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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
01:11raise money 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 Pitboss in Emissary,
02:16his character grew immeasurably over the seasons until he was finally made the Grand Nagus in the
02:22series' penultimate episode. He has also made guest appearances in ER, well, 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 Reanimator and Bride of Reanimator. He has a special love for
04:10these films and appeared in the direct-to-DVD third film, Beyond Reanimator, 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 recognizable 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
05:23Star 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
05:42recurring 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 bible
05:58throughout the series, using it to frame and then fully compose the novel a stitch in time once the
06:04show was finished. The novel chronicles not just the aftermath of the Dominion War, but expands on
06:09Garruk's early life as well. He and Alexander Siddiq collaborated on a stage play entitled The Dreambox,
06:15which they often performed together at conventions. He was recently interviewed for the behind-the-scenes look
06:20at the making of the 80's horror film Hellraiser, wherein he played the father of the original lead
06:25character. Prior to Deep Space Nine, he would have been widely recognized as the Scorpio killer
06:29from 1971's Dirty Harry. He was one of the first backers of What We Left Behind and provides a narration
06:35thread throughout, using his instantly recognizable voice to both chill and intrigue. Number 12. General
06:41Martok. J.G. Hertzler. Hertzler actually appeared as far back as the pilot emissary, as the Vulcan
06:47captain of the USS Saratoga. He would of course become best known for his role as General Martok,
06:53with two of his many appearances being as a changeling imposter. Hertzler has a long and
06:58distinguished career on stage and screen. He has a vast Shakespearean credit, something he feels adds to
07:03his ability to play a Klingon. After Deep Space Nine wrapped, he appeared on the series Charmed and
07:08Roswell, the latter of which had an episode written by Ronald D. Moore. However, it is in the political
07:13arena that Hertzler has been busy for the last few years. In 2013, he was elected as a Democrat of
07:19the Board to Ulysses, New York, close to a town called Romulus. In 2016, he and James Cromwell were
07:25arrested for civil disobedience, protesting the greenlighting of underground gas storage in
07:31Seneca Lake over public opposition. In 2017, he announced his candidacy for the US Senate,
07:36planning to run in 2018, advancing 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
08:27behind, I 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
09:04in 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. Like many other
09:42Trek actors, she has done voice work in Family Guy, appearing in 12 episodes to date. She's also
09:46appeared in the remake of Friday the 13th. She's a frequent guest at Star Trek conventions and it's
09:51safe to say that she's kept busy since the show wrapped. Number 9, Julian Bashir, Alexander Siddiq.
09:57Introduced to the show in Emissary, the cocky young recruit Julian Bashir would rise through
10:01the show to become one of the most beloved characters in the series. Siddiq was only 25 when
10:06he landed the role of Dr. Bashir after being passed over for the role of Commander Sisko.
10:11That was a great idea guys. During the show's run, he fell in love with and had a child with
10:15co-star Nana Visita, with whom he married and subsequently divorced, although they remain on good terms.
10:20His later credits include Spooks, Family Guy, 24, Game of Thrones, Peaky Blinders and Gotham.
10:26He has appeared in many films since the show finished as well. He appeared in Reign of Fire,
10:30Kingdom of Heaven, Doomsday with his uncle Malcolm McDowell and Siriana to name a few.
10:36He has also been one of the few actors to both work in Star Trek and Doctor Who,
10:41so it's safe to say that he's been busy. Number 8, Quark, Armin Shimmerman.
10:46Armin 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
11:20on Buffy 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. Bonus fact! He was actually present on set as Quark
11:42when the Paramount lot was hit by an earthquake in 1994. He quickly rushed home to check on his
11:46family, forgetting that he was in full makeup, and in his own words, scared the sh** out of several
11:51onlookers. Number 7, Jake Sisko, Ciroc Lofton. Ciroc Lofton was the youngest lead actor in the Star
11:58Trek series when he was cast as Jake all the way back in 1992. It was just a few weeks after his 14th
12:04birthday at the time, but it wasn't his first appearance on TV, he'd already appeared in several
12:08other productions. Throughout the run of the show, Lofton grew very close to his on-screen father,
12:12Avery Brooks, a relationship that he has recently revealed has survived to this day. Both Brooks
12:17and Lofton cited that this relationship was one of their favourite 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. He remains
12:47involved in the Star Trek universe and has appeared in some Star Trek web series that have unfortunately
12:51had their Trek overtones dulled due to the lawsuit on fan productions. He now resides in California and
12:57has one daughter. Number six, Miles O'Brien, Colin Meany. The long-suffering chief of operations on
13:03Deep Space Nine, or to others, the most important man on Starfleet, Miles O'Brien was a role that
13:08Colin Meany landed back in The Next Generation, appearing in the pilot Encounter at Farpoint. He is
13:14one of the few guest stars to appear in both of the pilots and final episodes for The Next Generation
13:19and Deep Space Nine. Meany was perhaps best known to audiences for his roles in the Barrytown trilogy
13:24outside of Star Trek, but he has also appeared in a vast array of both Irish, UK and American
13:28productions. He appeared in Die Hard 2, Into the West and The War of the Buttons. After the show,
13:33he went on to appear in The Simpsons and Stargate Atlantis. He had a starring role in AMC's Hell
13:38on Wheels from 2011 to 2016, as well as a role in the adaption of Childhood's End.
