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It's been over 20 years since DS9 wrapped: what have the cast been up to since?
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00:00Deep Space Nine was the show that enjoyed one of the largest supporting casts out of all of the
00:04Trek series to date. Aside from the core characters, there were regulars in Quark's bar,
00:09looking at you, Morn, and those Starfleet officers who dropped in from time to time.
00:13Add to this the mighty Dominion, the Klingon Empire, and all sorts, and without a chance,
00:18sometimes it's a little difficult to keep all of these characters in check.
00:21One of the major positives are the directions that the actors' careers can take during the show,
00:25and also afterwards. Whilst many have remained on television, some of the cast of Star Trek DS9
00:30have moved into entirely new directions. Some are teaching, some are writing, and others,
00:35well, they've run for office. I'm Marcus Bronzy, this is Trek Culture, and this is the cast of Deep Space Nine,
00:41Where Are They Now?
00:43Number 19. Admiral Ross, Barry Jenner. Admiral William Ross was an addition to the series in the sixth
00:49season, taking Sisko on as his right-hand man. Barry Jenner appeared in several more episodes up to the
00:55seventh season finale, and he passed away in 2016. He was a popular addition to the convention circuit,
01:00and attended as often as possible. He also made appearances in Knotts Landing, Dallas, Somerset,
01:06and Another World. He was an avid fan of both tennis and golf, playing in many tournaments to raise
01:11money for charity. Unfortunately, he died in 2016 from acute myeloid leukemia. He was 75.
01:17Number 18. Legate Damar, Casey Biggs. Legate Damar first appeared in a tiny guest spot back in Deep Space Nine's
01:24fourth season, as an unnamed aide to Golda Cat. This was a very small spot, which eventually evolved
01:30to Damar running the Cardassian Union, and finally instigating the insurrection against the Dominion,
01:36giving his life for the fight in the process. Not bad for a walk on pie. Since Deep Space Nine,
01:41he's appeared in ER, The Good Wife, Elementary, Person of Interest, and Unbelievable, a show which features
01:48many of his former co-stars along with other Trek alumni.
01:51Number 17. Rom, Max Groddenchik. First appearing in The Next Generation as Sovak in Captain's Holiday
01:58and Parlenor in The Perfect Mate, Max Groddenchik, like his on-screen brother Armin Shimmerman,
02:04has played several different characters in Star Trek. He is, of course, most well-known for playing the
02:09lovable buffoon Rom, Quark's brother in Deep Space Nine. Originally written as Ferengi Pit Boss in
02:15Emissary, his character grew immeasurably over the seasons until he was finally made the Grand Nagus
02:21in the series' penultimate episode. He has also made guest appearances in ER, like much of Hollywood
02:27during the show's run, Crossing Jordan, Six Feet Under. He's also an accomplished singer writing and
02:33performing Rom's song, which he often knocks out at conventions. The song, of course, laments his
02:37wishes to take over Quark's bar and have Odo finally leave the station. Cute. Like many of his co-stars,
02:43he's appeared in What We Left Behind, wherein he also sings, this time with Jeffrey Coombs,
02:48Casey Biggs and Armin Shimmerman. Number 16. Cassidy Yates, Penny Johnson.
02:53Cassidy Yates was introduced in the show's third season and was quickly established as a love
02:58interest for Ben Sisko. After a slightly rocky first year where she was, well, sent to prison for
03:03helping the marquee, she returned in the show's fifth season where she and Ben picked things up from
03:08where they left off. Penny Johnson wasn't originally a Star Trek fan, so when she told her other half that
03:13she got the job, he was over the moon because he was the big Trekkie in their relationship.
03:17Since the show ended, she is probably best known for her role in Seth MacFarlane's The Orville,
03:22where she plays Dr. Claire Finn. The show is very obviously a loving tribute to Star Trek,
03:27the original series and, of course, the Next Generation eras. Before this, she appeared in a
03:31starring role on Castle, where she shared several episodes with both Michael Dorn and Robert Picardo.
03:36She has also appeared with Michael Dorn back in The Next Generation in the seventh season episode,
03:42Homeward. Cassidy Yates was recently teased in the first season of Star Trek's Picard,
03:46where her shipping company has an office in Boston. A precursor to an appearance, maybe? Well, hopefully.
