Star Trek and The Twilight Zone are remembered as two of the most iconic TV series of the 1960s, and they also featured many actors who appeared in both. The Twilight Zone began airing in 1959, and it immediately made waves with its anthology-style stories that often included surprise twist endings and strong moral lessons. Like Star Trek, The Twilight Zone was an incredibly progressive sci-fi show, and many of the lessons imparted by the episodes reflected real-world problems. Both series were groundbreaking in their own way and launched ongoing franchises that persisted through the decades including movies and additional TV series.

The anthology style of The Twilight Zone necessitated a slew of actors, and each episode featured an entirely different cast. As such, the best episodes of The Twilight Zone often included guest stars who were some of the greatest 1960s TV actors. The Twilight Zone ended in 1964 and Star Trek began just a few years later in 1966, and many of the roles played by Star Trek actors were some of the earliest in their careers. Even if they only played bit parts on The Twilight Zone, it wasn't hard to see the star power that would eventually land them starring roles in Gene Roddenberry's vision of the future.

RELATED: Every Star Trek Actor Who Has Appeared On The Orville

William Shatner - "Nick Of Time" (S2, E7) & "Nightmare At 20,000 Feet" (S5, E3)

By the time William Shatner stepped into The Twilight Zone, he was established as a film actor and had also made frequent guest spots in TV shows. His first appearance came in The Twilight Zone, season 2, episode 7, "Nick of Time", where he played Don Carter, a newlywed who was infatuated with a machine at a diner that seemingly predicted his fate. The Captain Kirk actor was understated in the role, and he took a back seat to his co-star, Patricia Breslin, who really sold just how creepy the devilish mystic seer was. Interestingly, the episode had no twist, but instead imparted a lesson about making one's own fate.

A few years later, Shatner starred in The Twilight Zone, season 5, episode 3, "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet", where he played Robert Wilson, an airplane passenger who was the only witness of a gremlin on the ship's wing. Shatner was his hammy best in the role, and the episode itself went on to become iconic. Even if the gremlin was cheesy, Shatner's performance perfectly matched the overall energy of the story. Far from the heroics he would later display as Kirk in Star Trek, Shatner showed another side of himself as the cagey and paranoid passenger in the truly scary Twilight Zone episode.

Leonard Nimoy - "A Quality Of Mercy" (S3, E15)

Like a plot ripped straight from the adventures of the Enterprise on Star Trek, The Twilight Zone, season 3, episode 15, "A Quality of Mercy" explored deep themes of pacifism and, as its title suggested, mercy. Spock actor Leonard Nimoy had a bit part in the episode that told the story of an upstart officer during WWII who ordered his men to advance on a helpless squadron of Japanese soldiers during the dying days of the war. Nimoy played Hansen, one of the American soldiers, but the episode's true star was Dean Stockwell, who played Lt. Katell.

The episode had problematic elements by today's standards, but its message of clemency was brilliantly embodied through Katell's mysterious trading of places with the Japanese squadron leader. The best episodes of Star Trek often featured similar moralistic themes, though Rod Serling's Twilight Zone approached them through the supernatural as opposed to hard-line science fiction. Unlike other episodes, the twist came in the middle of the story, but its message was as clear as any other classic Twilight Zone outing. Nimoy's role in the episode was somewhat perfunctory, but he was still able to show flashes of charisma that were eventually suppressed when he played the Vulcan science officer, Spock.

RELATED: Every Actor Who Has Played Spock In Star Trek

James Doohan - "Valley Of The Shadow" (S4, E3)

Ironically, Star Trek's James Doohan appeared in one of The Twilight Zone's most science-fiction-centric episodes, just a few years before he would be Chief Engineer Montgomery Scott on the Enterprise. The Twilight Zone, season 4, episode 3, "Valley of the Shadow" saw a reporter get trapped in a mysterious small town that possessed extraterrestrial technology they kept from the outside world. Doohan played a small role as Johnson in the underrated Twilight Zone episode, and his naturalistic performance hid the town's darker side. While Star Trek showed the positive side of technology, "Valley of the Shadow" was quite the opposite.

