William Morgan Sheppard
From Memory Alpha, the free Star Trek reference
(written from a Production point of view)
William Morgan Sheppard (born 24 August 1932; age 77), sometimes credited as W. Morgan Sheppard, is a British actor who played four characters throughout the Star Trek franchise. He most recently played the head minister of the Vulcan Science Council in 2009's Star Trek. [1][2]
An exceptionally versatile character actor, outside of Star Trek he is probably best known for his role as Blank Reg on Max Headroom (starring Matt Frewer in the title role). He is also known for his portrayal of Confederate General Isaac Trimble in the films Gettysburg and Gods and Generals, both of which co-starred Andrew Prine and Billy Campbell.
Born in London, England, and educated in Ireland, Sheppard graduated from London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in 1958. He then spent twelve years as Associate Artist with the Royal Shakespeare Company. He is the father of Star Trek: Voyager guest actor Mark A. Sheppard, born in 1964.
Sheppard made his feature film debut with a supporting role in the 1962 British crime drama Strongroom. Three years later, he began appearing in the original, Tony Award-winning Broadway production of The Persecution and Assassination of Marat as Performed by the Inmates of the Asylum of Charenton Under the Direction of the Marquis de Sade, which ran for 145 performances from December 1965 through April 1966.[3] Sheppard also appeared in the 1967 British film adaptation of the play.
In 1974, Sheppard appeared with future Star Trek: The Next Generation co-star Patrick Stewart in a Royal Shakespeare Company production of Antony and Cleopatra. The production was video-taped and aired on US television in January 1975. Sheppard and Stewart worked together again on the films The Doctor and the Devils (1985) and Lady Jane (1986) before reteaming for the TNG episode "The Schizoid Man".
Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Sheppard appeared on numerous British (and later American) television programs, mini-series and movies. Some of his film credits during this time include The Duellists (1977, starring Keith Carradine), Hawk the Slayer (1980), The Sea Wolves (1980), The Elephant Man (1980), The Keep (1983), Lassiter (1984, co-starring Ed Lauter), Cry Freedom (1987, featuring Nick Tate), and Lucky Stiff (1988, co-starring Larry Cedar, Jeff Kober, Leigh J. McCloskey and Bill Quinn). He also starred in the 1988 cult favorite, Elvira, Mistress of the Dark.
In the early 1990s, Sheppard had supporting roles in films like David Lynch's Wild at Heart (1990), the 1992 comedy There Goes the Neighborhood (DS9 guest stars Ron Taylor, Jonathan Banks, Harris Yulin and Lee Arenberg), and the 1993 Stephen King horror film Needful Things (also featuring Star Trek VI co-star Robert Easton). His more recent film credits include the acclaimed 2006 period thriller The Prestige (co-starring Daniel Davis) and the 2007 blockbuster Transformers (written by Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci). In the latter film, Sheppard portrayed Captain Archibald Witwicky, the explorer who stumbled upon Megatron and grandfather of the film's central character, Sam Witwicky.
In addition to his Star Trek appearances, Sheppard has guest-starred on such popular TV shows as MacGyver, Murder, She Wrote, and Frasier (starring Kelsey Grammer). He also appeared in the final episode of Quantum Leap, the hit science-fiction series which starred Scott Bakula and Dean Stockwell. The episode also featured Bruce McGill, Richard Herd, Stephen McHattie, Susan Diol, and Dan Butler.
He appeared in two roles on the sci-fi series Babylon 5 and was an extremely close runner-up for the role of Ambassador G'Kar on the show, though the role eventually went to Andreas Katsulas. In addition, he had a recurring role as the holographic AI program known as "The Professor" on the series seaQuest DSV, alongside Richard Herd. He was also one of several Star Trek actors who voiced characters on the animated series Gargoyles, including playing the father of Jonathan Frakes's character, David Xanatos.
Recent TV credits include guest spots on Charmed (with Richard Lynch), Gilmore Girls (with Gregg Henry), and Criminal Minds (with Jennifer Hetrick). In addition, he appeared in an episode of Alias, the popular spy series created by J.J. Abrams, the director and producer of 2009's Star Trek.
[edit] Star Trek appearances
 Vulcan science minister |