03:52Number 15. Weyun slash Brunt. Jeffrey Coombs. Jeffrey Coombs is an actor with a vast body of work to his
03:58name. Before he joined the cast of Deep Space Nine in the dual role of Weyun and Brunt, he was most famous
04:04for portraying Dr. Herbert West in the films Re-Animator and Bride of Re-Animator. He has a special love for
04:10these films and appeared in the direct-to-DVD third film, Beyond Re-Animator, in 2003. He also gave his
04:16voice to the role of the redesigned Scarecrow in the animated series of Batman, picked primarily for
04:22the deep sense of dread he could instill with his voice. He appeared in both Star Trek Voyager and
04:27Star Trek Enterprise as well, as several other roles. He has appeared in many horror films,
04:31including a large amount based on Lovecraft's literature, starting back in the 80s but continuing
04:36on up until quite recently. In 2018, he played Lovecraft himself in Howard Lovecraft and the
04:42Kingdom of Madness. He can also be seen in Unbelievable alongside many other great Star Trek actors.
04:49Number 14. Gul Dukot. Mark Alaimo. Mark Alaimo is most recognisable to most Star Trek fans as Gul Dukot,
04:57the evil leader of the Cardassian Union and then later the Parr Wraith Acolyte. His slow manner of
05:03speaking hooked audiences from the beginning, though Dukot was not his first role on Trek.
05:08In the years since Deep Space Nine has finished, Alaimo has stayed away from the spotlight somewhat.
05:13He has continued to work on stage using his role as Gul Dukot as an inspiration for much of his work
05:19since then. Alaimo has the distinction of being probably the most developed villain in all of
05:24Star Trek, as Dukot appeared in 33 separate episodes, where his story went from shady Cardassian
05:30soldier to the harbinger of doom in the show's finale. Be that as it may, Dukot remains a firm
05:36fan-favorite character. Number 13. Garruk. Andrew Robinson. Garruk remains one of the most interesting
05:43recurring characters on any of the Star Trek series, thanks in large to the wonderful performance
05:48by Andrew Robinson himself. Introduced early in the series, he appeared in many episodes throughout
05:53the show's run. He originally auditioned for Odo, but secured Garruk instead. He kept a character
05:58bible throughout the series, using it to frame and then fully compose the novel, a stitch in time
06:04once the show was finished. The novel chronicles not just the aftermath of the Dominion War, but
06:08expands on Garruk's early life as well. He and Alexander Siddig collaborated on a stage play
06:14entitled The Dream Box, which they often perform together at conventions. He was recently interviewed
06:19for the behind-the-scenes look at the making of the 80s horror film Hellraiser, wherein he played the
06:24father of the original lead character. Prior to Deep Space Nine, he would have been widely recognized
06:28as the Scorpio killer from 1971's Dirty Harry. He was one of the first backers of What We Left Behind
06:34and provides a narration thread throughout, using his instantly recognizable voice to both chill and intrigue.
06:40Number 12. General Martok. J.G. Hertzler. Hertzler actually appeared as far back as the pilot emissary,
06:47as the Vulcan captain of the USS Saratoga. He would of course become best known for his role
06:51as General Martok, with two of his many appearances being as a changeling imposter.
06:57Hertzler has a long and distinguished career on stage and screen. He has a vast Shakespearean credit,
07:02something he feels adds to his ability to play a Klingon. After Deep Space Nine wrapped,
07:06he appeared on the series Charmed and Roswell, the latter of which had an episode written by Ronald D.
07:11Moore. However, it is in the political arena that Hertzler has been busy for the last few years.
07:16In 2013, he was elected as a Democrat of the board to Ulysses, New York, close to a town
07:22called Romulus. In 2016, he and James Cromwell were arrested for civil disobedience,
07:28protesting the greenlighting of underground gas storage in Seneca Lake over public opposition.
07:33In 2017, he announced his candidacy for the US Senate, planning to run in 2018,
07:37advancing to the primary but withdrawing his candidacy a little later.