13:45Number five, Esri Dax, Nicole DeBoer. Nicole DeBoer joined Deep Space Nine in the role of Esri Dax and
13:50appeared in all episodes of the seventh and final season. She was actually given quite a few episodes
13:55revolving entirely around her character, which gave her a short amount of time but the opportunity to
14:00really establish herself on the show. Esri was a very different character from Jadzia, something that
14:04fans were quick to point out even though Star Trek painfully goes through the effort to explain why
14:09symbiotes are different when 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 to
14:18better 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. She appeared
14:37in Stargate Atlantis, which also starred Robert Picardo, although their characters were never seen on
14:42screen at the same time. DeBoer was also a part of what we left behind, expressing her fond memories of her
14:47relatively short time on the show. She currently has a recurring role on the Canadian series Private
14:52Eyes and she has one daughter named Summer. 4. 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 in
15:33the closing minutes. Since then, Farrell went on to star in shows like Becca, where she remained for four
15:38seasons. 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
16:01Renegades and continues to tour the convention circuits.
16:043. Worf Michael Dorn Like Colin Meany, Michael Dorn was an alumni of the
16:10Next Generation, where he played Worf for seven seasons. Once that show finished and
16:14Generations had been released in theaters, the producers decided to bring Worf over onto Deep
16:19Space Nine, making him the first Trek actor to play a leading role on two of the different spin-offs.
16:24He remained with the show until completion in 1999. Following Star Trek, he appeared as a pilot in the
16:30biography film of Ali. Dawn is actually an experienced pilot in real life and owns several jets. He appeared in
16:36the Disney movies The Santa Clause 2 and 3, playing the Sandman. He's continued to work on television
16:41and film, occasionally with his Star Trek castmates. He was also one of many Star Trek actors who provided
16:46their voice on the Disney animated series Gargoyles, wherein he played the role of Coldstone and Taurus.
16:51He has appeared in many video games and joined the rest of the Next Generation castmates in the
16:56Family Guy episode, Not All Dogs Go to Heaven. Word on the street is that Dawn has pitched a Worf
17:01spin-off series, but nothing has come of that yet, and he was allegedly offered a role in Star Trek
17:05Discovery, but apparently was offered so little money, he had to turn it down. He's gone on the
17:10record to say how much he hated the makeup required for the role of Worf, but still. When this article
17:14was first written, we did say that we hoped that he would be making a cameo appearance in the new
17:19season of Picard. I better buy myself a lottery ticket because it's happening!
17:23Number 2 Odo
17:25Renée Aubergenois Aubergenois starred as Odo for the entirety of Deep Space Nine's run,
17:30but appeared in Star Trek before as Colonel West in Star Trek Undiscovered Country. He would later
17:35appear in a guest role on Enterprise. Sadly, he passed away from lung cancer in 2019,
17:41but not before leaving a significant body of work behind. Prior to his work in Star Trek,
17:45he appeared in Benson from 1980 to 1986 and appeared in several theatre productions,
17:51earning him a Tony Award along the way. Following Star Trek, he went on to star in Boston Legal,
17:56which also featured William Shatner and his long-time friend Armin Shimmerman. Aubergenois was
18:01an accomplished voice actor as well. Perhaps his best-known voice role was Disney's The Little
18:06Mermaid where he played Louis the Chef, a role he reprised in the animated television series that
18:11followed. Speaking 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 films.
18:21He appeared in Stargate SG-1, took part in the comedy roast of William Shatner along with appearing
18:26in It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. He directed several episodes of Deep Space Nine and took part
18:30in several of the video games. More recently, a lovely tribute to Odo is made in an episode of Prodigy.
18:36It's the episode titled Kobayashi and it uses existing dialogue from DS9. It's fair to say that
18:41the face of Odo and Aubergenois 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.
18:53He was already a well-known actor before taking on the role of Commander Sisko. He was the first
18:57African-American lead actor in any of the Star Trek series and throughout his time on the show,
19:02was involved in several of the franchise's most well-known takes on civil rights.
19:06He actually directs the episode Far Beyond the Stars, in which he stars as a science fiction writer,
19:11Benny Russell. Whilst there are currently no plans for Brooks to return to the franchise, I mean,
19:15who wouldn't love a Star Trek Sisko series. His work on Deep Space Nine serves among the most
19:20inspirational acting across the franchise. The fact that he juggled all seven seasons,
19:24whilst retaining a professorship at a university, occasionally conducting lectures in costume,
19:29is no mean feat. One of the best actors that the franchise brought on board,
19:33Brooks is truly a credit to Star Trek.
19:34So there you have it, I've been Marcus Bronzy, and this is Trek Culture, and that was the cast
19:39of Deep Space Nine, Where Are They Now? Please don't forget to give us a like and a subscribe.
19:44You can also follow Trek Culture on Twitter. I too, I'm on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok,
19:49at Marcus Bronzy, M-A-R-C-U-S-B-R-O-N-Z-Y, or twitch.tv slash Marcus Bronzy weekdays at 9am GMT.
19:56Until next time, see you around. Bless.
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