Star Trek: What Kruge Looks Like In Real Life

When Star Trek movies are ranked from worst to best, 1984's "Star Trek III: The Search for Spock" likely ends up somewhere near the middle of the list. Its reputation may or may not have suffered because it faced the unenviable task of following a stone-cold classic, "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan." However, the movie received positive critical reviews and has arguably Star Trek's best Klingon villain: Commander Kruge. An imposing and deadly antagonist, Kruge sets his sights on the Genesis Device, kills James T. Kirk's (William Shatner) son David Markus (Merritt Butrick), and quite understandably makes a mortal enemy of Kirk himself. As a result, the final showdown between the two is one for the ages as lumbering old-school Star Trek fights go, and Kruge's fall to fiery doom is as classic as a villain death scene gets.

As it happens, there's a very famous face behind Kruge's extensive makeup. If you're even a casual fan of genre movies and shows, there's roughly a 120% chance that you've seen him before. The actor behind the Klingon villain is none other than Christopher Lloyd. 

Lloyd's best-known sci-fi role is Doc Brown in the Back to the Future movies. On the fantasy side of things, you may have seen him as Uncle Fester in "Addams Family" and "Addams Family Values," and the chilling Judge Doom in "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" Lloyd is also one of the rare actors who are in Star Wars and Star Trek. You can see how the Kruge actor fares in the galaxy far, far away on "The Mandalorian" Season 3, where he plays Commissioner Helgait — a character with some well-hidden depths. 

Though Christopher Lloyd has a long history in genre roles and comedy (his first significant role was Reverend Jim Ignatowski in the legendary sitcom "Taxi" opposite folks like Andy Kaufman and Danny Devito), he's also a very serious and seasoned theater actor with several dramatic roles on stage and screen under his belt. Perhaps because the role of Kruge provided a chance to combine his stage gravitas with genre work, he continues to hold an affinity for the character and has attended conventions to meet fans.

"It's a role that I thoroughly enjoyed," Lloyd said in a 2022 interview with StarTrek.com. "It was fun to play an evil character that has no remorse about anything he does. The conventions are very interesting. They're a lot of fun. It means a lot to the fans to come and meet the people from the shows and the films that they appreciate. It's a chance to say hello and to have something signed."