07:41Number 11, Nog, Aaron Eisenberg. Forever known to Star Trek fans as Nog,
07:46Quark's nephew, best friend of Jake Sisko and Ensign aboard Deep Space Nine and the USS Defiant,
07:52Aaron Eisenberg sadly passed away in September 2019. He had suffered ill health for many years,
07:57beginning with a kidney transplant in his teens that stunted his growth and eventually a second
08:02kidney transplant in 2015. He had two sons and a loving wife whom he married in 2018. He was a
08:08professional photographer with his own gallery. He appeared on other shows like The Secret World
08:12of Alex Mack in the 90s and was also a theatre director up to the time of his death. He played
08:17Nog for all seven seasons of Deep Space Nine. Of the role, he had this to say,
08:22I'll always carry love for the show with me wherever I go. So when you ask me what I've left behind,
08:27I can't think I've left anything behind because it's still here with me every day. A consummate
08:32professional, a devoted father and friend, he was a co-host with Sirach Lofton on the podcast The
08:38Seventh Rule, keeping their friendship going in the years after the show wrapped. Taken far too young
08:43by heart failure at the age of 50, he sorely missed. Number 10, Colonel Kira, Nana Visitor.
08:49Nana Visitor had one of the hardest roles to play in Star Trek. As a major and later a Colonel Kira,
08:54she was tasked with making an admitted terrorist a sympathetic character, something she not only achieved,
09:00but did so in such a way that it cemented her character as one of the best across all entries
09:05in the franchise. Since the show wrapped, she is kept very busy in terms of work. She went from
09:10space to dancing, appearing in Las Vegas and Washington as Roxy Hart in Chicago before joining
09:15the Broadway version. She appeared in Dark Angel, Frasier, CSI and in Wildfire, in which she had the
09:21starring role for four seasons. She then went on to appear in Battlestar Galactica for one episode of
09:26its fourth season, where she plays a woman dying from cancer who strongly believes in the message
09:31of God, tying back to her days as the devout Kira. She appeared in the BBC sci-fi series Torchwood,
09:36Miracle Day for two episodes and then in Castle with former co-star Penny Johnson.
09:41Like many other Trek actors, she has done voice work in Family Guy, appearing in 12 episodes to date.
09:46She's also appeared in the remake of Friday the 13th. She's a frequent guest at Star Trek
09:50conventions and it's safe to say that she's kept busy since the show wrapped.
09:539. Julian Bashir – Alexander Siddiq Introduced to the show in Emissary,
09:58the cocky young recruit Julian Bashir would rise through the show to become one of the most
10:03beloved characters in the series. Siddiq was only 25 when he landed the role of Dr. Bashir,
10:08after being passed over for the role of Commander Sisko. During the show's run,
10:13he fell in love with and had a child with co-star Nana Visitor, with whom he married and subsequently
10:18divorced, although they remain on good terms. His later credits include Spooks, Family Guy,
10:2324, Game of Thrones, Peaky Blinders and Gotham. He has appeared in many films since the show
10:28finished as well. He appeared in Reign of Fire, Kingdom of Heaven, Doomsday with his uncle Malcolm
10:33McDowell and Siriana to name a few. He has also been one of the few actors to both work in Star Trek
10:40and Doctor Who, so it's safe to say that he's been busy.
10:438. Quark – Armin Shimmerman Armin Shimmerman has enjoyed a very long association with Star Trek.
10:49He made his first appearance on screen all the way back in the next generation's first season.
10:54He appeared as the face of Luoxana Troi's jewellery box in Haven, and then appeared in the flesh,
10:59so to speak, in The Last Outpost, portraying one of the first Ferengi ever seen in Star Trek.
11:05While that episode was mixed in terms of reception, his turn as Quark undeniably was one of the highlights
11:10of Deep Space Nine. Through him, the Ferengi were given a greater depth and breadth, evolving from
11:15something of a joke to a well-rounded species. He also appeared as the horrible Principal Snyder on
11:20Buffy the Vampire Slayer. There were few fans who didn't have a smug smile when that giant snake
11:25chomped down on him. Since then, he's appeared in Nip Tuck, an ER, and has lent his voice to video
11:31games including 2007's Bioshock and Mass Effect. He's married to actress Kitty Swink,
11:36who guest-starred in Deep Space Nine as well.
11:39Bonus Fact! He was actually present on set as Quark when the Paramount lot was hit by an earthquake
11:44in 1994. He quickly rushed home to check on his family, forgetting that he was in full makeup,
11:49and in his own words, scared the sh** out of several onlookers.
11:52Number 7. Jake Sisko, Ciroc Lofton
11:55Ciroc Lofton was the youngest lead actor in the Star Trek series when he was cast as Jake all the
12:00way back in 1992. It was just a few weeks after his 14th birthday at the time, but it wasn't his
12:05first appearance on TV, he'd already appeared in several other productions.
