Star Trek fan acts out dream role

John Carrigan told his father that he would one day appear in Star Trek

British actor and Star Trek fan John Carrigan is making a name for himself through his involvement in internet episodes of the cult sci-fi show.

Mr Carrigan, from Tonbridge in Kent, plays Captain Kargh of the Klingons in Star Trek: New Voyages.

A pilot show and two episodes have been made available for internet download, while two more are also in production.

The web series is made by professional actors and crew, many of whom who are also dedicated Trekkies.

It is a labour of love as the show is funded by the fans of the 1960s series and its spin-offs and films.

Some of the original stars have also made appearances.

"Everyone's put such a lot into this," said Mr Carrigan.

30m downloads

"When you see the sets and the level of acting and the special effects, no way does it fall anywhere below anything you can see on screen today.

"It had 30 million downloads on the internet without any advertising.

"Paramount's Enterprise series had three million viewers, so it really speaks for itself how popular what we did was."

The internet episodes pick up where the first Star Trek series finished.

"There were originally 79 episodes and then they were cancelled.

"We pick up on year four of the five-year mission as if it was still back in 1969, but with today's special effects."

The original Star Trek series spawned spin-offs The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine and Voyager, as well as 10 movies.