Often overlooked because of its bloated length, "Valley of the Shadow" was one of the many Twilight Zone season 4 episodes that were nearly an hour long, but that didn't detract from the brilliant storytelling. The episode's strong moral point about the dangers of technology when not used for peaceful purposes shined through, but it also had emotional depth as seen in the romantic story between Phillip and Ellen. Though Doohan didn't have the Scottish brogue that would exemplify Scotty on Star Trek, he did get to show off a layered and nuanced performance that was both creepy and familiar at the same time.

George Takei - "The Encounter" (S5, E31)

The Twilight Zone's themes continued to resonate years later, and the controversial season 5, episode 31, "The Encounter", tackled the complicated issue of race. The story centered around two men in an attic, one a young Japanese American, the other a white man who had fought in WWII, and a strange sword that seemed to possess them. George Takei played Arthur Takamori and gave one of the best performances of his entire career that saw him largely carry the episode alongside his co-star Neville Brand. Though it approached its subject through the supernatural with a surreal twist, the lesson that the episode was imparting had crystal clarity.

The episode's racial themes kept it out of syndication for years, and even decades later it hadn't lost any of its power to shock. Every Star Trek actor's best role outside the franchise allowed them to show off more of their talents, and The Twilight Zone essentially gave the entire stage to Takei to perform. The two-person episode was staged very much like a play, and there was very little action to detract from the riveting back and forth between Takei and Brand. Though Star Trek featured a more subdued George Takei as Hikaru Sulu, his turn in The Twilight Zone showed off every bit of his dramatic talents.

RELATED: Every Star Trek TOS Character Who Appeared In TNG

Twilight Zone Actors Who Appeared In Starfleet:

• Sally Kellerman as Dr. Elizabeth Dehner in ST (S1 E3) "Where No Man Has Gone Before" and as Office Worker in TZ (S4 E8) "Miniature"
• Anthony D. Call as Dave Bailey in ST (S1 E10) "The Corbomite Maneuver" and as Lee Helmsman in TZ (S4 E2) "The Thirty-Fathom Grave"
• Paul Comi as Stiles in ST (S1 E14) "Balance of Terror" and as Marcusson in TZ (S1 E25) "People Are Alike All Over", 1st Officer John Craig in (S2 E18) "The Odyssey of Flight, and Psychiatrist in (S4 E11) "The Parallel"
• Garry Walberg as Hansen in ST (S1 E14) "Balance of Terror" and as Reporter #3 in TZ (S1 E1) "Where is Everybody?"
• Joan Marshall as Areel Shaw in ST (S1 E20) "Court Martial" and as Wilma in TZ (S3 E18) "Dead Man's Shoes"
• William Meader as Board Officer in ST (S1 E20) "Court Martial" and as Brawling Townsman in TZ (S4 E4) "He's Alive"
• Byron Morrow as Admiral Komack in ST (S2 E1) "Amok Time", Admiral Westervliet (S3 E8) and as Martian in TZ (S1 E25) "People Are Alike All Over"
• Jerry Catron as Second Denevan in ST (S1 E29) "Operation - Annihilate!", Montgomery in (S2 E6) "The Doomsday Machine" and (S2 E10) "Journey to Babel" (uncredited) and as Guard in TZ (S1 E18) "The Last Flight"
• William Windom as Commodore Decker in ST (S2 E6) "The Doomsday Machine" and as The Major in TZ (S3 E14) and Dr. Wallman in (S4 E8) "Miniature"
• Felix Locher as Mr. Johnson in ST (S2 E12) "The Deadly Years" and as Club Member in TZ (S2 E25) "The Silence"
• Louie Elias as Inmate Guard in ST (S1 E9) "Dagger of the Mind" (uncredited), 1st Technician in (S3 E4) "And The Children Shall Lead", Engineer in (S3 E5) "Is There in Truth No Beauty?" (uncredited), Crazed Crewman in (S3 E9) "The Tholian Web" (uncredited), Troglyte #1 in (S3 E21) "The Cloud Minders", and as Sailor in TZ (S4 E2) "The Thirty-Fathom Grave"
• Dick Geary as Security Guard in ST (S3 E5) "Is There In Truth No Beauty?", (S3 E7) "Day of the Dove", (S3 E11) "Wink of an Eye", (S3 E12) "The Empath" (uncredited), Scalosian (S3 E11 "Wink of an Eye", Andorian in (S3 E14) "Whom Gods Destroy), Cloud City Sentinel #1 (S3 E21) "The Cloud Minders", and as Pinto Sykes in TZ (S3 E7) "The Grave"
• Arthur Batanides as D'Amato in ST (S3 E17) "That Which Survives" and as Leader as TZ (S1 E3) "Mr. Denton On Doomsday" and Tabal in (S3 E6) "The Mirror"
• John Hoyt as Dr. Phillip Boyce in ST "The Cage" and as Dr. Loren in TZ (S2 E8) "The Lateness of the Hour" and Ross in (S2 E28) "Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up?"

