John de Lancie

John de Lancie (born March 20, 1948, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American actor whose career spans over five decades and more than 150 film and television projects — but it is science fiction where he truly made his mark.

Trained at Juilliard, de Lancie is best known for his portrayal of Q, a chaotic, near-omnipotent being who became one of the most beloved antagonists in the Star Trek universe, appearing across The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, Lower Decks, Picard, and Strange New Worlds. Remarkably, he was both the first and last credited guest star seen in Star Trek: The Next Generation, bookending the entire series.

His sci-fi footprint extends well beyond the Trek franchise. He played the recurring antagonist Frank Simmons in Stargate SG-1, CIA Director Allen Shapiro in the Doctor Who spinoff Torchwood: Miracle Day, and has appeared in Battlestar Galactica, among other genre projects.

Off-screen, de Lancie has remained deeply embedded in science fiction culture. In 1996, he co-founded Alien Voices with Leonard Nimoy, an audio production company that brought classic sci-fi stories to life, and he co-wrote the novel I, Q with author Peter David. He also lent his distinctive voice to Discord in My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic — a character directly inspired by Q.