Trek Alum Land New Roles & Win Oscar

We like to keep tabs on familiar -- and not-so-familiar -- Star Trek names and then fill you in on what they're doing now. Four such folks are in the news: Terry O'Quinn, Kirstie Alley, John de Lancie and Rob Legato.

Legato, who earned Emmy Awards for his work as part of the visual/special effects teams on The Next Generationand Deep Space Nine, won an Oscar in the Best Visual Effects category for his efforts on Titanic, and he added another Academy Award to his collection last week, again in the Best Visual Effects category, this time for Hugo. Trek fans may also recall that he directed the FX-heavy TNG episodes "Menage a Troi" and "The Nth Degree" and also the DS9 hour "If Wishes Were Horses."

Meanwhile, TNG's rascally Q, de Lancie, is confirmed for a guest shot on the show The Secret Circle. According to TV Guide.com, de Lancie will plan Royce Armstrong, an Elder and the reclusive grandfather of the character Jake. "Royce comes out of hiding to reveal disturbing conspiracy theories about the events of 16 years ago," the site reported, "and how the present-day circle is involved." De Lancie's episode will air later this season.

O'Quinn may be best known for his role as the title baddie in The Stepfather and his long run on Lost, but he made a mark on Trek with his role as Admiral Erik Pressman in the TNG episode "The Pegasus." The Emmy Award winner will star in an ABC pilot entitled 666 Park Avenue, in which he'll play the owner of a haunted building. He'll be joined on the show by Rachael Taylor and Dave Annable. And, just connecting the dots here, Taylor recently wrapped production on the film Loft, which stars Star Trek's new Dr. McCoy, Karl Urban.

Finally, there's Kirstie Alley. The actress first gained fame as Saavik in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, and now she's set for The Manzanis. The comedy pilot for ABC will find Alley reuniting with her longtime Cheers co-star Rhea Perlman.