Twilight Zone Actors Who Appeared As Civilians:

• James Gregory as Dr. Tristan Adams in ST (S1 E9) "Dagger of the Mind" and as Air Force General in TZ (S1 E1) "Where Is Everybody?" and Confederate Sergeant in (S3 E4) "The Passerby"
• William Sargent as Dr. Thomas Leighton in ST (S1 E13) “The Conscience of the King" and as The Project Manager in TZ (S4 E11) “The Parallel” and Dr. Mel Avery in (S5 E12) "Ninety Years Without Slumbering"
• John Crawford as Commissioner Ferris in ST (S1 E16) "Galileo Seven" and as Joe in TZ (S2 E23) "One Hundred Yards Over The Rim"
• Gene Lyons as Ambassador Fox in ST (S1 E23) "A Taste of Armageddon" and as Psychiatrist in TZ (S2 E1) "King Nine Will Not Return"
• Frank Overton as Elias Sandoval in ST (S1 E24) "This Side of Paradise" and as Robert Sloan in TZ (S1 E5) "Walking Distance" and Harry Wheeler in (S4 E5) "Mute"
• Ken Lynch in Vanderberg in ST (S1 E25) "Devil in the Dark" and as Charlie in TZ (S1 E3) "Mr. Denton On Doomsday"
• John Harmon as Rodent in ST (S1 E28) "City on the Edge of Forever", Tepo in (S2 E17) "A Piece of the Action" and as Georgie in TZ (S3 E33) "The Dummy" and Clark in (S4 E14) "Of Late I Think of Cliffordville"
• Sarah Marshall as Janet Wallace in ST (S2 E12) "The Deadly Years" and as Ruth Miller in TZ (S3 E26) "Little Girl Lost"
• John Fiedler as Hengist in ST (S2 E14) "Wolf in the Fold" and as Mr. Dundee in TZ (S2 E11) "Night of the Meek" and Field Rep #3 in (S3 E6) "Cavender is Coming"
• Stanley Adams as Cyrano Jones in ST (S2 E15) “The Trouble with Tribbles" (uncredited) and as Rollo in TZ (S3 E13) “Once Upon a Time” and Jensen (S5 E32) "Mr. Garrity and the Graves"
• William Schallert as Nilz Baris ST (S2 E15) “The Trouble with Tribbles” and as Policeman at Accident in TZ (S1 E33) “Mr. Bevis”
• Morgan Jones as Colonel Nesvig ST (S2 E26) “Assignment: Earth” and as Trooper Dan Perry TZ (S2 E28) “Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up?” and Captain in (S4 E11) "The Parallel"
• Don Keefer as Cromwell in ST (S2 E26) “Assignment: Earth” and as Dan Hollis in TZ (S3 E8) “It’s A Good Life”, Spierto in (S4. E17) "Passage on the Lady Anne", and Fred Danziger in (S5. E20) "From Agnes - with Love"
• James Wellman as Professor Starnes in ST (S3 E4) “And The Children Shall Lead” and as 2nd Man in Line in TZ (S3 E24) “To Serve Man” (uncredited)
• Jason Wingreen as Dr. Linke in ST (S3 E12) “The Empath” and as 1960 Conductor in TZ (S1 E30) “A Stop at Willoughby”, Mr. Shuster in (S3 E10) "The Midnight Sun", and Director in (S4 E18) "The Bard" (uncredited)
• James Daly as Flint in ST (S3 E19) “Requiem For Methuselah” and as Gart Williams in TZ (S1 E30) “A Stop At Willoughby”
• Phillip Pine as Col. Green in ST (S3 E22) “The Savage Curtain” and as Virge Sterig in TZ (S1 E13) “The Four of Us Are Dying” and Leonard O'Brien in (S4 E15) "The Incredible World of Horace Ford"
• Joseph Mell as Earth Trader in ST "The Cage" (uncredited) and as Jimmy in TZ (S3 E18) "Dead Man's Shoes"

