Clifton Collins , Jr . Clifton Collins , Jr . is an Emmy Award - nominated actor who played Ayel , the Romulan cohort and general to Eric Bana ' s Nero , in J . J . Abrams ' . A picture of him was also used for card # 70 , titled Romulan First Officer Ayel , of the virtual collectible card battle game " " . Hailing from Los Angeles , California , Collins is the grandson of well - known character actor . Collins has been acting in film and television since 1990 . Outside of " Star Trek " , he is known for his roles in such films as " Tigerland " , " Traffic " , " The Last Castle " , " Boondock Saints II : All Saints Day " , and , most notably , " Capote " . He received an Emmy Award nomination for his work on the short - lived series " Thief " and recently starred in the TV dramas " The Event " and " Red Widow " . Film work . 1990s . Collins made his film debut in the 1991 drama " Grand Canyon " , which starred Alfre Woodard . He then had a supporting role in the 1993 science fiction / action film " Fortress " , along with Jeffrey Combs , Kurtwood Smith , and Tom Towles . This was followed with roles in such films as " Poetic Justice " ( 1993 ; with John Cothran , Jr . ) and " Dead Presidents " ( 1995 ; with Seymour Cassel ) . His breakthrough in mainstream cinema came with his role in 1997 ' s " One Eight Seven " , co - starring Jack Kehler and Tony Plana . His subsequent film credits included " The Replacement Killers " ( 1998 ; with Patrick Kilpatrick ) and " Light It Up " ( 1999 ; also featuring Vanessa Williams ) . 2000 - 2005 . In 2000 , Collins was seen in the acclaimed films " Tigerland " and " Traffic " . In the former , he portrayed Private Miter , an Army trainee whose inability to lead a platoon results in his being tormented by his superiors , including a staff sergeant played by guest star James MacDonald . In " Traffic " , Collins portrayed Francisco Flores , a hit man who is ultimately hired to kill a drug dealer played by actor Miguel Ferrer . ( " Traffic " also featured Enrique Murciano and Tucker Smallwood . ) Collins worked with Ron Perlman and Michelle C . Bonilla in the 2000 sports drama " Price of Glory " . He then co - starred in the 2001 action / thriller " The Last Castle " , for which he received a nomination from the ALMA ( American Latino Media Arts ) Awards as Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture . Frank Military had a role in this film , as well . Collins later had supporting roles in such films as " The Rules of Attraction " ( 2002 ; co - starring Paul Williams ) , " American Girl " ( 2002 ; with Michelle Forbes ) , and " Mindhunters " ( 2004 ; starring Christian Slater ) . Perhaps his best known film role to date is that of serial killer Perry Smith in 2005 ' s " Capote " , for which he received critical praise and a second ALMA Award nomination . This film also starred Bruce Greenwood , whom Collins again worked with on " Star Trek " . 2005 - current . Collins played the lead role in the 2005 crime drama " Dirty " , which featured an appearance by TNG ' s Gates McFadden . He later had a small role in the acclaimed 2006 film " Babel " and had a supporting role in the 2008 comedy " Sunshine Cleaning " , along with Paul Dooley . Collins again worked with Dooley in the 2009 thriller " The Horsemen " . Neal McDonough worked on this film , as well , but he was later replaced and his scenes reshot . In 2009 , aside from his role on " Star Trek " , Collins appeared in the action / thriller " Crank : High Voltage " , playing one of the main villains . The cast of this film also included John de Lancie as a sardonic , atypical news caster . Collins ' other film credits in 2009 included the Mike Judge comedy " Extract " ( also featuring Tom Virtue ) , the action sequel " Boondock Saints II : All Saints Day " , and the Jim Sheridan drama " Brothers " ( on which Michael De Luca was a producer ) . In the baseball drama " The Perfect Game " , which was filmed in 2007 but not released until 2010 , Collins played the lead role and worked alongside Bruce McGill . Collins made an uncredited cameo appearance as a member of the Vegan Police as in the 2010 film " Scott Pilgrim vs . the World " ; this film also featured the voice of Bill Hader . Collins subsequently appeared in the 2011 comedies " Freeloaders " ( with Wallace Langham and Courtney Peldon ) and " The FP " ( with Sean Whalen ) and starred opposite Clancy Brown in the 2012 horror - comedy " Hellbenders " . His most recent release was the crime thriller " Parker " , which also featured Carlos Carrasco . Collins ' upcoming films include two highly - anticipated sci - fi / action - adventure projects : ' s " Pacific Rim " ( also featuring Idris Elba , Ron Perlman and Brad William Henke ) and and ' s " Transcendence " ( again working with Wallace Langham ) . He also worked on two upcoming films from acclaimed director : and an . On the latter , Collins acted alongside Benicio del Toro , who was considered for the role of the villain in before it went to Benedict Cumberbatch . Television work . In addition to his film work , Collins has made a name for himself in television . Early on , he had guest spots on such series as " Walker , Texas Ranger " ( with Noble Willingham ) , " ER " ( with Richard Fancy and Steve Vinovich ) , " NYPD Blue " ( with K Callan , Gordon Clapp , and Ken Jenkins ) , and UPN ' s " The Twilight Zone " . In 2001 , he had a recurring role on the Showtime drama " Resurrection Blvd . " , working with Daniel Zacapa and , in one episode , Ray Wise . Collins first worked with J . J . Abrams and other members of the " Star Trek " production team when he played the recurring role of Javier Parez on the ABC series " Alias " . Greg Grunberg , who also participated in " Star Trek " , was a regular on this series at the time . In 2006 , Collins starred as Jack " Bump " Hill on the FX Network series " Thief " . Although this program lasted only six episodes , Collins received an Emmy Award nomination for his performance . The following year , Collins appeared in the recurring role of Hernan on another FX series , " The Shield " . Fellow " Star Trek " alumni Michael Jace , Jay Karnes , and Benito Martinez were regulars on this series . In 2010 , Collins appeared as Detective Ray Suarez on the TNT ( formerly NBC ) police drama " Southland " . Collins appeared in the fourth episode of the second season ; he was slated to continue appearing on the show during its third season , but this never came to fruition . guest star Michael McGrady was a regular on this series at the time . Collins was a regular cast member on the short - lived NBC drama series " The Event " , which aired during the 2010 - 2011 season . Bill Smitrovich and Collins ' " Star Trek " co - star , Lisa Vidal , also appeared on this program . Later in 2011 , Collins guest - starred in a two - episode arc on " CSI : NY " , on which Robert Joy was a regular . Most recently , Collins was a regular on the ABC drama " Red Widow " , which aired for eight episodes in 2013 before it was canceled . Natalija Nogulich had a recurring role on this series . Video games . Gaming fans may recognize Collins as the voice of Cesar Vialpando on " Grand Theft Auto : San Andreas " . This game also featured the voice talents of Andy Dick and Wil Wheaton .