Why Narissa From Star Trek: Picard Looks So Familiar

Every "Star Trek" show features plenty of memorable characters, but few can match "Star Trek: Picard" on that particular front. As the title implies, Patrick Stewart's legendary Jean-Luc Picard is the star attraction, here, but the show features the return of several other franchise favorites, as well. From "Star Trek: The Next Generation" favorites like William Riker (Jonathan Frakes) and Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis) to "Star Trek: Voyager" breakout Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan), all sorts of classic characters turn up for their last (or, at least, latest) hurrah. 

The presence of so many "Star Trek" Hall of Famers, of course, means that the forces that oppose Picard must be formidable enough to stand out. One of the more interesting characters on the opposing front is Colonel Narissa, the ruthless Zhat Vash operative and expert infiltrator who causes no end of trouble to everyone on her way. A role like this takes plenty of acting experience and genre savvy, and the actor playing Narissa certainly has both. Here's why she looks so familiar.

Peyton List's — who shouldn't be confused with the Peyton List who plays Tory in "Cobra Kai" — first acting credit was "Blonde Girl #1" in a 2000 episode of "Sex and the City," but her acting career truly picked up the next year, when she joined the cast of CBS daytime drama "As the World Turns" as Lucy Montgomery. A longtime character in the show, Lucy is the daughter of Sierra Esteban (Played by Mary Beth Evans during List's tenure with the show) and Craig Montgomery (Hunt Block).  

Like several other characters in the long-running show, Lucy has been played by multiple actors. List took over the role from Amanda Seyfried, and was followed in the role by Spencer Grammer and Sarah Glendening. However, List remains the longest-serving Lucy actor. What's more, her tenure coincides with what may very well be the most popular era of the character, due to Lucy's romance with Dusty Donovan (Grayson McCouch) at the time. The pairing of these two characters became so popular that it has its own Wikipedia page. 

After leaving the soap opera world behind, Peyton List had major roles in the NBC lottery win drama "Windfall" and ABC's relationship comedy-drama "Big Shots," as well as numerous one-off roles in TV shows like "One Tree Hill" and "CSI." However, in 2009, she started gravitating toward genre fare by joining the all-star cast of ABC's "FlashForward." The "Lost"-style scifi drama centers on a mysterious incident that causes the vast majority of the world's population to simultaneously experience a short blackout, which causes them to see a few months into the future. List's character is Nicole Kirby, a young babysitter whose terrifying "flashforward" shows her seemingly being drowned. 

"FlashForward's" stellar cast and intriguing premise made it a potential smash hit, but unfortunately, the show was cancelled after just one season. Still, the experience was hardly a loss for List. After all, she got to work as a part of an ensemble cast that involved names like Joseph Fiennes and Dominic Monaghan ... and soon after the show was over, it became apparent that she was only getting started.

AMC's "Mad Men" is a masterpiece of period drama, and its very specific vibe requires a lot of style, grace, and dramatic chops from its cast. Imagine the challenge, then, when a role requires the actor to shine even brighter than the rest of the show's impossibly charismatic characters. Peyton List tackled this challenge when she joined the show's cast in Season 2 as Sterling Cooper secretary Jane Siegel, who immediately becomes the hot topic at the workplace ... and, perhaps unsurprisingly, clashes with office manager Joan (Christina Hendricks) on multiple occasions. 

In an interview with Baltimore Magazine, List said that playing the role was a great experience, and that many parts of Jane's journey in the show came as a complete surprise to her.  "I have an absolute blast," she said. When I came on, I had no idea what would happen to the character. They keep you guessing, even the actors. I had no idea she was going to wind up marrying the boss [Roger Sterling, played by John Slattery]. I remember sitting at that table read and everyone was like, 'What?'"

From 2013 to 2014, Peyton List starred opposite Robbie Amell in The CW's "The Tomorrow People," a sci-fi show about young people who have evolved beyond the norms of humanity, and have various psionic superpowers. These "Tomorrow People" have existed in the shadows for years, hunted down by a hostile organization called Ultra. List stars as Cara Coburn, a powerful and high-ranking member of the Tomorrow People. 

Jumping from critically acclaimed period drama like "Mad Men" to a fun sci-fi show might be counterintuitive to some, but in an interview with Nerdly, List made clear that the script appealed to her greatly, and that she absolutely loved playing a self-assured character with powers. 

"The story is exciting, entertaining and fast paced," List said. "When you're not even a part of the show and you read the script, you get blown away by it. That's how I fell for it. On top of that, I think that any girl would want to play my character. She's strong and she knows herself. She's got super powers and she's a bad ass. How cool is that? I love the character, I love the story and I love this group of people we have working on the show. I really enjoy everything about it, so it's a complete dream job for me."

Judging by the fact that List has appeared in numerous genre shows over the course of her career, it's pretty clear that she wasn't exaggerating her love for sci-fi and superhero fare. 

Because it mostly focuses on James Gordon (Ben McKenzie) and Bruce Wayne (David Mazouz) is still a few years removed from his costumed crime-fighting years, Fox's "Gotham" is free to play fast and loose with the future Batman's rogues gallery. One of the clearest examples of the show's refusal to adhere to traditional bat-standards is "Gotham's" take on Poison Ivy, Ivy Pepper. Various aging antics mean that the character has no less than three actors over the course of the show: Clare Foley, Maggie Zeha, and as the incarnation that's closest to the classic Poison Ivy character, Peyton List. 

List took over the role for the last two seasons of "Gotham," and her portrayal of the character is deadlier than ever. "Dangerous," producers of the show described her version of Ivy (per Deadline). "A live wire of crazy energy. She'll set her sights on Gotham, intent on making the city her own green paradise."

Interestingly, Ivy isn't the only DC villain List has portrayed. In 2015, she played Captain Cold's (Wentworth Miller)  younger sister, Lisa "Golden Glider" Snart, in "The Flash."