Thomas Kopache

Last updated
Thomas Kopache
Born (1945-10-17) October 17, 1945 (age 78)
OccupationActor

Thomas Kopache (born October 17, 1945) is an American actor.

Contents

Career

Kopache was born in Manchester, New Hampshire, the son of Dorothy E. (née Sterling). [1] He is known for his roles as Assistant Secretary of State Bob Slattery in The West Wing and for various roles in the Star Trek franchise. He has also appeared in the stage productions of As You Like It as the banished Duke and in Antigone as Creon.

He has appeared in three of the Star Trek series and, along with Jeffrey Combs, Vaughn Armstrong, J. G. Hertzler and Randy Oglesby, is one of only five actors to portray as many as seven characters. Kopache played a Romulan in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "The Next Phase", a hologram in "Emergence" and a Starfleet officer in Star Trek Generations . On Star Trek: Deep Space Nine he played Kira Taban, the father of Kira Nerys (Nana Visitor), in "Ties of Blood and Water" and "Wrongs Darker Than Death or Night". On Star Trek: Voyager he played the planner of an alien settlement discovered to be in stasis by the Voyager crew. In 1994, he portrayed Tu'Pari in the Babylon 5 episode "The Parliament of Dreams".

Kopache made a brief appearance in No Country For Old Men as a shoe salesman. Kopache guest starred as Vic Feldspar, Craig Feldspar's lisping, Jack LaLanne-like father in "Living Will", a sixth-season episode of Malcolm in the Middle . He briefly appeared as blackjack player Borsalino Cap in "The Contingency", the second-season premiere of the TV series Person of Interest .

"Catheter Cowboy"

In 2017, Kopache appeared on the HBO show Last Week Tonight as the "Catheter Cowboy", a character based on a commercial that aired on networks such as Fox News. [2] [3] Kopache's character would star in a similar-looking commercial and initially appear to talk about pain involving catheter use, but would then explain subjects such as the nuclear triad and the problems the American Health Care Act of 2017 offered. John Oliver bought commercial airtime in the Washington D.C. area and aired Kopache's segment live on stations such as Morning Joe and Fox & Friends [4] in an attempt to send a message to President Donald Trump, as he was aware that Trump watched these shows. [5] [6]

Selected filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
1983 Without a Trace Police officer
1991 Liebestraum Dr. Parker
1993 This Boy's Life Geiger Counter Vendor
1994 Mr. Jones Mr. Wilson
1994 Star Trek Generations Com Officer
1995 Leaving Las Vegas Mr. Simpson
1996 Ghosts of Mississippi Thorn McIntyre
1997 Breakdown Calhoun
1997 One Night Stand Merv
1998 Recoil Captain Trent [7]
1999 Stigmata Father Durning
2002 Catch Me If You Can Principal Evans
2003 A Man Apart Chief Neal
2005 Adam & Steve Joe
2006 Ten 'til Noon Mr. Duke
2007 Zodiac Copy Editor #1
2007 No Country for Old Men Boot Salesman
2007 Trust Me Amos Sands
2015The AppPsychotic Man
2015Chasing Eagle RockSam
201637George Bernstein [8] [9]
2017The SoundingSeth

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
1994 Star Trek: The Next Generation The EngineerEpisode: Emergence
1995 The X-Files General CallahanEpisode: The Walk
1996 Star Trek: Voyager ViorsaEpisode: The Thaw
1997 Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Kira TabanEpisode: Ties of Blood and Water
1998 Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Kira TabanEpisode: Wrongs Darker than Death or Night
2001 Star Trek: Enterpeise Vulcan Attaché TosEpisode: Broken Bow
2002–2005, 2020 The West Wing Bob Slattery15 episodes
2003 Stargate SG-1 Ellori1 episode
2004 Boston Legal Judge Dale Wallace1 episode
2004 Star Trek: Enterprise The AlienEpisode: Harbinger
2005 Malcolm in the Middle Vic Feldspar1 episode
2006 Close to Home Judge Salter4 episodes
2007 Psych Leonard Sirtis1 episode
2010 Castle Abe SandrichSeason 3, Episode 4
2010 Bones Gregory GeringSeason 6, Episode 4
2015 Jessica Jones Dr. Kozlov2 episodes
2016 MacGyver O'Brian1 episode
2017–2018 Last Week Tonight with John Oliver Catheter Cowboy5 episodes
2018 The Tick Nabakov2 episodes
2018 House of Cards Earl Hanna1 episode
2020 Messiah Judge Harold Pleva1 episode

