Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home's Infamous Extra Story Isn't Just Iconic - It's Ironic
Even though Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and the crew of the starship Enterprise sought out new life and new civilizations in the classic "Star Trek" TV and movie series from 1966 to 1994, one of their strangest encounters came not with an alien being but with a human on Earth in "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home" in 1986.
Directed by legendary Spock actor Leonard Nimoy, "The Voyage Home" finds the core crew members of the Enterprise returning to their home planet and city of San Francisco in the past to find the humpback whale species, which holds the only hope of communicating with an alien race to avert Earth's destruction. In addition to Shatner and Nimoy, all the core stars from the classic "Star Trek" movies and TV series are featured in "The Voyage Home," including DeForest Kelly (McCoy), Nichelle Nichols (Uhura), James Doohan (Scotty), Walter Koenig (Chekov), and George Takei (Sulu).
Other than the stars, perhaps the most memorable character to appear in the film is the passerby played by Layla Sarakalo, who wasn't even an actor. According to the Memory Alpha "Star Trek" wiki, Sarakalo was a fashion designer who wandered onto the set of "The Voyage Home" after her car was towed from the premises. Showing a bit of ingenuity, Sarakalo stayed on set and played an extra in "The Voyage Home" to earn money to pay for her car's towing fee. Ironically, Sarakalo delayed going home by appearing in a movie that was titled "The Voyage Home."
Sarakalo ad-libbed a line in her brief scene
The thing that made Layla Sarakalo's appearance in "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home" so memorable was that she ignored the production's orders to only interact with the actors but not speak on camera. In the scene, a befuddled Chekov and Uhura ask various people on a busy San Francisco street where the naval base in Alameda is because they are seeking, as Chekov says in his accent, "nuclear wessels."
Most of the extras — including one dressed as a motorcycle cop — follow instructions and do not answer Chekov and Uhura. Sarakalo, though, stops and answers, "Ooh, I don't know if I know the answer to that. I think it's across the bay in Alameda," before moving on. Chekov then says, "That's what I said — Alameda. I know that." Although Sarakalo's interaction with Chekov and Uhura lasts just over 10 seconds, the improvised dialogue by the background artist was memorable enough for Nimoy to include in the movie.
Memory Alpha adds that Sarakalo's identity remained a mystery until 2005, when the fashion designer came forward to talk about how her brief "Star Trek" movie moment came to be. Among Sarakalo's professional accomplishments — which don't officially include acting, as "The Voyage Home" was her only screen appearance — is artwork she made based on Stephen Hawking's name and image, which she created with the iconic scientist's permission.