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Star Trek: John Rhys-Davies is ready to return as Leonardo Da Vinci

John Rhys-Davies only got to do two episodes of Star Trek, and that isn’t fair.

Star Trek
Image credit: Paramount

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John Rhys-Davies has been to Middle Earth, the depths of Atlantis, and a lost world of dinosaurs. The legendary actor has had a remarkable career filled with memorable performances, but it’s only missing one thing – another journey with Starfleet.

During a spotlight panel at Megacon 2024, Rhys-Davies was asked if he had a favorite fandom. Without missing a beat, the award-winning actor answered, “I wish I had done more Star Trek.”

Did you forget that John Rhys-Davies was on Star Trek? If you did, it’s not your fault. The Welsh actor only appeared for two episodes on Star Trek: Voyager, where he played a holodeck version of Leonardo di Vinci. The Renaissance era artist was an unofficial advisor to Captain Janeway.

At the time, Rhys-Davies was excited by the role, and told the Chicago Tribune that he was looking forward to becoming a recurring character. Unfortunately, that wasn’t meant to be, and Rhys-Davies hasn’t been seen on Star Trek since 1997. Star Trek: Lower Decks brought back the holodeck version of Leonardo di Vinci, with a design matching his appearance on Star Trek: Voyager. However, the producers opted to recast the role, using Gary Cole as a voice actor.

Speaking to the crowd at Megacon, Rhys-Davies said that one of his favorite parts about his experience on Star Trek: Voyager was watching his castmates work their magic. “It’s wonderful just watching your fellow actors do wonderful things and getting away with it.”

Who knows, maybe Starfleet will beam John Rhys-Davies up for another voyage one day.


Space may be the final frontier, but there's no end to Popverse's love of the Star Trek universe. Hop aboard the starship Enterprise with our Star Trek watch order, explore strange new worlds with our upcoming Star Trek TV shows and movies list, seek out the new life of the franchise, and boldly go where no Star TRek film has ever gone before - with Quentin Tarantino?