Twilight Zone Actors Who Appeared As Aliens, Robots, Etc.:

• Abraham Sofaer as The Thasian in ST (S1 E2) “Charlie X” and Melkotian (S3 E6) "Spectre of the Gun" and Dr. Stillman in TZ (S1 E35) “The Mighty Casey”
• Sherry Jackson as Andrea in ST (S1 E7) “What Are Little Girls Made Of?” and as Comfort Gatewood TZ (S3 E23) “The Last Rites of Jeff Myrtlebank”
• John Astin as Capt. John Daley in ST (S1 E13) “Conscience of the King” (uncredited) and as Charlie in TZ (S2 E23) “A Hundred Yards Over the Rim”
• Oliver McGowan as Caretaker in ST (S1 E15) “Shore Leave” and as Officer in TZ (S1 E11) “And When the Sky Was Opened” (uncredited)
• Jon Lormer as Dr. Theordore Hoskins in ST "The Cage", Tamar in (S1 E21) “The Return of the Archons” and Old Man in (S3 E8) "For the World Is Hollow and I Have Touched The Sky" and as Minister in TZ (S1 E26) “Execution”, Man in (S2 E12) "Dust, Strauss in (S3 E23) "The Last Rites of Jeff Myrtlebank", and Minister in (S4 E7) "Jess-Belle"
• Harry Townes as Reger in ST (S1 E21) “The Return of the Archons” and as Arch Hammer in TZ (S1 E13) “The Four of Us Are Dying” and Henry Ritchie in (S2 E26) "Shadow Play"
• Monty O’Grady as Council Member in ST (S1 E23) “A Taste of Armageddon” (uncredited) and Miner in (S1 E25) "The Devil in the Dark" and as Crowd Member in TZ (S2 E9) “The Trouble with Templeton” and Cameraman (S3 E24) "To Serve Man" (uncredited)
• David Armstrong as Eminiar Guard in ST (S1 E23) “A Taste of Armageddon” and Kartan in (S1 E29) "Operation: Annihilate!" (uncredited) and as Worker in TZ (S2 E27) “The Mind and the Matter” and Security Guard in (S3 E24) "To Serve Man" (uncredited) and Surgeon in (S3 E31) "The Trade-ins" and Van Driver in (S3 E35) "I Sing The Body Electric" and Passenger in (S5 E3) "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" (uncredited)
• David Opatoshu as Anan 7 in ST (S1 E23) “A Taste of Armageddon” and as Dorn in TZ (S4 E3) “Valley of the Shadow”
• Robert Sampson as Sar 6 in ST (S1 E23) “A Taste of Armageddon” and as Chris Miller in TZ (S3 E26) “Little Girl Lost”
• John Burnside as Eminiar Guard in ST (S1 E23) “A Taste of Armageddon” (uncredited) and as Soldier in TZ (S1 E19) “The Purple Testament” and Cameraman in (S3 E24) "To Serve Man" (uncredited)
• Peter Brocco as Claymare in ST (S1 E26) “Errand of Mercy” and as Mr. Marshak in TZ (S1 E13) “The Four of Us Are Dying” and Alien in (S3 E30) "Hocus-Pocus and Frisby" (uncredited)
• Arlene Martel as T’Pring in ST (S2 E1) “Amok Time” and as Girl in Bar in TZ (S1 E12) “What You Need” and Nurse in Morgue in (S2 E17) "Twenty Two"
• Celia Lovsky as T’Pau in ST (S2 E1) “Amok Time” and as Viola Draper in TZ (S5 E23) “Queen of the Nile”
• Michael Forest as Apollo in ST (S2 E2) “Who Mourns For Adonis?” and as Steve in TZ (S5 E18) “Black Leather Jackets”
