The cast of ‘Star Trek’ goes to the White House to say thanks to troops and families

On July 19, the stars of Paramount's "Star Trek Beyond" joined First Lady Michelle Obama in hosting more than 100 service members, veterans and their families for an advance screening of the upcoming film.

The screening was a part of the First Lady and Dr. Jill Biden's Joining Forces initiative. The cast dropped in as part of their publicity blitz for the movie's July 21 premiere. This was an exceptional screening for the cast, as the Star Trek franchise has always held members of the military and their families in high esteem.

The previous Star Trek film, "Star Trek Into Darkness" was dedicated to The Mission Continues, an organization dedicated to helping troops as they return home from war. It featured cameos from several veterans dressed as Starfleet officers in the film's final scenes. Members of the cast also showed the first film of the Star Trek reboot series to active-duty service members in Kuwait.

At the White House, Chris Pine, Simon Pegg, and Karl Urban were humble in their brief introductions to the film and the First Lady. The actors joked that the veterans made better actors than the Hollywood stars.

In her remarks at the screening, the First Lady highlighted the important role that military families — especially the children of service members — play in allowing active duty servicemen and women to do their jobs. She ended with the Vulcan salute and a heartfelt "May the force be with you!" (wrong movie, of course) to the delight of the crowd.

For the cast, the screening was a small way to thank service members and their families. They also seemed a little star struck themselves; Urban interrupted Pine's speech with an excited "We just met the first lady!" Pine referred to them as "a bunch of 8-year-olds" while touring the White House.

Pine, Pegg and Urban stuck around after the showing for photo ops and to say thank you to the veterans and their families.

"Star Trek Beyond" premieres in the U.S. on July 21.