‘Star Trek’s Command Performances: 21 Captains to Remember From the Franchise
While the Star Trek franchise has its cornerstone captains, like William Shatner‘s Kirk, there are so many more that have commanded the screen over the years. Below, we take a look at some of the other notable captains throughout the franchise.
TV Guide Magazine’s Star Trek: The Captains Special Issue is available for order online now at StarTrek.TVGM2026.com, and for purchase on newsstands nationwide.
Christopher Pike (Sean Kenney), Star Trek: The Original Series - 'The Menagerie'
Confined to a wheelchair and communicating only through blinking lights and electronic tones, Pike becomes the emotional center of Spock’s most radical act of loyalty. As the franchise later revisits in Discovery and Strange New Worlds, Pike was critically injured by delta-ray radiation while saving the lives of young cadets. In this Original Series episode, Spock hijacks the Enterprise in order to give his ex-captain a chance at a better life.
Gorn Captain (Ted Cassidy), Star Trek: The Original Series - 'Arena'
Yes, the Gorn throws punches slower than Godzilla, but Kirk’s lizard-like combatant is deadly dangerous. Forced to fight by the highly advanced Metrons, he battles valiantly until Kirk builds a crazy bamboo cannon out of pure space-Western determination and gets the upper hand…and then refuses to kill him. “You’ll have to get your entertainment someplace else!” he shouts to the Metrons, who, along with Kirk’s crew, appreciates his mercy.
Ronald Tracey (Morgan Woodward), Star Trek: The Original Series - 'Dagger of the Mind'
So, what do you do when a fellow captain interferes with a planet’s people and acts like the Prime Directive no longer applies to him? You engage him in a battle almost to the death to defend everything Starfleet represents.
Matt Decker (William Windom), Star Trek: The Original Series - 'The Doomsday Machine'
“Don’t you think I know that?” Decker barks when Kirk reminds him his entire crew is dead, all victims of a mysterious planet killer. Decker overrides orders, seizes command of the Enterprise, and pilots a shuttlecraft right into the machine…which gives Kirk the idea of how to destroy it. Decker dies, but he dies a hero’s death.
Edward Jellico (Ronny Cox), Star Trek: The Next Generation - 'Chain of Command'
Jellico arrives on the Enterprise like a man already irritated by its inefficiency, and he has no patience. Riker practically rolls his eyes hard enough to alter the ship’s gravitational pull. Cox is perfectly cast, bringing the same cool authority he had in RoboCop, but when Picard is tortured, Jellico holds the line, makes the difficult calls, and brings our man home.
Morgan Bateson (Kelsey Grammer), Star Trek: The Next Generation - 'Cause and Effect'
It’s a case of déjà vu as Captain Bateson’s ship, the Boseman, crashes into and destroys the Enterprise again and again in an unexplained repeating time loop. When Data finally breaks the loop, Bateson discovers he and his crew are nearly 100 years into the future. He’s now one very confused captain.
Benjamin Maxwell (Bob Gunton), Star Trek: The Next Generation - 'The Wounded'
Maxwell, convinced he’s still fighting a war that’s long over, sings “The Minstrel Boy” as he destroys Cardassian ships. Gunton’s controlled intensity never tips into caricature in a performance that’s mighty compelling.
Rudolph Ransom (John Savage), Star Trek: Voyager - 'Equinox'
There’s nothing scarier than a man who sounds reasonable when he commits mass murder. Dealing with a desperate situation, Ransom rationalizes killing loads of aliens and converting their bodies into fuel, something Captain Janeway certainly cannot condone. When Ransom finds his conscience at the end, he goes down with his own ship.
Lorca (Jason Isaacs), Star Trek: Discovery
Lorca wins trust quietly, but any fan who rewatches his early scenes will see that he was always bad to the bone. There’s the edge in his voice, his comfort with brutality, and the sense that he’s operating under different assumptions than everyone else. And when the big reveal comes—that the Lorca on Discovery is actually an evil mirror-universe version of Lorca—it has that much more impact.
Saru (Doug Jones), Star Trek: Discovery
The first-ever Kelpien to enter Starfleet, Saru’s species is genetically programmed to see the coming of death. Needless to say, that comes in handy for a commander who is appointed acting captain after deposing the evil Captain Lorca, forces a truce with the Klingons, and helps end a war.