• Vic Perrin as The Keeper in ST (S1 E12) "The Menagerie", Metron in (S1 E18) "Arena" (uncredited), Nomad in (S2 E3) “The Changeling” and Tharn in (S2 E4) "Mirror, Mirror" and as Martian in TZ (S1 E25) “People Are Alike All Over” and Jim - Trooper in (S5 E13) "Ring-A-Ding Girl"
• Theodore Marcuse as Korob in ST (S2 E7) “Catspaw” and as Citizen Gregory in TZ (S3 E24) “To Serve Man” and Farraday in (S3 E31) "The Trade-Ins"
• Antoinette Bower as Sylvia in ST (S2 E7) “Catspaw” and as Eve Norda in TZ (S5 E9) “Probe 7 - Over and Out”
• William O’Connell as Thelev in ST (S2 E10) “Journey to Babel” and as Field Rep 1 in TZ (S3 E36) “Cavender Is Coming”
• Julie Newmar as Eleen in ST (S2 E11) “Friday’s Child” and as Miss Devlin in TZ (S4 E14) “Of Late I Think of Cliffordville”
• Joseph Bernard as Tark in ST (S2 E14) “Wolf in the Fold” and as Marty Weiss in TZ (S3 E3) “The Shelter”
• Michael Pataki as Korax in ST (S2 E15) “The Trouble with Tribbles” and as Jeep Driver (uncredited) in TZ (S3 E15) “A Quality of Mercy”
• Joseph Ruskin as Galt in ST (S2 E16) “The Gamesters of Triskelion” and as Genie in TZ (S2 E2) “The Man in the Bottle” and Kanamit in (S3 E24) "To Serve Man" (uncredited)
• Nick Borgani as Hood in ST (S2 E17) “A Piece of the Action” (uncredited) and as Townsman in TZ (S2 E12) “Dust” (uncredited)
• Roy N. Sickner as Villager in ST (S2 E19) “A Private Little War” (uncredited) and as Bus Driver in TZ (S3 E36) “Cavender is Coming” (uncredited)
• Warren Stevens as Rojan in ST (S2 E22) “By Any Other Name” and as Nathan Bledsoe in TZ (S3 E18) “Dead Man’s Shoes”
• Jack Perkins as Master of Games in ST (S2 E25) “Bread and Circuses” and as Ground Crewman (uncredited) in TZ (S1 E18) “The Last Flight”
• Ian Wolfe as Septimus in ST (S2 E25) “Bread And Circuses” and Mr. Atoz in (S3 E23) "All Our Yesterdays" and as Schwimmer in TZ (S5 E8) “Uncle Simon”
• Robert Lansing as Gary Seven in ST (S2 E26) “Assignment: Earth” and as Commander Douglas Stansfield in TZ (S5 E5) “The Long Morrow”
• Joanne Linville as Romulan Commander ST (S3 E2) “The Enterprise Incident” and as Lavinia Godwin in TZ (S3 E4) “The Passerby”
• Bonnie Beecher as Sylvia in ST (S3 E6) “Spectre of the Gun” and as Mary Rachel in TZ (S5 E34) “Come Wander With Me”
• Rex Holman as Morgan Earp in ST (S3 E6) “Spectre of the Gun” and as Charlie Constable in TZ (S3 E4) “The Passerby”
• Charles Seel as Ed in ST (S3 E6) “Spectre of the Gun” and as Reverend Wood in TZ (S3 E19) “The Hunt”
• Liam Sullivan as Parmen in ST (S3 E10) “Plato’s Stepchildren” and as Jamie Tennyson in TZ (S2 E25) “The Silence” and Headmaster in (S3 E37) "The Changing of the Guard"
• Barry Atwater as Surak in ST (S3 E22) “The Savage Curtain” and as Les Goodman in TZ (S1 E22) “The Monster Are Due on Maple Street”
• Mariette Hartley as Zarabeth in ST (S3 E23) “All Our Yesterdays” and as Sandra Horn in TZ (S5 E15) “The Long Morrow”
• Susan Oliver as Vina in ST “The Cage” and as Teenya in TZ (S1 E25) “People Are Alike All Over The Place”

MORE: Every Twilight Zone Movie & TV Show Ranked From Worst To Best