by Lauren Lapkus, Patience plays an integral role in the Adventure Time: Elements miniseries in season 9.
On Lower Decks, Lapkus plays the role of Jen the Andorian. After intially playing something of an antagonistic role to Mariner, Jen started dating Beckett in the season 2 finale, “First First Contact.”
Lennon Parham
Making her first appearance in season 8 episode 12, “Preboot,” Dr. Gross is played by Lennon Parham. She returned during the Adventure Time: Islands miniseries episode “Hide and Seek” (season 8 episode 24). While this character initially appears to be friendly, she has some unusually philosophies about human evolution.
On Lower Decks, Parham played the role of Shari yn Ym in season 2 episode 8, “I, Excretus.” In this episode, she played a character who initially seemed friendly but was actually serving her own selfish ends.
Stephen Root
In the TNG two-part episode “Unification” (season 5 episodes 7 and 8), Stephen Root played the role of Klingon captain K’Vada. In this episode, K’Vada commands a Klingon Bird-of-Prey tasked with ferrying Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and Commander Data (Brent Spiner) to Romulus on a secret mission. However, he makes no secret about his distate for humans.
On Adventure Time, Root plays several roles, including the Royal Tart Toter (season 2 episode 9, “The Other Tarts”). However the most significant role may be the recurring role of Martin Mertens, Finn’s biological father. Martin makes his first full appearance in season 6 episode 2, “Escape from the Citadel.”
RELATED: Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: Brother From Another Planet.
Root also voiced the character of “Mr. M” in the Adventure Time: Distant Lands special “BMO.” However it seems very likely that “Mr. M” is actually Martin.
Randall Park
In the Adventure Time: Distant Lands special “BMO,” Randall Park plays Hugo. Initially a human who abandoned Earth in advance of the nuclear war, Hugo spliced his genes with extraterrestrial DNA. In spite of cosmetic effects, this worked well for Hugo (but had terrible consequences for the aliens due to newly communicable diseases).
In Lower Decks season 2 episode 1, Park plays the Apergosian high leader. This character has a hard time choosing a subspace relay number (until the effect of Strange Energy motivates him to hurry up).
Maurice LaMarche
Over the course of Adventure Time, Maurice LaMarche voiced many roles. One of the most significant was Grand Master Wizard, who originally appeared in season 3 episode 8, “Wizard Battle.”
In Lower Decks season 1 episode 6, “Much Ado About Boimler,” LaMarche played the role of Lieutenant Drew Prachett of the Oakland.
It’s probably also worth noting that LaMarche appeared alongside the majority of the cast of TOS in Futurama season 4 episode 11, “Where No Fan Has Gone Before.” In this episode, LaMarche played energy being and Trek superfan Melllvar.
Toks Olagundoye
In Lower Decks season 1 episode 7, “Much Ado About Boimler,” the captain of the Oakland is Amina Ramsey (Toks Olagundoye). A friend of Mariner’s from the Academy, Ramsey represents some of the best that the California class has to offer.
In the Adventure Time: Distant Lands special “Wizard City,” Olagundoye plays Dr. Caledonius. The professor of Magic History at Wiz Arts, Caledonius initially seems like an ally to Pep (Mace Montgomery Miskel). However, she is ultimately revealed to have more sinister intentions.
Reggie Watts
In Adventure Time season 8 episode 11, “Daddy-Daughter Card Wars,” Reggie Watts plays the role of Turtle Announcer. Watts also played the role of Vinny in season 8 episode 23, “Imaginary Resources,” part of the Adventure Time: Islands arc.
While Watts has not appeared on Trek, he does have a concrete connection to the Franchise. During Star Trek Day 2022 on September 8, 2022, Watts served as MC for the festivities. Now that’s boldly going!
You can catch up with the Star Trek Universe on Paramount Plus. Meanwhile, all of Adventure Time is currently streaming on HBO Max.
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