Philippa Georgiou (Michelle Yeoh), Star Trek: Discovery
Whether inspiring loyalty or dread, the character known as Her Most Imperial Majesty, Mother of the Fatherland, Overlord of Vulcan, Dominus of Qo’noS, Regina Andor, Philippa Georgiou Augustus Iaponius Centarius operates with—and weaponizes—her absolute authority. In a mirror universe, one casual order from Georgiou results in execution, torture, or promotion—depending on her mood. Yeoh makes it look effortless. And merciless.
Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan), Star Trek: Picard
Seven’s rise to captain feels less like a promotion than destiny catching up. Across Voyager, Picard and beyond, she evolves from disconnected ex-Borg struggling with humanity into leader material. “This is where I belong,” she says, and we know it’s true. When she takes command of the Enterprise-G, the moment feels earned not just by the character, but by Ryan, who is now one of modern Trek’s defining faces.
Rios (Santiago Cabrera), Star Trek: Picard
Watching Rios is a bit of a hoot. There are multiple holographic versions of him debating tactics, trading sarcastic remarks and complicating everything about his command. And yet, somehow it all works!
Liam Shaw (Todd Stashwick), Star Trek: Picard
Shaw, commanding the USS Titan-A, treats Picard and Riker like two retirees who wandered onto his ship expecting admiration and drinks. At dinner, he needles “the old man and his number one,” but it takes a crisis for him to admit his own survivor guilt and anger at Picard for his part in the war against the Borg.
Chakotay (Robert Beltran), Star Trek: Prodigy
In Prodigy, while Dal and the younger crew panic around him, Chakotay lowers his voice instead of raising it. He leads with patience and quiet authority. Beltran arguably gets more room to develop Chakotay in Prodigy Season 2 than across all of Voyager‘s seven seasons.
Sonya Gomez (Lycia Naff), Star Trek: Lower Decks
From spilling hot chocolate on Picard to commanding the USS Archimedes, Gomez’s return is the kind of full-circle promotion (and callback) longtime Trek fans love. During the Lower Decks crisis, Gomez barks orders across the bridge with the confidence of someone who absolutely deserves the center seat.
Jack Ransom (Jerry O'Connell), Star Trek: Lower Decks
Starfleet’s biggest overachiever and most unexpected mentor, Ransom thrives on enthusiasm and physical prowess, practicing what fans call “Kirk-Fu” fighting moves. Beneath the flexing is a genuinely effective officer. And how Trek-tastic is it that O’Connell is married to Rebecca Romijn from Strange New Worlds?
Hiraku Sulu (George Takei), Star Trek: The Undiscovered Country
“Helm, prepare to lower shields,” he says calmly while maneuvering the Excelsior, the shiniest new ship in the galaxy, exactly where it needs to be to save the day—and all his old Enterprise comrades. It’s a moment Kirk notices, which is key. Kirk explicitly acknowledges Sulu’s command success, a massive moment of recognition for the character—and Takei.
Clark Terrell (Paul Winfield), Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
Controlled by Khan’s Ceti eels—creatures that burrow into the brain and override free will—Terrell drifts in and out of awareness. Mr. Chekov watches in horror as Terrell realizes exactly what’s happening and then raises his phaser and ultimately turns it on himself. Winfield’s expression as Terrell dies by his own hand remains haunting and heartbreaking.
John Harriman (Alan Ruck), Star Trek Generations
When the harried Harriman takes command of the Enterprise-B on its maiden voyage, he immediately discovers the ship is nowhere near ready for an actual emergency. The crisis escalates, so Kirk takes over, and then Kirk seemingly perishes on Harriman’s watch almost right out of the gate. Not exactly the first day on the job anyone hopes for!
Styles (James B. Sikking), Star Trek III: The Search for Spock
Styles is arrogance incarnate. Sikking plays it to the hilt, with a riding crop “swagger stick” in his hand. But when Excelsior’s revolutionary transwarp drive wheezes instead of taking flight (thanks to Scotty’s engine-uity), leaving the Enterprise to escape space dock, Styles’ ego deflates appropriately.
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Ron Tracey was from "The Omega Glory". Morgan Woodward played Dr Simon Van Gelder in "The Dagger of the Mind'
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