Related Research Articles

Kes (<i>Star Trek</i>) Star Trek character

Kes is a fictional character played by Jennifer Lien on the American science fiction television show Star Trek: Voyager. The series follows the crew of the starship USS Voyager, stranded far from home and struggling to get back to Earth. Kes joins the crew in the pilot episode "Caretaker", opening an aeroponics garden and working as the medical assistant to the artificial intelligence known as the Doctor. She is a member of a telepathic alien species known as the Ocampa who have latent psychic abilities and a life span of only nine years. Her storylines focus on encouraging the Doctor to develop his humanity and dealing with her Talaxian boyfriend Neelix's jealousy. She also seeks to expand upon her mental capabilities, leaving in the fourth season after her powers threaten to destroy the ship. She reappears in a season six episode and features in Star Trek: Voyager novels and short stories.

Star Trek: Voyager is an American science fiction series created by Rick Berman, Michael Piller and Jeri Taylor. It aired from January 16, 1995, to May 23, 2001, on UPN, with 172 episodes over seven seasons. The fifth series in the Star Trek franchise, it served as the fourth after Star Trek: The Original Series. Set in the 24th century, when Earth is part of a United Federation of Planets, it follows the adventures of the Starfleet vessel USS Voyager as it attempts to return home to the Alpha Quadrant after being stranded in the Delta Quadrant on the far side of the galaxy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Riker</span> Fictional character from Star Trek

William Thomas "Will" Riker is a fictional character in the Star Trek universe appearing primarily as a main character in Star Trek: The Next Generation, portrayed by Jonathan Frakes. Throughout the series and its accompanying films, he is the Enterprise's first officer, and briefly captain, until he accepts command of the USS Titan at the end of Star Trek: Nemesis. He is the husband of Deanna Troi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tasha Yar</span> Fictional character on Star Trek: The Next Generation

Natasha "Tasha" Yar is a fictional character that mainly appeared in the first season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation. Portrayed by Denise Crosby, Yar is chief of security aboard the Starfleet starship USS Enterprise-D and carries the rank of lieutenant.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tuvok</span> Fictional character in Star Trek: Voyager

Tuvok is a fictional character in the Star Trek media franchise and a main character in the television series Star Trek: Voyager. Tuvok is a Vulcan who serves as the ship's second officer, Chief of Security, and Chief Tactical Officer. He was portrayed by Tim Russ throughout the show's run from 1995 to 2001, as well as in subsequent portrayals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reginald Barclay</span> Recurring Star Trek character

Reginald Endicott Barclay III is a fictional engineer from the Star Trek media franchise. On television and in film, he has been portrayed by Dwight Schultz since the character's introduction in the Star Trek: The Next Generation third season episode "Hollow Pursuits." Schultz played the character for five episodes and one feature film of The Next Generation, as well as six episodes of the series Star Trek: Voyager. Barclay also appears in non-canon Star Trek novels and video games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kira Nerys</span> Fictional humanoid in the TV Series Star Trek Deep Space Nine

Kira Nerys is a fictional character in the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993–1999). She was played by actress Nana Visitor. The character is from the fictional planet Bajor, a world which has recently emerged from a brutal foreign occupation. She was a member of the resistance, and the decades-long conflict has left her tough and uncompromising, but she is sustained by her strong faith in traditional Bajoran religion. She has been assigned to Deep Space Nine, a space station jointly operated by the United Federation of Planets and the new provisional Bajoran government, where she serves as second in command as well as the ranking representative of her people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John de Lancie</span> American actor (born 1948)

John Sherwood de Lancie, Jr. is an American actor, best known for his role as Q in various Star Trek series, beginning with Star Trek: The Next Generation in 1987 and leading up to the third season of Star Trek: Picard in 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Picardo</span> American actor

Robert Alphonse Picardo is an American actor. He is best known for playing the Cowboy in Innerspace, Coach Cutlip on The Wonder Years, Captain Dick Richard on the ABC series China Beach, the Doctor on Star Trek: Voyager and Richard Woolsey in the Stargate franchise. He is a frequent collaborator of Joe Dante and is a member of The Planetary Society's Board of Directors.

