Summary

• John Noble voices the villainous Diviner in Star Trek: Prodigy, a show with teenage protagonists and a complex time travel plot.
• The show features two versions of Noble’s character, the future Diviner and his past self, astronomer Ilthuran.
• Noble’s extensive career includes roles in Fringe, Lord of the Rings films, and various TV shows and video games.

With his distinctive and sometimes menacing voice, Australian actor John Noble lends his considerable talents to Star Trek: Prodigy, providing the voice for the villainous Diviner. Following the ragtag crew of the USS Protostar, Star Trek: Prodigy is the first Star Trek to be centered on teenage protagonists and geared toward a younger audience. Still, Prodigy has a lot for adult Trek fans to love, too. With a complex time travel plotline that incorporates several elements and characters from Star Trek: Voyager and other Trek shows, Star Trek: Prodigy tells an incredibly fun and compelling story.

With an ensemble cast composed of Dal R’El (Brett Gray), Gywndala (Ella Purnell), Rok-Tahk (Rylee Alazraqui), Zero (Angus Imrie), Jankom Pog (Jason Mantzoukas), and Murf (Dee Bradley Baker), Star Trek: Prodigy has sent its young explorers on some truly incredible adventures. As Gwyn grows closer to her new friends, she begins to question the beliefs of her father, the Diviner. A member of the Vau N’Akat species, the time-traveling Diviner has spent years searching for the USS Protostar as a means to save his people. John Noble not only adds gravitas to everything the Diviner says but also makes his emotions regarding his daughter believable.

Because of time travel, two versions of John Noble’s character exist in
Star Trek: Prodigy’s
present — the Diviner from the future and the man he was before the civil war that destroyed his civilization, an astronomer named Ilthuran​​​​​.

John Noble’s Career Before Star Trek: Prodigy

Australian actor John Noble has had what some might call a noble career.

Perhaps best known for portraying Walter Bishop on Fringe and Denethor in the Lord of the Rings films, John Noble has appeared in films and television shows since the late 1980s. Like many Star Trek actors, Noble’s career began on the stage, and he made his film debut in the 1988 horror film The Dreaming. From there, Noble went on to star in numerous films and television series, including a recurring stint on the Australian medical drama All Saints. Noble also popped up in episodes of Stargate SG-1, 24, The Good Wife, and DC’sLegends of Tomorrow.

Fringe
has several connections to the
Star Trek
franchise. The show was created by J. J. Abrams, Alex Kurtzman, and Roberto Orci, who have all worked on various
Trek
projects. Leonard Nimoy even appeared in
Fringe
as Walter Bishop’s former lab partner, Dr. William Bell.

After starring in all 100 episodes of Fringe, John Noble had significant roles as Henry Parrish on Sleepy Hollow and Morland Holmes on Elementary. Noble also appeared as Sam Butcher, the father of Karl Urban’s Billy Butcher, in one episode of Amazon Prime’s The Boys. Noble voiced the Scarecrow in Batman: Arkham Knight and has had numerous voice-over roles in other video games and animated series. Noble has several projects currently in the works, including an unknown role in season 2 of Apple TV+’s Severance.

Star Trek: Prodigy’s Different Versions of Ilthuran / The Diviner Explained

John Noble voiced both the young Ilthuran of the present and the Diviner of the future.

In Star Trek: Prodigy season 1, the Diviner was set up as the show’s main villain, the cruel overlord of the Tars Lamora prison colony. A member of the Vau N’Akat species, the Diviner had traveled back in time to search for the USS Protostar, which he believed was the key to saving his people. Unsure if he would be able to complete his mission before he died, the Diviner created a clone daughter named Gwyndala. When Dal and his fellow prisoners discovered the Protostar, they held Gwyn hostage on the ship. She eventually learned that her father had lied to her and Gwyn became an integral member of the Protostar’s ragtag young crew.

Although another Vau N’Akat known as the Vindicator, aka Asencia (Jameela Jamil), killed the Diviner, the younger version of him was still alive on the Vau N’Akat’s home planet of Solum. In Star Trek: Prodigy season 2, Gwyn encountered this younger version of her father, who was a wide-eyed astronomer named Ilthuran. Ilthuran dreamed of life on other planets, and he eventually became a unifying voice for the people of Solum, rising up against Asencia. Ilthuran and the Diviner are essentially two different characters, showing how much a person can change depending on their circumstances.