Michael Dorn

Michael Dorn
Dorn at GalaxyCon San Jose in 2024
Born	(1952-12-09) December 9, 1952 (age 72) Luling, Texas, U.S.
Alma mater	Pasadena City College
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1976–present

Michael Dorn (born December 9, 1952) is an American actor best known for his role as the Klingon character Worf in the Star Trek franchise, appearing in all seven seasons of the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987–1994), and later reprising the role in seasons four through seven of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1995–1999) and season three of Star Trek: Picard (2023). Dorn has appeared more times as a regular cast member than any other Star Trek actor in the franchise's history, spanning five films and 284 television episodes. ^[1]

Outside of the Star Trek franchise, Dorn has appeared in the television series CHiPs (1979–1982), and has had voice roles as Coldstone and Taurus in the animated series Gargoyles (1994–1997), Kalibak in the DC Animated Universe, I.M. Weasel in I Am Weasel (1997–2000), Lord Darkar in the Nickelodeon dub of Winx Club (2011), ‘’Castle’’(2009-2016) as a psychotherapist and Captain Mozar in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2015–2016).

Outside of shows and movies, he has had voice roles in several Star Trek-related games, as well as more obscure voice roles such as a major companion Marcus and the main antagonist Frank Horrigan of the action RPG game Fallout 2 (1998) and a Krogan character in Mass Effect 2 (2010), among many other similar roles.

Early life

Dorn was born in Luling, Texas, the son of Allie Lee (née Nauls) and Fentress Dorn Jr. ^{[2] [ better source needed ]} He grew up in Pasadena, California, where he studied radio and television production at Pasadena City College. Following his graduation, he pursued a career in music as a performer with several different rock-music bands, traveling to San Francisco and then back to Los Angeles.^{[ citation needed ]}

Career

Early work

Dorn first appeared on-screen in Rocky , in an uncredited role as Apollo Creed's bodyguard. ^[3] Two years later, he appeared as a guest star on a 1978 episode of the television show W.E.B. . Impressed by his work, the show's producer introduced Dorn to an agent, through whom he met acting teacher Charles E. Conrad. Dorn studied with Conrad for six months, until he landed a regular role on the crime drama series CHiPs . ^[3]

Star Trek

Michael Dorn at the 2012 Phoenix Comic-Con with the cast of Next Generation. (L to R: LeVar Burton, Dorn, Marina Sirtis, Brent Spiner, and Wil Wheaton)

Dorn's most notable role to date is that of the Klingon Starfleet officer Lieutenant (later Lt. Commander) Worf in Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine . Dorn was the last of the main actors to be cast in The Next Generation, and prepared for his audition by isolating himself from the other actors and remaining taciturn through his interview, mimicking the personality of the character. ^[4] His character proved so popular amongst fans that Dorn was added to the cast of spin-off series Deep Space Nine in an effort to boost ratings. ^{[5] [6]}

Dorn (as Worf) has the record for the most on-screen appearances of any Star Trek character. As Worf, he appeared in 175 episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation (missing only the episodes "Code of Honor", "Haven", and "Shades of Gray"), 102 episodes of Deep Space Nine, four Star Trek movies, and seven episodes of Star Trek: Picard , bringing his total to 288 appearances as the character. He also appeared as Worf's ancestor, Colonel Worf, in the 1991 film Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country and directed the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episodes "In the Cards", "Inquisition", and "When It Rains...", and the Star Trek: Enterprise episode "Two Days and Two Nights".