"Tuvix" is the 40th episode of the science fiction television program Star Trek: Voyager. The episode originally aired on May 6, 1996, and tells the story of Tuvok and Neelix being merged into a unique third character named Tuvix.

"Blood Oath" is the 19th episode of the second season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and originally aired on March 27, 1994 in broadcast syndication. The story was created by Peter Allan Fields and the episode was directed by Winrich Kolbe. The choreography of the ending fight scene was created by Dan Curry and Dennis Madalone, while the score was created by Dennis McCarthy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tim Russ</span> American actor (born 1956)

Timothy Darrell Russ is an American actor, musician, screenwriter, director and amateur astronomer. He is best known for his roles as Lieutenant Commander Tuvok on Star Trek: Voyager, Robert Johnson in Crossroads (1986), Casey in East of Hope Street (1998), Frank on Samantha Who?, Principal Franklin on the Nickelodeon sitcom iCarly, and D. C. Montana on The Highwaymen (1987–1988). He appeared in The Rookie: Feds (2022) and reprised his role as Captain Tuvok on Season 3 of Star Trek: Picard.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bruce McGill</span> American actor (born 1950)

Bruce Travis McGill is an American actor. He worked with director Michael Mann in the films The Insider (1999), Ali (2001), and Collateral (2004). McGill's other notable film roles include Daniel Simpson "D-Day" Day in John Landis's Animal House, Sheriff Dean Farley in My Cousin Vinny, and Lt. Brooks in Ride Along and its sequel Ride Along 2.

"The Thaw" is the 39th episode of Star Trek: Voyager, the 23rd episode of the second season. In this science fiction television show, the crew of a spaceship discover aliens who are mentally connected to a computer. The spacecraft finds a planet that was destroyed by a solar flare, and the survivors are in hibernation pods.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Sloyan</span> American actor

James Sloyan is an American actor.

<i>The Captains</i> (film) 2011 Canadian film

The Captains is a 2011 feature documentary that follows actor William Shatner through interviews with the other actors who have portrayed starship captains in five other incarnations of the Star Trek franchise. Shatner's subjects discuss their lives and careers before, during, and after their tenure with Star Trek. They explore the pressures, stigmas, and sacrifices that accompanied their roles and their larger careers. The film makes use of conversations, personal observations, interviews, and archival footage.

Several characters within the Star Trek franchise, primary and secondary, often made crossover appearances between one series and another. This included appearances of established characters on premiere episodes of new series, a few long-term transfers from one series to another, and even crossovers between Trek films and television. A few crossover appearances, such as that of Spock on The Next Generation and the time-travel of the crew of Deep Space Nine to the era of The Original Series were especially lauded by both fans and critics.

<i>Last Week Tonight</i> segments about Donald Trump Talk show segments that featured Donald Trump

Donald Trump, the President of the United States from 2017 to 2021, was the subject of segments featured in episodes of Last Week Tonight with John Oliver during Trump's 2016 Republican primary and general election campaigns and presidency, most of which were discussed in the show's opening news recap segment. The ones listed have received prominent coverage from other media, and feature Trump or his actions as part of the main segment.

References

  1. Thomas Kopache Biography (1945–)
  2. "John Oliver Hatches a Plan to Reach Trump Where He Watches". The New York Times. 13 February 2017.
  3. "John Oliver is using a commercial with a catheter-pushing cowboy to get Trump's attention". The Seattle Times. 13 February 2017.
  4. "Trump may see 'Catheter Cowboy' TV spots: 'No shame in quitting'". My LA News. 13 November 2017.
  5. Isidore, Chris (March 14, 2017). "John Oliver's new ad for Trump takes shot at health care bill". CNN
  6. "A running list of John Oliver's 'Catheter Cowboy' ads". The Washington Post. 10 April 2017.
  7. "The Gratuitous B-Movie Column: Recoil". 411Mania. 6 December 2017.
  8. "'37': Film Review". Hollywood Reporter. 6 October 2016.
  9. "37". Slant Magazine. 2 October 2016.