Peter Weller Played A Star Trek Villain Years Before His Into Darkness Role

The villain who everyone remembers from "Star Trek Into Darkness" is Khan "John Harrison" Noonien Singh (Benedict Cumberbatch). In the Kelvin timeline film, Khan's wrath is focused not on James T. Kirk, but on Admiral Marcus (Peter Weller).

Marcus, who's a warhawk and head of intelligence division Section 31, wants Starfleet to bring the Klingon Empire to heel. In the original "Star Trek" timeline, it was the Enterprise crew (in the classic episode "Space Seed") who discovered Khan and his other human "augment" followers. These superhumans had tried to conquer Earth in the 20th century, but were driven out and escaped Earth aboard the SS Botany Bay, going into cryosleep to weather the passing of time.

In the Kelvin timeline, Marcus reawakens Khan and puts him to work designing weapons, holding his other augment followers hostage. Khan escapes and wages a one-man war against Starfleet before fleeing to the Klingon homeworld Qo'noS. Marcus then tries to get an unsuspecting Kirk (Chris Pine) to start a war by attacking Khan on Qo'noS. (This is why you don't let 9/11 truthers write your movies.)

"Into Darkness" was not Weller's first trip to the final frontier. In 2005, he guest-starred on the penultimate episodes of "Star Trek: Enterprise" — the two parter "Demons" and "Terra Prime." Weller's "Enterprise" character was also a villain, one like Admiral Marcus in some striking ways.

"Enterprise" was a prequel series set in the 22nd century, 110 years before the original "Star Trek." In these episodes, diplomats representing the Vulcans, the Andorians, the Tellarites, and more have come to San Francisco to sign a charter founding the Coalition of Planets (a precursor alliance to the Federation).

Weller plays John Frederick Paxton, the episodes' main villain and leader of the anti-alien hate group "Terra Prime." Paxton and his followers want Earth to become an isolationist planet, believing that by pushing further into space, humanity risks invasion and/or extinction by interbreeding with aliens. So, Terra Prime hijacks a weapons array on Mars, aims it at San Francisco, and demands all aliens leave the solar system or else they'll destroy the city. Naturally, the Enterprise crew stops them.

Both "Enterprise" and "Into Darkness" are "Star Trek" as shaped by post-9/11 America. As Paxton and then Marcus, Weller plays the two villain archetypes of this era. Terra Prime are terrorists, while Marcus is Starfleet's own Dick Cheney/Donald Rumsfeld (a belligerent bureaucrat who justifies war in the name of security and glory). 

"Enterprise" first responded to 9/11 in its third season. In a controversially-aged storyline, aliens called the Xindi make a surprise attack on Earth, so the Enterprise is sent out to find and stop them. This reflected Americans' fear and reaction, that there was an external enemy who despoiled paradise and needed to be destroyed in turn. 

"Star Trek" is a series all about reaching understanding with those who are different, though. Both "Demons"/"Terra Prime" and "Into Darkness" instead look inward, reflecting the gradual understanding that America had been led astray in its collective trauma. Both Paxton and Marcus are villains who come from within; the episode is called "Demons" because Terra Prime represents those residing within humanity.

"Star Trek" came out of old school network TV — 20+ episodes a season or bust. When you have that many episodes to complete, it's no surprise to see guest stars return as different characters. Sometimes a crew will like working with a certain day player, so they'll bring them back in different parts. I also admire that Trekkies don't get so precious about "canon" whenever one actor plays multiple roles.

The original case in "Star Trek" is Mark Lenard, who played the first Romulan in "Balance of Terror" then got a long-running part as Spock's father, Sarek. In "Star Trek: The Next Generation," Armin Shimerman played different Ferengi in "The Last Outpost" and "Peak Performance," then played one full-time (and much better) as Quark on "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine." Similarly, Marc Alaimo played the first Cardassian, Macet, in "The Wounded" from "Next Generation," then played the most famous Cardassian — Gul Dukat — on "Deep Space Nine."

Jeffrey Combs, one of the most prolific "Trek" guest stars, has played three different recurring characters with three different sets of make-up: Weyoun and Brunt in "Deep Space Nine" and then Shran in "Enterprise" (see above).

It doesn't even take new make-up for a recast. Robert Duncan McNeill appeared as a one-off character in "The Next Generation" then signed on as Tom Paris in "Star Trek: Voyager." (Season 4 of "Star Trek: Lower Decks" finally acknowledged the two NcNeills with a meta-joke.)

Like McNeill, Weller played two human characters. With no rainbow skin or forehead ridges to distinguish them, Paxton and Marcus look almost identical. When you've got an actor of Peter Weller's caliber, though, why not use them more than once?