12:09Throughout the run of the show, Lofton grew very close to his on-screen father Avery Brooks,
12:13a relationship that he has recently revealed has survived to this day. Both Brooks and Lofton
12:18cite that this relationship was one of their favorite takeaways from their time on the show.
12:22Lofton is currently the host of the podcast The 7th Rule, which he previously hosted with Aaron
12:27Eisenberg. Although Eisenberg was several years his senior, on the show they developed a firm
12:31friendship that lasted up until his death in 2019. Though his current acting credits are sparse,
12:37Lofton continues to attend Star Trek conventions and appeared in What We Left Behind, the documentary
12:42chronicling both the making of Deep Space Nine and celebrating the anniversary of the show.
12:46He remains involved in the Star Trek universe and has appeared in some Star Trek web series that
12:51have unfortunately had their Trek overtones dulled due to the lawsuit on fan productions.
12:56He now resides in California and has one daughter.
12:596. Miles O'Brien, Colin Meany
13:01The long-suffering chief of operations on Deep Space Nine, or to others, the most important man
13:06on Starfleet, Miles O'Brien was a role that Colin Meany landed back in The Next Generation,
13:11appearing in the pilot Encounter at Farpoint. He is one of the few guest stars to appear in
13:16both of the pilots and final episodes for The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine. Meany was perhaps
13:21best known to audiences for his roles in the Barrytown trilogy outside of Star Trek, but he has also
13:26appeared in a vast array of both Irish, UK and American productions. He appeared in Die Hard 2,
13:31Into the West and The War of the Buttons. After the show, he went on to appear in The Simpsons and
13:35Stargate Atlantis. He had a starring role in AMC's Hell on Wheels from 2011 to 2016,
13:41as well as a role in the adaption of Childhood's End.
13:445. Esri Dax, Nicole DeBoer
13:47Nicole DeBoer joined Deep Space Nine in the role of Esri Dax and appeared in all episodes of the seventh and
13:52final season. She was actually given quite a few episodes revolving entirely around her character,
13:57which gave her a short amount of time but the opportunity to really establish herself on the
14:01show. Esri was a very different character from Jadzia, something that fans were quick to point
14:05out even though Star Trek painfully goes through the effort to explain why symbiotes are different
14:10when they are in different bodies. Um, do you not know how Trill work?
14:13Opinion has softened a bit in the intervening years. The introduction of her character allowed writers
14:18to better resolve the Dax-Whorf storyline, which by necessity was cut brutally short. I'll explain
14:23why that happened in just a minute. She eventually ended up in a relationship with Julian, which sort
14:27of brings his arc with Dax in a full circle. Following the end of the show's run, DeBoer then
14:32took a starring role in The Dead Zone, based on the Stephen King novel of the same name.
14:36She appeared in Stargate Atlantis, which also starred Robert Picardo, although their characters were never
14:42seen on screen at the same time. DeBoer was also a part of what we left behind, expressing her fond
14:47memories of her relatively short time on the show. She currently has a recurring role on the Canadian
14:51series Private Eyes, and she has one daughter named Summer.
14:544. Jadzia Dax – Terry Farrell
14:57Terry Farrell of course played Jadzia Dax for Deep Space Nine's first sixth series,
15:01being memorably killed off in the sixth season finale, Tears of the Prophets. She also remains
15:05one of the few main actors to be killed on screen and not have her character come back in some form or
15:10another. The reason for this was due to behind-the-scenes strife. Farrell's contract had ended and she
15:15wanted to renegotiate a contract where she had less episode appearances. This had the unfortunate
15:20effect of angering producers to the point where they decided they would give her all the time off
15:23she wants by killing Jadzia Dax. Though this relationship has since been mended, it had not
15:28been fixed in time for the series finale, What You Leave Behind, which features no tribute to Jadzia
15:33in the closing minutes. Since then, Farrell went on to star in shows like Becca, where she remained for
15:38four seasons. At various conventions, she has expressed her regret at how the situation ended between her and,
15:43in particular, Rick Berman, who she cites as the main reason Dax was killed off.
15:47Officially, though, it stated she did not give her permission to use her likeness for the show's
15:51finale. She's in fact stated that she was never approached about it. In 2018, she married Adam
15:56Nimoy, yep, Leonard's son, and had a son named Max from a previous marriage. She's appeared in Renegades
16:02and continues to tour the convention circuits.
