Nicolas Coster

Nicolas Coster  is the actor who portrayed Admiral Anthony Haftel in, a third season episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. He was born as Nicolas Dwynn Coster in Hampstead, London, England, UK and attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London.

Coster is most well known for his roles on various daytime soap operas, most notably his Daytime Emmy-nominated role as Lionel Lockridge on NBC's Santa Barbara from 1984 through 1988 and again between 1990 and 1993. Among his co-stars on this series were fellow Star Trek alumni Judith Anderson, Ian Abercrombie, Henry Darrow, Samantha Eggar, Rosemary Forsyth, Ellen Geer, Gregory Itzin, Lenore Kasdorf, Janet MacLachlan, William Schallert, Louise Sorel, and Ray Walston. Coster was also a regular on other soaps such as As the World Turns, Another World (and its spin-off, Somerset), and One Life to Live. He also had a recurring role as David Warner on the sitcom The Facts of Life. His character on the show should of course not be confused with the actor of the same name, whom Coster appeared with in the 1979 film The Concorde: Airport '79 in 1979 (along with Ed Begley, Jr. and Robin Gammell).

He began his Hollywood career with small, uncredited roles in the 1953 films Titanic (with Hamilton Camp) and The Robe (starring Jean Simmons, Jay Robinson, and Michael Ansara). He has since appeared in such films as All the President's Men (1976, with Stephen Collins, F. Murray Abraham, Gene Dynarski, Paul Lambert and Richard Herd), Joseph Sargent's MacArthur (1977, with Allan Miller, Kenneth Tobey, and Garry Walberg), The Big Fix (1978, with F. Murray Abraham and Fritz Weaver), The Electric Horseman (1979, with James B. Sikking), Stir Crazy (1980, with Joel Brooks and Jonathan Banks), Reds (1981, with Paul Sorvino, Ian Wolfe), Big Business (1988, with John Vickery and Roy Brocksmith), How I Got Into College (1989, with Charles Rocket), and Betsy's Wedding (1990). In the latter film, he and the late Bibi Besch played husband and wife (with Camille Saviola co-starring). He has also made appearances on such TV shows as Charlie's Angels, Little House on the Prairie, The Rockford Files, Dallas, The Incredible Hulk, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, Quincy, Magnum, P.I., Knight Rider, L.A. Law, Murder, She Wrote, MacGyver, Law & Order, Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, 3rd Rock from the Sun, and Judging Amy.

Coster has co-starred with at least three of the five Star Trek captains outside of Star Trek. In 1978, he and Kate Mulgrew had roles in the epic mini-series The Word, along with Diana Muldaur, Nehemiah Persoff, Allan Miller, Christopher Lloyd, and Jonathan Banks. The following year, he appeared on an episode of Mulgrew's Mrs. Columbo. In 1983, he made a guest-appearance on William Shatner's series T.J. Hooker, a series which also starred James Darren and Richard Herd. He then went on to appear with Star Trek: Enterprise's Scott Bakula on an episode of the short-lived Mr. & Mrs. Smith in 1996.

Other regular Trek performers whom Coster has appeared with outside of the franchise include LeVar Burton (in the 1980 film The Hunter, along with Tracey Walter) and Terry Farrell (in the 1986 TV movie Beverly Hills Madam, with Seymour Cassel and William Marshall).