He was one of six actors to reprise his role, in voiceover, for the Star Trek: Captain's Chair virtual reality game. In 2014, he participated in the fan-produced Star Trek episode "Fairest of Them All", giving his voice to the computer of the Mirror Universe Enterprise. ^[7]

In 2012, Dorn announced a desire to return to his Klingon role in a television series tentatively titled Star Trek: Captain Worf. He said:

I had come up with the idea because I love [Worf] and I think he's a character that hasn't been fully developed and hasn't been fully realized. Once I started thinking about it, it became obvious to me that I wanted to at least put it out there, which I have, and the response has been pretty amazing. We've been contacted by different individuals–I can't say who and all that–about wanting to come on board and be part of this. ^[8]

In April 2022, it was announced that he would reprise his role as Worf in the third season of Star Trek: Picard, which aired in 2023. ^[9]

Other work

Dorn has appeared in a number of TV shows, films, and video games. He has been the spokesman for Neutrogena T-Gel Shampoo, and has appeared in a Dodge Dart car commercial. He voiced Marcus and Frank Horrigan in Fallout 2 . He appeared in a 2012 tongue-in-cheek television commercial for Chrysler as "Future Guy", a time traveler sent from the future to assist development of the 2013 Dodge Dart. ^[10] He also plays the role of General Thain in the Castlevania: Hymn of Blood web series. ^[11]

Following his Star Trek career, he had supporting roles in a number of independent feature films, including Shadow Hours (2000), Lessons for an Assassin (2001), and The Santa Clause trilogy, in which he appeared in a minor role as the Sandman. Dorn reprised his role as Worf for cameo appearances on Webster and Family Guy , the latter with several of his fellow Next Generation castmates. He had a recurring role on the television series Castle , playing the therapist of NYPD police detective Kate Beckett's. ^[12]

In March 2023, Dorn was announced as the writer for a comic starring Steel (John Henry Irons), whom he voiced in Superman: The Animated Series . Steelworks #1 was published on June 6, 2023, with art by Sami Basri. ^[13]

Dorn provides the voice of the character Battle Beast in the animated series Invincible .

Personal life

A member of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, ^[14] Dorn is an accomplished pilot. He has flown with the Blue Angels and the Thunderbirds. ^[3] He has owned several jet aircraft, including a Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star, which he jokingly refers to as his "starship", ^[15] a North American F-86 Sabre, and currently owns a North American Sabreliner. Dorn also serves on several aviation organizations, one of which is the Air Force Aviation Heritage Foundation, ^[16] where he is on the advisory board. Dorn was interviewed for the "Private Jets" episode of Modern Marvels on The History Channel.

Dorn stated in a 2010 interview that he had been diagnosed with an "early early" stage of prostate cancer, which led him to become a vegan. ^[17]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1976	Rocky	Apollo Creed's bodyguard	Film debut; uncredited
1977	Demon Seed	bit part (uncredited)
1985	Jagged Edge	Dan Hislan
1991	Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country	Klingon Defense Attorney (Colonel Worf)
1994	Star Trek Generations	Lieutenant Commander Worf
1995	Timemaster	Chairman
	Mission Critical	Commander
1996	Star Trek: First Contact	Lieutenant Commander Worf
1997	Menno's Mind	Simon, Menno's Friend
1998	Star Trek: Insurrection	Lieutenant Commander Worf
2000	Shadow Hours	Detective Thomas Greenwood
	The Prophet's Game	Bob Bowman
2001	The Gristle	Tar
	Mach 2	Rogers
	Ali	Black pilot
2002	Face Value	Hitman
	Star Trek: Nemesis	Lieutenant Commander Worf
	The Santa Clause 2	Sandman	Cameo
2003	Shade	Jack Thornhill
	Lessons For an Assassin	Quinn
	The Interplanetary Surplus Male and Amazon Women of Outer Space	Sam the Bartender	Direct-to-video
2005	Heart of the Beholder	Lieutenant Larson
	Thru the Moebius Strip	King Tor	Voice [18]
2006	The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause	Sandman
2007	Fist of the Warrior	Arnold Denton
	Night Skies	Kyle
	The Deep Below	Carl Bennett
2009	Bionicle: The Legend Reborn	Mata Nui	Voice, direct-to-video [18]
2012	Strange Frame	Guardship Commander	[18]
2015	Ted 2	Rick
2019	Wonder Woman: Bloodlines	Ferdinand the Minotaur	Voice, direct-to-video [18]

