Summary
- Star Trek: Deep Space Nine featured notable guest stars including Breaking Bad actor Jonathan Banks, who portrayed Golin Shel-la in a powerful episode about the futility of war.
- Banks, known for his role in the crime procedural Wiseguy, brought gritty depth to the character and added to the overall allegorical message of the episode.
- There are several connections between Breaking Bad and the Star Trek universe, including shared actors and the involvement of creator Vince Gilligan, who had previous ties to The X-Files.
Years before Breaking Bad became a TV sensation, the actor behind one of its best-loved characters faced off against Commander Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) in a forgotten episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Having existed in one form or another since 1966, Star Trek has paid host to a wealth of acting talent over the decades, many of whom have taken a role purely because they love the franchise. For example, Whoopi Goldberg signed on to Star Trek: The Next Generation after her role in Steven Spielberg's The Color Purple was nominated for an Academy Award, out of sheer love for the original series.
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine was no exception, and its recurring guest stars included Oscar winning actress Louise Fletcher as Kai Winn, and The Princess Bride's Wallace Shawn as Grand Nagus Zek. They weren't the only actors with impressive resumes cast in Star Trek: DS9 season 1, and the quality of guest stars would continue throughout its seven seasons. One actor who was cast in DS9 would go on to become a big star in Breaking Bad, a show that made a virtue of the very storytelling techniques that the forward-thinking DS9 introduced to Star Trek.
