A number of Star Trek actors lent their voices to the animated series Gargoyles. The show followed the adventures of gargoyles, nocturnal creatures who turned into stone during the day. After being transported from their home in Scotland to New York City, the clan were awoken from their 1000-year-long magical slumber and took on the responsibility of protecting the city. The children's series originally ran from 1994 until 1997, but has been finding new audiences thanks to Disney+.
Gargoyles was canceled after season 3, despite its strong reviews. According to producer Greg Weisman, the show wasn't the hit it needed to be in order for Disney to continue producing it. Furthermore, at 78 episodes in total, the show already surpassed the 65-episode minimum necessary for a typical animated series syndication package. As a result of this syndication, however, Gargoyles developed a strong cult following over the years.
Trekkers discovering Gargoyles for the first time via streaming may be surprised to hear so many familiar voices from the Star Trek universe: of Gargoyles' main characters, two are voiced by recognizable Star Trek: The Next Generation actors, while many other Star Trek alumni appeared in recurring and guest roles. The following are all the actors who had main roles in a Star Trek series who appeared in Gargoyles.
Avery Brooks
Avery Brooks played Captain Benjamin Sisko on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Brooks beat out over 100 other actors competing for the role, and became the franchise's first African-American captain. Over the course of the series, Sisko feuded with Captain Picard, became the Bajoran Emissary to the alien "Prophets," and led a successful war effort against the Dominion. Brooks has a guest role in Gargoyles as Nokkar, an alien sentinel protecting the Earth from the alien threat, the Space-Spawn.
LeVar Burton
LeVar Burton played Geordi La Forge on TNG, one of the most memorable engineers on the U.S.S. Enterprise. At the beginning of the series, La Forge was a helmsman, but rose through the ranks on the ship, eventually becoming Chief Engineer. Burton played Anansi on Gargoyles: a trickster who had the appearance of a giant arachnid.
Michael Dorn
Michael Dorn appeared on The Next Generation alongside Burton, playing the serious yet sensitive Klingon warrior Worf. After TNG ended, Worf's story continued, as the Chief of Security transferred to the space station (and series) Deep Space Nine. Dorn provided the voice for two recurring roles on Gargoyle: Othello, the android gargoyle, and Taurus, a New Olympian — who, like Worf, was also the Head of Security for his people.
Jonathan Frakes
Another TNG alumni, Jonathan Frakes played "Number One" William T. Riker on all seven seasons of the Star Trek series. Frakes was the focus of a number of episodes throughout the show's run — and the actor holds the record for appearing in the most Star Trek series. Frakes plays David Xanatos, the billionaire who broke the spell keeping the gargoyles "asleep" in their rock form. Although he initially appeared to be a friend to the Wyvern Clan, he eventually showed his true colors and became one of the main antagonists in the series.
Colm Meaney
In TNG and DS9, Miles O'Brien (Colm Meaney) had a dramatic run. The transporter chief was promoted to chief of operations when he transferred to the spin-off series Deep Space Nine. During his time in the franchise, O'Brien got married, had children, went to prison, was tortured, and even went undercover on an alien planet. Meaney had a guest role as Mr. Dugan on Gargoyles.
Kate Mulgrew
Kate Mulgrew played Captain Kathryn Janeway on the series Star Trek: Voyager, the follow-up series to TNG. Janeway is remembered for being a "cowboy captain" who fearlessly led her crew through the uncharted territory of the Delta Quadrant. Mulgrew voiced Anastasia Renard on Gargoyles, the human alias of the supernatural queen Titania.
Nichelle Nichols
As a member of the Star Trek: The Original Series cast, Nichelle Nichols is Star Trek royalty. Nichols played communications officer Uhura on TOS, and reprised the role on Star Trek: The Animated Series. She was a role model for an entire generation — in fact, Whoopi Goldberg was inspired by Nichols so much that she followed in her footsteps and played the recurring character Guinan on the revival series TNG. On Gargoyles, Nichols voiced the character Diane Maza, the mother of main character Elisa Maza.
