John Nowak

John Nowak is a stuntman and stunt actor who served as main stunt double for Patrick Stewart on Star Trek: The Next Generation and for Robert Picardo on Star Trek: Voyager. He also doubled Stewart in the first three TNG films. Trousers, worn by Nowak in a stunt scene in, a fencing costume, and the costume from the episode were sold off on the It's A Wrap! sale and auction on eBay. Nowak was featured in the special "Strange New Worlds: The Valley of Fire" on the Star Trek Generations (Special Edition).

A scene for the fourth season episode was scheduled to include Nowak, performing a stunt for Stewart as Locutus of Borg, but the moment was ultimately never shot. Nowak recalls, "In 'Best of Both Worlds, Part II,' they had a big stunt planned where they would capture Picard/Locutus, but at the last minute they ran out of time, so I was there, got my four hours of makeup and sat around another 12 hours in the stuff, but never got filmed as the Borg." (Starlog Science-Fiction Explorer, issue #8) Together with Tom Morga, Nowak worked as stunt supervisor on the fourth season episode "Qpid". They've trained the main cast members during the stunt and fencing rehearsal on Wednesday on Paramount Stage 9. For the episode Nowak was also on set doubling Stewart in a fight sequence with LeVar Burton's stunt double Eric Chambers. They filmed this stunt on Tuesday on Paramount Stage 9. However, this stunt was not part of the aired episode.

Nowak started in the early '70s and performed stunts in the drama The Towering Inferno (1974, with stunts by Paul Stader, Tony Brubaker, Erik Cord, Paula Crist, Nick Dimitri, Gary Epper, Tony Epper, Gene LeBell, Regina Parton, Felix Silla, and George P. Wilbur), the comedy Lucky Lady (1975, with Paul Stader and Hal Needham), the horror film The Swarm (1978, with stunts by Paul Stader and Hubie Kerns, Jr.), the thriller The One Man Jury (1978, with stunts by Dick Durock, Tom Lupo, Ralph Garrett, and Frank Orsatti), the drama Boulevard Nights (1979, with John Escobar and Rick Sawaya), and the mystery film Summer's Children (1979).

In the '80s, Nowak appeared in the action comedy Any Which Way You Can (1980, with Roy Jenson, George Murdock, Logan Ramsey, Chuck Hicks, and stunts by Robert Herron, Gene LeBell, and Nick Dimitri), performed and coordinated the stunts in the horror thriller Scream (1981), and performed in 's crime thriller Sudden Impact (1983, along with Christine Ann Baur, Carey Loftin, and Paula Moody).

Further stunt credits include the horror comedy Critters (1986, starring Scott Grimes and with Ethan Phillips and stunts by Mike Cassidy, Vince Deadrick, Jr., Bill McIntosh, Debby Lynn Ross, and John Escobar), the thriller Slam Dance (1987, starring Virginia Madsen and with stunts by Vince Deadrick, Vince Deadrick, Jr., Bernie Pock, and George P. Wilbur), the science fiction comedy Mom and Dad Save the World (1992, with stunts by Chuck Borden, George Colucci, Chuck Courtney, B.J. Davis, Christopher Doyle, Rosine "Ace" Hatem, Dan Koko, Gene LeBell, Irving E. Lewis, Dennis Madalone, Tom Morga, and Lynn Salvatori), and 's horror comedy Army of Darkness (1992, with stunts by Patricia Tallman, Chuck Borden, Christopher Doyle, George Colucci, Maria R. Kelly, Dennis Madalone, Tom Morga, and Brian J. Williams).

Beside doubling for Stewart in several Star Trek projects, Nowak also served as his stunt double in the 1998 thriller Safe House, which featured fellow Trek performers Joy Kilpatrick, Joni Avery, Rick Avery, Dan Koko, Johnny Martin, Joe Murphy, Michael J. Sarna, Warren A. Stevens, and Dennis Tracy. More recent stunt work includes the action part as Officer Smith in the 2004 comedy Big Chuck, Little Chuck, with stunts by Tony Brubaker and Chuck Hicks.