

(written from a Production point of view Real World article

Michael Dorn (born 9 December 1952; age 67) is an actor, director, producer, and writer best known for his portrayal of Worf on Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and in four Star Trek films. He also portrayed Worf's namesake, Colonel Worf, in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. Stated Robert Hewitt Wolfe, "Michael Dorn's a great guy and a terrific actor." ("Flashback: The Way of the Warrior", Star Trek Magazine issue 127)

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Personal life

Dorn was born in Luling, Texas, but he grew up in Pasadena, California. He studied radio and television production at the Pasadena City College, after which he pursued a career in music.

Dorn is an accomplished pilot and owns and operates an old Air Force T-33 trainer jet, one of the first jet aircraft in the US inventory; it is often referred to as his "starship." He also owns an old F-86 Sabre jet that he acquired from the South African Air Force. He has flown with the Blue Angels and the Thunderbirds, the USAF Precision Flight team.

Dorn's favorite episodes of TNG are "The Drumhead" and "The Offspring". [1]

Dorn cites the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episodes "Soldiers of the Empire" and "Once More Unto the Breach" as his inspiration for a new series based on Worf: "When I saw those episodes, it really lit a fire under me, that it was great writing — they were written by Ron Moore — and it was wonderfully acted in terms of all the Klingon characters and the things that were at stake. And even though they’re not Human, the Human condition that showed up in all these characters, it really was like, 'there’s a series here.' That’s what first started it". [2]

Dorn is a vegan. "I have not missed meat at all," said the actor. "The only thing I would even think about missing is hamburgers and French fries. You can still have French fries. But I've found that the vegetarian burger and the stuff that's out there now is very good when you dress it up…So I don't miss it at all. It's easy to make the transition because I feel so much better." [3] [4]

Career

Star Trek and Worf

Michael Dorn was aware of Star Trek: The Original Series during his childhood. "I liked the show when I was growing up," he recalled. (Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages, p. 143) Dorn also said of the original series' regular cast, "I grew up with those guys." (Star Trek: The Magazine Volume 3, Issue 9, p. 19)

On his audition for Worf, Dorn commented, "I did not wear makeup, but I took on the psychological guise of a Klingon. I walked into Paramount in character. No jokes. No laughing with the other actors. I sat by myself waiting for my interview. When my turn came, I walked in, didn't smile, did the reading, thanked them, and walked right out." (Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion) Dorn was the last of the main actors who was cast. (TNG Season 1 DVD special feature "Selected Crew Analysis"-"Casting")

From his first appearance in TNG's first season episode, "Encounter at Farpoint", to his latest in Star Trek Nemesis, Dorn has appeared more times as a regular cast member than any other actor of the Star Trek franchise, spanning five movies and 272 television episodes. Dorn has also directed three episodes of DS9 and the Star Trek: Enterprise episode "Two Days and Two Nights".

Between the fourth and fifth seasons of Star Trek: The Next Generation, Dorn played Colonel Worf in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. Although the relationship was not stated on screen, the filmmakers' intention was that the Star Trek VI character was the grandfather of the Next Generation character. (Star Trek Encyclopedia; Star Trek 25th Anniversary Special [5])

In addition, Dorn has portrayed or voiced Worf in no less than seven Star Trek video games: Star Trek Online, A Final Unity, the Generations game, Armada, Invasion, The Fallen, and Away Team. He also had voice-over roles in Star Trek: Klingon and Star Trek: Klingon Academy, though he played different characters in those games.

Dorn has even played Worf a few times outside of Star Trek, for comic effect. In 1989, he appeared as Worf in the final episode of the television series Webster, entitled "Webtrek," in which Webster's Star Trek video game transports him to the USS Enterprise-D where he met Worf as well as the characters played by regular background performers James G. Becker, Lorine Mendell, and Dexter Clay. Dorn and his TNG castmates (sans Patrick Stewart and Wil Wheaton) also took part in a skit for the HBO special Comic Relief VI, which was co-hosted by recurring TNG guest star Whoopi Goldberg. Most recently, Dorn voiced Worf in an episode of Seth MacFarlane's animated series Family Guy, entitled "Peter's Got Woods"; in 2015 he appeared (along with Ron Canada and Nana Visitor, with Patrick Stewart as the narrator) in MacFarlane's live-action film Ted 2, during which his character attends Comic-Con dressed as Worf.