Marina Sirtis
Like Jonathan Frakes, Marina Sirtis was a main character on both Star Trek: TNG as well as Gargoyles. Sirtis played Deanna Troi, the empathetic, chocolate-loving counsellor onboard the USS-Enterprise. Troi is half-Betazoid, which grants her empath abilities — which often came in handy in dealings with other alien races. Also like Frakes, Sirtis played a villainous role on Gargoyles: her character Demona despised humans, and is possibly the most dangerous of all remaining gargoyles. She aligned herself with David Xanatos, and was largely responsible for him resurrecting the Wyvern clan, whom she had hoped would join her on her quest for vengeance.
Brent Spiner
The last major Star Trek actor to lend his talents to Gargoyles is Brent Spiner. Spiner played the android Data who was created by the mysterious Dr. Noonian Soong. Data's character arc across TNG was both popular and enduring; his long quest to achieve humanity left an indelible mark on the sci-fi genre, and has been repeated many times (the formula, no-doubt inspired by Spock in TOS, was repeated by Deep Space Nine's characters Odo and Vic Fontaine, and Voyager's hologram "The Doctor" and borg character Seven of Nine). Spiner lends his comedic chops to the character Puck in Gargoyles. Another trickster character like Anansi, Puck is a powerful magical being with devious tendencies.
Other Actors Who Appeared On Both Star Trek And Gargoyles
James L. Avery, Sr.: General K'Vagh in Star Trek, Enterprise and The Shaman in Gargoyles.
Diedrich Bader: Tactical Officer in "The Emissary" episode of DS9 and hunter Charles Canmore in Gargoyles episode "Hunter's Moon: Part Three."
Michael Bell: Zorn in "Encounter at Farpoint" on TNG and Borum in "The Homecoming" and Drofo Awa in "The Maquis" on DS9. Bell voiced the human characters Art, Martin Hacker, and Pal Joey on Gargoyles.
Clancy Brown: The iconic character actor played Zobral in the ENT episode "Desert Crossing," and voiced Gargoyles characters Hakon, Wolf, and Tomas Brod.
John Rhys-Davies: Leonardo da Vinci on Voyager, and Macbeth, Findlaech, Arthur Morwood-Smyth, and Demona's Second on Gargoyles.
Matt Frewer: Berlingoff Rasmussen in TNG episode "A Matter of Time" and Jackal on Gargoyles.
Gerrit Graham: Hunter in "Captive Pursuit" (DS9) and Quinn in "Death Wish" (VOY), and Tom on Gargoyles. Graham was one of the finalists competing for the main-cast role of Odo on Deep Space Nine, but was beat out by Rene Auberjonois.
Robert Ito: Lt. Chang in ‘’Coming of Age’’ (TNG), and John Kim in ‘’Author, Author’’ (VOY). Ito played Dr. Sato in Gargoyles season 1.
Tony Jay: The memorable role of Minister Campio in "Cost of Living" (TNG), and Anubis in Gargoyles. Jay was primarily a voice actor and lent his talent to Star Trek video games Star Trek: Armada II and Star Trek: Elite Force II.
Clyde Kusatsu: The recurring character Vice Admiral Nakamura on several TNG episodes, and Kai, who appeared in Gargoyles season 2.
Salli Richardson: Sisko's love interest Fenna/Nidell in "Second Sight" on DS9, and the main character Elisa Maza on Gargoyles.
W. Morgan Sheppard: Ira Graves in "The Schizoid Man" (TNG), Qatai in "Bliss" (VOY), the Klingon warden in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, and a science minister in J. J. Abrams's 2009 Star Trek film; Sheppard provided numerous voices on Gargoyles, including the role of Odin.
David Warner: St. John Talbot in Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, Gorkon in Star Trek VI, and Gul Madred in the classic TNG episode "Chain of Command" (pictured above). Warner voiced the Archmage in Gargoyles who taught magic to Demona.
Frank Welker: The alien creature in "Nothing Human" (VOY) and Spock's screams in Star Trek III: Search For Spock, as well as various voices in Star Trek video games; Welker provided numerous voices in Gargoyles also, including animal characters like Bronx, Cagney, and Gilly.
Paul Winfield: Captain Clark Terrell in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and Dathon in Star Trek: The Next Generation's "Darmok," as well as Jeffrey Robbins in Gargoyles.