Why Obel Wochak From Star Trek: Starfleet Academy Looks So Familiar

As with most "Star Trek" series in recent years, the cast of "Star Trek: Starfleet Academy" is a mix of A-listers, veteran character actors, and little-known up and comers. Also continuing a longtime franchise tradition, some of the characters are regular humans while others are members of alien races that require varying degrees of makeup and prosthetics — sometimes resulting in "Star Trek" characters who look completely different in real life. 

To that end, you might not realize that the actor who plays Obel Wochak in "Starfleet Academy" is someone who you've likely seen in a number of other roles. The actor's name is David Keeley, who makes his "Star Trek" franchise debut with his Season 1, Episode 4 appearance as the Klingon general who has a romantic history with Chancellor Ake (Holly Hunter). But it's far from Keeley's first sci-fi rodeo, as the actor has appeared in several other genre projects, among the many other credits to his name. 

The roles that typically go to the top of any biography of actor David Keeley include the 2004 remake of "The Manchurian Candidate" — a Denzel Washington flop that's still worth watching — the TV show "Warehouse 13," and the oft-forgotten "Total Recall 2070" series. As you'll notice, two of those three are sci-fi projects like "Star Trek: Starfleet Academy." Other credits Keeley has in the genre are the TV series "Impulse," "Codename: Eternity," "Robocop" (another flop, adapted to TV from the original '80s blockbuster), and "Eerie, Indiana: The Other Dimension." 

That said, Keeley has also worked in just about every genre imaginable, with roles that go all the way back to two TV movies in the 1980s. Other noteworthy TV credits of Keeley's include "Suits," "Kung-Fu: The Legend Continues," "Heartland," and "Designated Survivor." 

Primarily sticking to the small screen and garnering the occasional TV movie role, Keeley has taken few theatrical gigs, with "The Manchurian Candidate" being the one most worthy of note. Keeley is also an occasional voice actor, appearing in the original 2001 "Devil May Cry" video game as Nelo Angelo, later revealed as Dante's brother, Vergil, as well as the cartoons "Ultra Force" and "Cadillacs and Dinosaurs."