During the run of TNG, Dorn was a member of The Sunspots, along with co-stars Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, and LeVar Burton. They appeared as background vocalists for "It's a Sin to Tell a Lie" on Brent Spiner's 1991 album "Ol' Yellow Eyes is Back".

Early acting career

Dorn began acting in the late 1970s, playing bit parts in the Academy Award-winning sports drama Rocky (appearing as a body guard of fighter Apollo Creed) and the science fiction horror/thriller Demon Seed (which starred Gerrit Graham and Fritz Weaver). After making appearances on such television series as The Mary Tyler Moore Show in 1977 on which he also worked as stand-in and the short-lived W.E.B. in 1978, Dorn landed the recurring role of Officer Jebediah Turner on the series CHiPs. He played the role from 1979 through 1982, working with series regular (and fellow Trek alum) Robert Pine, who played his boss, Sgt. Joe Getraer.

After leaving CHiPs, Dorn made guest appearances on such series as Hotel (with Alan Oppenheimer), Gimme a Break! (on which John Hoyt was a regular), and Falcon Crest (with Brett Cullen and Salome Jens and directed by Reza Badiyi). He also briefly had a role on the soap opera Capitol, on which he became the second actor to play Senator Ed Lawrence, taking over the role from Star Trek: The Original Series guest actor Don Marshall.

In addition, Dorn co-starred with Clarence Williams III in the 1984 ABC Afterschool Special "The Hero Who Couldn't Read." He also had a supporting role in the 1985 film Jagged Edge, along with Bruce French and Leigh Taylor-Young. He then played the role of Jimmy on the soap opera Days of Our Lives from 1986 through 1987, after which he won the role of Worf on Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Post-TNG acting career

After TNG and Generations but before joining the cast of DS9, Dorn played the "Chairman" in the 1995 science fiction adventure Timemaster, in which he worked alongside his "Sub Rosa" co-star Duncan Regehr. He then appeared in the Showtime Networks science fiction thriller Menno's Mind, playing the best friend and co-worker of the title character, played by TNG guest actor Bill Campbell. TNG guest star Corbin Bernsen and Star Trek: Voyager regular Robert Picardo also starred in this movie.

Following the end of DS9, Dorn had supporting roles in a number of independent feature films, including Shadow Hours (2000, co-starring Brad Dourif and Peter Weller), Lessons for an Assassin (2001, with John Billingsley), and The Gristle (2001, with Richard Riehle). He also guest-starred on such television series as The Pretender (with James Black), Martial Law (with Andrew Robinson), and 7th Heaven (starring Stephen Collins and Catherine Hicks, in an episode with Graham Jarvis and Michelle Phillips).

Dorn was featured as a pilot in Ali, Michael Mann's 2001 biographical film on boxing legend Muhammad Ali. Incidentally, Dorn's TNG castmate LeVar Burton also appeared in this film, portraying Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Brad Greenquist, Albert Hall, Bruce McGill, William Utay, and Wade Williams had roles in this film, as well.

Dorn and his TNG co-star Marina Sirtis have acted together several times outside of Star Trek. They both worked on an unsuccessful, independently-produced TV pilot called Through the Fire. They later reunited as co-stars in the 2005 film Lesser of Three Evils, working alongside Brian Thompson. Most recently, they co-starred together in the 2007 film The Deep Below.

Dorn played the Sandman in Disney's 2002 family comedy/fantasy film The Santa Clause 2 and reprised the role for the 2006 sequel, The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause. After completing his work on Star Trek Nemesis, Dorn and fellow Trek alum Charles Rocket appeared as poker players in the 2003 crime/thriller film Shade.

In the 2006 science fiction/action movie A.I. Assault, Dorn worked alongside several other Star Trek alumni, including Lisa LoCicero, Bill Mumy, the aforementioned Robert Picardo, and George Takei. Dorn's other recent feature film credits have included Heart of the Beholder (2005, with Tony Todd), Fallen Angels (2006, with Michael Berryman, Joel Polis, and Daniel Zacapa), and Night Skies (2007).

Dorn's recent television appearances include a 2002 episode of The Guardian (which starred Raphael Sbarge) and a 2007 episode of Without a Trace (starring Enrique Murciano), both series belonging to CBS. He was also seen on the NBC series Heroes, making a cameo appearance as the President of the United States in the third season episode "Chapter Thirteen: 'Dual'". This episode also featured Zachary Quinto, Cristine Rose, and George Takei.