16:04Number three, Worf, Michael Dorn. Like Colin Meany, Michael Dorn was an alumni of The Next Generation,
16:11where he played Worf for seven seasons. Once that show finished and Generations had been released
16:16in theatres, the producers decided to bring Worf over onto Deep Space Nine, making him the first
16:20Trek actor to play a leading role on two of the different spin-offs. He remained with the show until
16:26completion in 1999. Following Star Trek, he appeared as a pilot in the biography film of Ali.
16:31Dawn is actually an experienced pilot in real life and owns several jets. He appeared in the Disney movies
16:37the Santa Claus 2 and 3, playing the Sandman. He's continued to work on television and film,
16:41occasionally with his Star Trek castmates. He was also one of many Star Trek actors who provided their
16:46voice on the Disney animated series Gargoyles, wherein he played the role of Cold Stone and Taurus.
16:52He has appeared in many video games and joined the rest of the Next Generation castmates in the Family
16:56Guy episode, Not All Dogs Go to Heaven. Word on the street is that Dawn has pitched a Worf spin-off series,
17:02but nothing has come of that yet, and he was allegedly offered a role in Star Trek Discovery,
17:06but apparently was offered so little money, he had to turn it down. He's gone on the record to say how
17:10much he hated the makeup required for the role of Worf, but still. When this article was first written,
17:15we did say that we hoped that he would be making a cameo appearance in the new season of Picard.
17:20I better buy myself a lottery ticket, because it's happening!
17:23Number 2. Odo
17:25Renée Obagenois
17:26Obagenois starred as Odo for the entirety of Deep Space Nine's run, but appeared in Star Trek
17:32before as Colonel West in Star Trek Undiscovered Country. He would later appear in a guest role
17:37on Enterprise. Sadly, he passed away from lung cancer in 2019, but not before leaving a significant
17:43body of work behind. Prior to his work in Star Trek, he appeared in Benson from 1980 to 1986,
17:49and appeared in several theatre productions, earning him a Tony Award along the way.
17:53Following Star Trek, he went on to star in Boston Legal, which also featured William Shatner and his
17:58long-time friend, Armin Shimmerman. Obagenois was an accomplished voice actor as well. Perhaps
18:04his best-known voice role was Disney's The Little Mermaid, where he played Louis the Chef,
18:08a role he reprised in the animated television series that followed.
18:11Speaking of animated series, he also lent his voice to Batman the animated series,
18:16and he's one of the few actors to appear both in the animated Batman series and the live-action
18:20films. He appeared in Stargate SG-1, took part in the comedy roast of William Shatner,
18:25along with appearing in It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. He directed several episodes of
18:29Deep Space Nine and took part in several of the video games. More recently, a lovely tribute to
18:34Odo is made in an episode of Prodigy. It's the episode titled Kobayashi, and it uses existing
18:39dialogue from DS9. It's fair to say that the face of Odo and Obagenois will be remembered forever.
18:451. Captain Sisko Avery Brooks
18:48Avery Brooks is an actor of course, but also an activist and a highly talented musician. He was already a
18:53well-known actor before taking on the role of Commander Sisko. He was the first African-American
18:58lead actor in any of the Star Trek series and throughout his time on the show was involved
19:02in several of the franchise's most well-known takes on civil rights. He actually directs the
19:07episode Far Beyond the Stars, in which he stars as a science fiction writer, Benny Russell. Whilst
19:12there are currently no plans for Brooks to return to the franchise, I mean, who wouldn't love a Star
19:16Trek Sisko series? His work on Deep Space Nine serves among the most inspirational acting across the
19:22franchise. The fact that he juggled all seven seasons, whilst retaining a professorship at a
19:26university, occasionally conducting lectures in costume, is no mean feat. One of the best actors that
19:31the franchise brought on board, Brooks is truly a credit to Star Trek. So there you have it, I've been
19:36Marcus Bronzy and this is Trek Culture and that was the cast of Deep Space Nine Where Are They Now?
19:42Please don't forget to give us a like and a subscribe. You can also follow Trek Culture on Twitter. I too,
19:47I'm on Instagram, Twitter and TikTok at marcusbronzy, M-A-R-C-U-S-B-R-O-N-Z-Y or twitch.tv
19:53slash marcusbronzy weekdays at 9am GMT. Until next time, see you around. Bless.
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