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1979–1982	CHiPs	Officer Jebediah Turner	31 episodes
1981	Knots Landing	Paramedic	Episode: "The Vigil"
1985	227	Lester's friend	1 episode
	Hunter	Highway Patrolman	Episode: "Waiting for Mr. Wrong"
1986–1987	Days of Our Lives	Jimmy
1987	Punky Brewster	Councilman Weatherwax	Episode: "Fighting City Hall"
1987–1994	Star Trek: The Next Generation	Lieutenant Worf	Main role, 7 seasons
1988	Reading Rainbow	Himself	Episode: "The Bionic Bunny Show"
1989	Webster	Lieutenant Worf	Episode: "Webtrek"
1991–1994	Dinosaurs	Elders, Solomon the Great, WESAYSO Announcer	Voice, recurring role
1994	SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron	Mutilor	Episode: "When Strikes Mutilor"
1994–1997	Gargoyles	Coldstone, Taurus	Recurring role [18]
1995	Amanda and the Alien	Lieutenant Vint	Television film
	World of Wonder	Himself – Host	Science show on the Discovery Channel
1995–1996	Fantastic Four	Gorgon	Voice, 2 episodes [18]
1995–1999	Star Trek: Deep Space Nine	Lieutenant Commander Worf	Main role, 4 seasons
1995	The Outer Limits	Pete Claridge	Episode: "The Voyage Home"
1996	Adventures from the Book of Virtues	Apollo	Voice, episode: "Humility"
	Captain Simian & the Space Monkeys	Lord Nebula	Voice, 2 episodes [18]
	The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest	Tala	Voice, episode: "The Dark Mountain" [18]
1996–2000	Superman: The Animated Series	Kalibak, John Henry Irons / Steel	Voice, recurring role [18]
1997	Street Fighter	The Warrior King	Voice, episode: "The Warrior King"; uncredited
1997–2000	I Am Weasel	I.M. Weasel	Voice, main role [18]
1998	Haunted History	Narrator	Voice, episode: "Haunted History: Charleston"
1998–1999	Hercules	Minotaur	Voice, 2 episodes
2000	Martial Law	Councilman Tynan	Episode: "No Quarter"
2001	7th Heaven	Mr. Johnson
2002	Through the Fire	Michael Collins	Television film
	The Zeta Project	Colonel Lemak	Voice, 2 episodes [18]
	Static Shock	Reverend Anderson	Voice, episode: "Frozen Out" [18]
2003	Justice League	Kalibak	Voice, 2 episodes [18]
	Kim Possible: A Sitch in Time	Rufus 3000	Voice, television film
	Spider-Man: The New Animated Series	Kraven the Hunter	Voice, 2 episodes
2003–2005	Duck Dodgers	Martian Centurion Robots, Captain Long, Klunkin Warrior	Voice, main role [18]
2004–2005	Megas XLR	R.E.G.I.S., Bot #14, Guard	Voice, 2 episodes [18]
2004–2007	Danny Phantom	Fright Knight	Voice, 4 episodes [18]
2005	Justice League Unlimited	Kalibak	Voice, episode: "The Ties That Bind" [18]
	Descent	General Fielding	Television film
2005, 2009	Family Guy	Lieutenant Worf, Himself	Voice, 2 episodes
2006	All You've Got	Fire Captain Diaz	Television film
	A.I. Assault	General Buskirk	Television film
	Fallen Angels	Taylor	Television film
2007	Squirrel Boy	Reuben Belmont	Voice, 2 episodes
	Ben 10	Viktor, Benvicktor	Voice, 2 episodes [18]
	Without a Trace	Nathan Riggs	Episode: "Absolom"
2008–2009	Heroes	US President	2 episodes
2009	Batman: The Brave and the Bold	Kru'll the Eternal	Voice, episode: "Menace of the Conqueror Caveman!" [18]
	Heroes	President of the United States	Episode: "An Invisible Thread"
2010	Adventure Time	Gork, Monster Head #2	Voice, episode: "Freak City" [18]
	It's a Trap!	Lieutenant Worf
2011–2015	Castle	Dr. Carver Burke	Recurring role; 6 episodes
2011	Winx Club	Lord Darkar	Voice, recurring role
2011	The Super Hero Squad Show	Ronan the Accuser	Voice, 2 episodes [18]
2012, 2014	Regular Show	Thomas the Demon	Voice, 2 episodes [18]
2014	Ben 10: Omniverse	Dr. Viktor, I.M. Werfzel	Voice, 2 episodes [18]
2015–2016	Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles	Captain Mozar, Triceratons	Voice, recurring role [18]
2016	Uncle Grandpa	Crispin Mulcahy	Voice, 4 episodes
2016–2017	Arrow	Prometheus	Voice, recurring role (uncredited) [19] [20]
2017	Supergirl		Voice, episode: "Crisis on Earth-X"; uncredited
	Transformers: Titans Return	Fortress Maximus	Voice, web series
2017–2018	Justice League Action	Atrocitus	Voice, 2 episodes [18]
2017–2019	The Lion Guard	Bupu	Voice, recurring role [18]
2018	OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes	Red Strike, I.M. Weasel	Voice, episode: "Crossover Nexus" [18]
2021-present	Invincible	Thokk / Battle Beast	Voice, 2 episodes [18]
2021-2022	Dogs in Space	Pistachio Soup	Voice, 6 episodes [18]
2022	Dota: Dragon's Blood	Asar	Voice, 8 episodes [18]
2023	Star Trek: Picard	Captain Worf	Season 3
2023	The Santa Clauses	Sandman	[21]