In the fourth season of Castle, Michael Dorn appears in a recurring role. He joins Castle series regular Penny Johnson who had guest starred many times on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine as Kasidy Yates.

Voice-over roles

Dorn has supplied his distinct, baritone voice to many animated cartoons and video games since the early 1990s. Perhaps his most famous voice-over role is that of I.M. Weasel on the Cartoon Network shows Cow and Chicken and I Am Weasel.

Dorn is one of the many Star Trek performers to lend his voice to the popular Disney series Gargoyles. In fact, the majority of TNG's regular cast did voice work on this show, with Jonathan Frakes and Marina Sirtis voicing two of the show's central characters. Dorn himself voiced two characters: Coldstone and Taurus. Other Trek veterans who have been heard on Gargoyles include Brent Spiner, Avery Brooks, Clancy Brown, Matt Frewer, Colm Meaney, Kate Mulgrew, Nichelle Nichols, John Rhys-Davies, Salli Elise Richardson, W. Morgan Sheppard, David Warner, Frank Welker, and Paul Winfield.

The many other shows which have featured the voice of Michael Dorn include Dinosaurs, Animaniacs, Swat Kats: The Radical Squadron, Biker Mice from Mars, Aaaah!!! Real Monsters, Captain Simian & the Space Monkeys, Danny Phantom, Disney's Hercules, and Ben 10. He also voiced the DC Comics supervillain Kalibak on the animated series Superman and Justice League, and also the superhero Steel on the former, appearing in episodes opposite Clancy Brown and Malcolm McDowell. In 2002, he voiced Swayzak in Cartoon Network's Toonami interstitials. More recently, he was voicing Martian Centurion Robots on the Cartoon Network series Duck Dodgers. He also voiced King Tor in the 2005 CG-animated film Thru the Moebius Strip; TNG guest actors Daniel Davis and Jean Simmons lent their voices to this movie, as well. He recently provided the voice of Kru'll and Bane on Batman: The Brave and the Bold (on which Diedrich Bader provides the voice of Batman). In addition, he and Armin Shimerman provided voices in the direct-to-DVD release of Bionicle: The Legend Reborn, a movie based on the popular Bionicle line of Lego figures, as the characters Mata Nui and Raanu respectively. In 2009, Dorn guest starred as himself on Family Guy in the episode "Not All Dogs Go To Heaven", where Stewie Griffin uses a transporter to spend a day with Dorn and fellow TNG cast members Patrick Stewart, Marina Sirtis, Gates McFadden, LeVar Burton, Wil Wheaton, Denise Crosby, Jonathan Frakes, and Brent Spiner. Fittingly, he plays Guardship Commander Dorn in strange frame: Love & Sax. Dorn has made two appearances in the Cartoon Network comedy series Regular Show, providing the voice of the baby-like demon Thomas.

Dorn's voice can be heard in many video games, as well. These include Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers, Fallout 2 (narrated by Ron Perlman and also featuring the voice of Dwight Schultz), Forgotten Realms: Baldur's Gate II – Shadows of Amn (with Alan Oppenheimer, James Horan, and David Warner), Emperor: Battle for Dune (with Michael Bell, Hamilton Camp, Kay E. Kuter, Vincent Schiavelli, Michael Bailey Smith, Musetta Vander, and Nicholas Worth), Stellar-Fire, Stellar 7: Draxon's Revenge and the ever-popular World of Warcraft. More recently, he was heard as the voice of Maero in Saints Row 2, which also features the voice of Daniel Dae Kim, and as Gatatog Uvenk in Mass Effect 2 (with S.A. Templeman, Dwight Schultz, Armin Shimerman, Carolyn Seymour, Raphael Sbarge, Robin Sachs, and Keith Szarabajka). He voiced Tassadar in "StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty" which also featured Armin Shimerman. In October 2010, he reprized the role of Marcus the Super Mutant in Fallout: New Vegas, appearing this time with Rene Auberjonois, who voiced the major character Mr. House and his fellow Next Generation alumnus Wil Wheaton as the Robo-brains.

Michael Dorn also did some of the narration for the Power Klingon and Conversational Klingon cassettes and CDs which accompanied the books of the same name.

Additional characters

Credits

Acting Credits

Playing Worf:

(all episodes except " Code of Honor " and " Haven ")

Playing Colonel Worf

Episodes Directed

Star Trek interviews

Books