Galaxy Quest/Characters
Jason Nesmith/Captain McTaggart
An actor who once starred as the captain in a sci-fi show named Galaxy Quest. He's arrogant, seemingly a jerk to his costars, and is stuck in the past, clinging to the old glory days of the show, enabled by the devoted fans who love his showboating antics. At the beginning of the movie, at yet another convention, Nesmith is confronted with how pathetic he has become and drinks himself into a stupor. It's in this state that he encounters the aliens and unwittingly agrees to his first real mission.
- Badass Normal: All those years of rolling around a soundstage covered in dirt really paid off.
- The Captain
- The Charmer: With his fans, yes. With his fellow actors... not so much.
- Guile Hero: He's actually got a good head for tactics.
- The Hero
- Hidden Depths
- The Kirk
- What Have I Done: After he tells Mathaza the truth about the show not being real.
Gwen DeMarco/Lt. Tawny Madison
Another star of the show Galaxy Quest now trapped on the convention circuit. Gwen played the show's fanservice character and is resigned to the idea that she never gets taken seriously. On the show, she had superfluous job of repeating the computer's statements and repeating the orders of the captain to the computer, so when the aliens build a real version of the ship, she gets stuck with that job again. There's some indication that Gwen and Jason were once genuinely attracted to each other but it died quickly once Gwen figured out what kind of guy Jason really was.
- Action Girl: Though not in the old show, much to her chagrin.
- Bridge Bunny
- Communications Officer
- The Lancer: Alexander is the lancer on the show, but in real life Gwen fills the role.
- Impossibly Low Neckline: And she HATES it!
- Limited Advancement Opportunities: She just repeats what the computer says, and she HATES that too!
- Sarcastic Devotee
Alexander Dane/Dr. Lazarus of Tev'Meck.
Lazarus is a "Mak'tar", a member of an alien species renowned for their intellect. He is deeply intelligent and has psionic abilities. Additionally, he has a non-standard weapon and a pretentious catchphrase: "By Grabthar's hammer, by the suns of Warvan, you shall be avenged!". A trained Shakespearean British actor, Alexander resents both his catchphrase and being typecast.
- Always Second Best: To Jason
- Catch Phrase: "By Grabthar's hammer, by the suns of Warvan, you shall be avenged!"
- Deadpan Snarker
- Hidden Heart of Gold
- Human Alien: Subverted; the alien part really is just makeup.
- Jerkass Facade
- Not So Above It All
- The Spock: Character on whom he's based.
Tommy Webber/Lt. Laredo
Tommy parodies an actor in the "boy wonder" role, who has aged considerably since he was on the show. His role as Laredo is essentially that of the pilot, but when he flies the real Protector out, it takes him most of the film (and carefully studying his old Galaxy Quest episodes) to remember how to do it right.
- Ace Pilot: In the show; not so much in real life.
- Kid Appeal Character
- Teen Genius
- Took a Level in Badass: "Pedal to the medal!"
Fred Kwan/Tech Sgt. Chen.
Chen is in charge of the engine room and the operator of the "digital conveyor" (a version of the Star Trek transporter). He acts in a detached manner and is completely unfazed by the strange and often disturbing events that occur.
- Bunny Ears Lawyer
- Cloudcuckoolander
- Grease Monkey
- Fake Nationality: "Kwan's not even my real name!"
- Lovable Nerd: In reality, he's only a Hollywood nerd.
- MacGyvering
- Mr. Fixit
- Obfuscating Stupidity: Or maybe not; frankly, it's hard to tell.
Guy Fleegman/Crewman #6
An actor who played an extra in one episode of Galaxy Quest. He suffers from paranoia that he will end up in a Red Shirt's natural state during the film. The character is based on real-life Star Trek actor Guy Vardaman, who played an uncredited background character.
- Adorkable
- Ascended Extra: From no name red shirt to chief of security in-show, of course.
- Butt Monkey
- The Chick
- Genre Savvy: "Didn't you guys ever watch the show?"
- Only One Name
- Plucky Comic Relief: Possibly, according to Kwan.
- Red Shirt: However, he's never killed off!