Video games

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1993	Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers	Dr. John	[18]
	Stellar 7: Draxon's Revenge	Narrator
1995	Mission Critical	Captain Stephen R. Dayna
	Star Trek: The Next Generation – A Final Unity	Lieutenant Worf	[18]
1996	Vikings: The Strategy of Ultimate Conquest	Narrator
1997	Star Trek Generations	Lt. Commander Worf
1998	Fallout 2	Marcus, Frank Horrigan	[18]
2000	Star Trek: Armada	Ambassador Worf
	Star Trek: Klingon Academy	Thok Mak
	Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: The Fallen	Lt. Commander Worf
	Star Trek: Invasion
2001	Emperor: Battle for Dune	Duke Achillus
2006	Star Trek: Legacy	Worf
2008	Saints Row 2	Maero	[18]
	Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures	Kazim
2010	Mass Effect 2	Gatatog Uvenk
	Fallout: New Vegas	Marcus	[18]
	StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty	Tassadar	[18]
2013	Saints Row IV	Maero	[18]
	Star Trek: Online	Ambassador Worf	[18]
2015	Infinite Crisis	Swamp Thing
	Code Name: S.T.E.A.M.	John Henry	[18]
2016	Master of Orion: Conquer the Stars	Narrator	[22]
2017	XCOM 2: War of the Chosen	Pratal Mox
2018	Lego DC Super-Villains	Kalibak	[23]
2019	Indivisible	Ravannavar	[24] [18]

Web series

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2010	Mata Nui Saga	Mata Nui	Voice [25]
2014	Star Trek Continues	Computer Voice	Voice, episode: "Fairest of Them All"
2015	Con Man	Himself	Episode: "Thank Your for Your Service"
2017	Bravest Warriors	Armada Pilot	Voice, episode: "Dan of Future Past"
	Transformers: Titans Return	Fortress Maximus	Voice, episode: "Aftermath and Rebirth" [18]

Awards and honors

• 2024 – Saturn Awards – Lifetime Achievement Award – The Cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation ^{[26] [a]}

Notes

1. "The Lifetime Achievement Award is usually presented to an individual for their contributions to genre entertainment. Top luminaries like Stan Lee and Leonard Nimoy, Mr. Spock himself, have received this top honor. It's not new, but we extended this award to cover the entire cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation , due to its continued influence on the face of general television. It was originally doomed to failure since it was following in the footsteps of the original Star Trek, yet it carved its own identity, and its diverse cast was light years ahead of its time!" —Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films ^[26]

