When you watch the Michael Jackson trial unfold on television over the next few months you could be forgiven for thinking that the judge looks a bit familiar. Wasn't he Tal, the Romulan Subcommander on the original series of Star Trek?

Or Mr Jackson's defence attorney? Hang on - didn't I see him in Perfect Alibi, which went straight to video in 1995?

You'd be correct on both counts.

While the world's press is cooped up in the desert city of Santa Maria to cover Mr Jackson's trial on child sex charges, a group of bit-part actors in a studio on Los Angeles' Wilshire Boulevard are preparing for a prime-time slot that should lift them out of the footnotes of TV trivia.

The Michael Jackson Trial, a daily half-hour special produced by the cable channel E! in partnership with Britain's BSkyB, is as close as viewers will get to the proceedings in Santa Maria, where Supreme Court Judge Rodney Melville has ruled out OJ Simpson-style TV coverage.

It will also give its stars exposure beyond their wildest dreams.

Judge Melville himself will be portrayed by Jack Donner, who is by any reckoning a veteran actor. Donner first hit US TV screens 40 years ago with a walk-on part on the sitcom My Favourite Martian. Apart from Star Trek, the distinguished-looking Donner has appeared in a host of shows including Baywatch, Power Rangers and Malcolm in the Middle.

Mr Jackson's high-flying lead attorney, Thomas Mesereau, is being played by Rigg Kennedy, a veteran of at least 18 movies, most recently 2004's Swarm of the Snakehead. Rigg's TV credits include The Judge, Divorce Court and The Fall Guy.

Thomas "Mad Dog" Sneddon, the tough-talking District Attorney who is accused of having a personal vendetta against Mr Jackson, must have been harder to cast. But E! found Charles Haigh, whose most recent role was as the soothsayer Aristander in the Oliver Stone epic, Alexander.

Haigh is not a big name in Hollywood, although he did once appear in a film with Arnold Schwarzenegger, but he should have the guts for the role: he is a retired air force officer who completed 350 combat missions over Vietnam.

The star of the show, however, is Edward Moss, Hollywood born and bred. Moss, now 27, got his first break in 1996 while working at a McDonald's burger joint in Southern California. The manager organised a fancy dress competition with a $200 top prize, Moss put on a Michael Jackson wig and face paint and moonwalked his way into a career.

"It was kind of scary," he told the New York Times in a recent interview. "But it worked and I was $200 richer at the end of the day."

Moss never looked back. He started busking for tourists by Mr Jackson's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame before moving into a full-time job at the Hollywood Wax Museum. He has since appeared as the singer in dozens of TV shows and music videos and even in the 2003 feature Scary Movie 3.

In one sense, Moss has the hardest job of any of the actors. Since Mr Jackson is not actually expected to testify at his trial, Moss should not have to actually open his mouth and will have to transmit his feelings uniquely through body language and facial expressions.

But Moss is looking forward to the challenge. "I've learned his mannerisms," he said. "I know by looking at him when he's nervous or happy. It's like researching any other character. I'm good at it."

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