The Star Trek Character You Likely Forgot Ashley Judd Played
"Star Trek: The Next Generation" is known for its beloved cast of core characters, including Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton), Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis), and Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart), all of whom reprised their roles on the Easter egg-filled series "Star Trek: Picard." There are also plenty of recurring characters that have made a mark on the series, including Ro Laren (Michelle Forbes), Moriarty (Daniel Davis), and the popular Guinan, who was played by Whoopi Goldberg in 28 episodes. But when thinking about "Star Trek: The Next Generation" cameos, there is one big name that fans may have forgotten about amid the adventures in the final frontier.
Ashley Judd came aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise in 1991 during Season 5, Episode 2, "Darmok." She played Ensign Robin Lefler, an engineer who works alongside Geordi, assisting him during the fight against a Tamarian deep space cruiser. Robin reappears during Season 5, Episode 6, "The Game," and gets recognized for her engineering skills by receiving a promotion to mission specialist. While working hard to keep the U.S.S. Enterprise in tip-top shape, she also finds herself in a brief romantic relationship with Wesley Crusher (Wil Wheaton). The episode delves into her backstory, including how she grew up around tech equipment, which has led to her engineering career.
And being cast in "Star Trek: The Next Generation" was a whirlwind experience for Judd.
Judd didn't originally audition for Star Trek: The Next Generation
Ashley Judd told Anderson Live that she was asked to be on "Star Trek: The Next Generation" while auditioning for another project. "I auditioned for something else that day, and they started whispering about me, which is usually a good sign that you're like gonna go in and see the producers, the head of Studio, or something. And they said, 'We know you didn't come in for this, but may we cast you in 'Star Trek' right now?'" she said, adding that they wanted her to go directly to wardrobe to prepare parts of her costume.
"Star Trek: The Next Generation," Season 5, Episode 6, "The Game" ends with Wesley Crusher rescuing Robin Lefler from a game that connects to the brain, taking control of much of the U.S.S. Enterprise crew. Robin then bids farewell to Wesley who is headed back to Starfleet Academy, also marking the end of Judd's "Star Trek: The Next Generation" career.
According to the official Star Trek website, this was Judd's first professional acting role. While her sister Wynonna and mother Naomi took over country music, Judd was taking the acting world by storm, working on big films including "A Time to Kill" and later playing Tris' (Shailene Woodley) mother Natalie in the "Divergent" film series. She told Roger Ebert in 1993, "I've known from the time I was about 7 years old that I was meant to be an actress ... I know how to figure out what a scene is about, what it means to me, who the other people are to me and what I'm doing."