References

1. "Michael Dorn - IMDb". IMDb. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
2. "Michael Dorn Family Tree". Freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com. Archived from the original on June 25, 2016. Retrieved August 17, 2010.
3. "Star Trek Database – Dorn, Michael". Star Trek Database. CBS Entertainment. Retrieved December 10, 2011.
4. Selected Crew Analysis: Casting (DVD). Michael Dorn (actor). Paramount. 2002.
5. Greenwald, Jeff (1998). "Worf Factors". Future Perfect: How Star Trek Conquered Planet Earth. New York: Viking. p.  79. ISBN   978-0-670-87399-9. Dorn plays the immensely popular Worf ... Worf may be the most complex and sympathetic character in the history of Star Trek.
6. Charting New Territory: Deep Space Nine Season Four (DVD). Robert Hewitt Wolfe (writer/producer). Paramount. 2003. Of Worf, Wolfe says that the studio felt DS9's ratings were sagging at the end of the third season, and he and the other writers were asked to give viewers a new reason to watch. Their answer was to make Worf a part of the cast.
7. Sloan, Sam (June 16, 2014). "Star Trek Continues: Fairest Of Them All – A Slice of SciFi Review". Slice of SciFi . Retrieved November 23, 2014.
8. Schaefer, Sandy (September 4, 2012). "Michael Dorn Confirms He's Working on a 'Star Trek: Captain Worf' TV Series". Screen Rant. IndieClick Film Network. Retrieved May 13, 2013.
9. Petski, Denise (April 5, 2022). "'Star Trek: Picard': LeVar Burton & Michael Dorn Among 6 'Next Generation' Alums Joining Third & Final Season". Deadline. Retrieved April 5, 2022.
10. Vellequette, Larry (September 5, 2012). "Chrysler's latest treat wears a silver suit". Automotive News . Crain Communications, Inc. Retrieved September 22, 2012.
11. "Warp Factor 2 announces "Castlevania: Hymn of Blood" Web Series". PRWeb. October 26, 2012. Archived from the original on October 26, 2013. Retrieved September 13, 2013.
12. "Castle Exclusive: Star Trek's Michael Dorn Is Beckett's Shrink". TV Guide. August 4, 2011. Retrieved September 19, 2011.
13. Schreur, Brandon (March 10, 2023). "Star Trek Icon Michael Dorn Joins DC to Script a New Steel Series". CBR. Retrieved March 10, 2023.
14. "AOPA Online: Instructor Reports". Aopa.org. November 30, 2006. Retrieved August 17, 2010.
15. Freeze, Di (June 2008). "Michael Dorn: A Trek worth Remembering". Airportjournals.com. Airport Journals. Retrieved June 13, 2015.
16. ":::Air Force Aviation Heritage Foundation :::". Afahf.org. Retrieved August 17, 2010.
17. "Worf from 'Star Trek' goes vegan".
18. "Michael Dorn (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved September 3, 2023. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
19. Schedeen, Jesse (June 1, 2017). "Arrow: Season 5 Review". IGN. Retrieved June 6, 2017.
20. Guggenheim, Marc (April 5, 2017). "marcguggenheim". tumblr. Retrieved August 8, 2017.
21. Swann, Erik (October 17, 2023). "Tim Allen Clashes With Modern Family's Eric Stonestreet In The Santa Clauses Season 2 Trailer, And I'm Down To See These Sitcom Legends Face Off". CinemaBlend. Retrieved November 9, 2023.
22. Forté, Malik (February 18, 2016). "Master of Orion Voice Cast Includes Mark Hamill, Michael Dorn, and More". Nerdist. Archived from the original on February 19, 2016. Retrieved February 19, 2016.
23. "LEGO DC Super-Villains Story Trailer Brings Back Classic Animated Series Voice Actors". GameRevolution. August 21, 2018.
24. "Indivisible Cast List Revealed". August 6, 2019.
25. https://biomediaproject.com/bmp/music/dorn/
26. Pascale, Anthony (February 4, 2024). "'Star Trek: Picard' Wins 4 Saturn Awards, 'Strange New Worlds' Wins 1". TREKMOVIE.com. Archived from the original on February 5, 2024.

External links

• Michael Dorn at IMDb
• Michael Dorn at the TCM Movie Database
• Michael Dorn: A Trek Worth Remembering