Michael Dorn
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| Michael Dorn | |
|---|---|
 Dorn speaks at the Galileo 7.9 Convention (2005 in Neuss, Germany) |
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| Born | December 9, 1952 Luling, Texas United States |
| Occupation | Actor, Voice Actor |
Michael Dorn (born December 9, 1952) is an American actor known for his role as the Klingon Worf in multiple Star Trek shows and movies.
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[edit] Biography
[edit] Early life & career
Dorn was born in Luling, Texas, the son of Allie Lee (née Nauls) and Fentress Dorn, Jr.[1] He grew up in Pasadena, California. He studied radio and television production at the Pasadena City College. From there he pursued a career in music as a performer with several different rock music bands, travelling to San Francisco and then back to Los Angeles.
He first appeared as a guest on the television show "W.E.B." in 1978. The producer was impressed with his work, so he introduced Michael to an agent who introduced him to acting teacher Charles Conrad to study acting for six months. He then landed a regular role on the television series CHiPs. The first movie he had a role in was Rocky (1976) as Apollo Creed's bodyguard.
[edit] Star Trek
Dorn's most famous role to date is that of the Klingon Starfleet officer Worf in Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.
He said he got the role by showing up at the interview with several people. He did not smile or speak or sit, but stood in a corner in rigid attention posture, like the stereotypical Klingon warrior. When called, he marched into the room, scowled, and shook the interviewer's hand sharply. After reading, he gruffly thanked the director, and walked out. He attributes this reading in character as a Klingon warrior to getting the part.[2]
Dorn has appeared on-screen in more Star Trek episodes and movies as the same character than anyone else. He appeared in 175 episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation, missing three: "Code of Honor", "Haven" and "Shades of Gray". He appeared in 101 episodes of Deep Space Nine, missing four during his time on the show: "Rocks and Shoals", "The Magnificent Ferengi", "Chrysalis" and "Prodigal Daughter". He has also appeared in five Star Trek movies bringing his total to 281 appearances. Colm Meaney is the only other person who has made over 200 appearances on Star Trek with 216 episodes; Majel Barrett has 233 "appearances" but many of these were voice only.
He also appeared in the film Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country as Colonel Worf. As Colonel Worf, he represented Captain James T. Kirk and Dr. Leonard McCoy at their trial on Qo'nos and also unmasked the real assassin Colonel West. Although never confirmed on screen, the character of Colonel Worf was intended to be the grandfather of Star Trek: The Next Generation's Worf. His voice has also deepened from his years of playing Worf.[3]
His two favorite episodes of The Next Generation are "The Offspring" and "The Drumhead".[4]
[edit] Star Trek directorial credits
[edit] Other appearances
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This article or section may contain an inappropriate mixture of prose and timeline. Please help convert this timeline into prose or, if necessary, a list. (December 2007) |
Dorn has also appeared in the Christmas movie The Santa Clause 2 and 3 playing The Sandman and in Ali as a pilot. He is the voice of I. M. Weasel in the animated series I Am Weasel, R.E.G.I.S. Mark V and Number 14 in Megas XLR, Coldstone in Gargoyles, Darkseid's son Kalibak and John Henry Irons (aka Steel) in Superman: The Animated Series, and the Fright Knight in Danny Phantom, among others. During the early 1990s, he guest starred in several episodes of "Dinosaurs" and appeared in The Outer Limits as well. Dorn has also appeared in various computer games, including Emperor: Battle for Dune, a computer game loosely based on Frank Herbert's Dune novels, as the Duke of House Atreides, Dr. John in Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers, Special Agent Frank Horrigan and Marcus the Mutant Sheriff in Fallout 2, and the critically acclaimed Mission Critical as Commander Dana, captain of the spaceship. He has also been the spokesman for Neutrogena T-Gel Shampoo, and has appeared in a car commercial. Dorn has also appeared on Family Guy as Worf with fellow Star Trek: The Next Generation stars Jonathan Frakes and Patrick Stewart in the episode "Peter's Got Woods". Dorn has also supplied the voice of the Martian Centurion Robots in cartoon Duck Dodgers. He provided the voice of Kraven the Hunter in Spider-Man: The New Animated Series. IMDB has also reported him as voicing several NPCs voices in World of Warcraft, and in "Here Thar Be Dwarves", the 30th episode of The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy, as King Beardbottom. He is the voice of the narrator in the 1996 DOS game, Vikings, Strategy of Ultimate Conquest!. He also reappeared in the DC animated universe as Kalibak, in episodes of Justice League and Justice League Unlimited. He recently appeared in the Ben 10 episode "The Return" and Be Afraid Of The Dark as Doctor Vicktor and BenVicktor. He also is the voice of Maero in the video game Saints Row 2.
He was also the voice of Rufus 3000 in the Kim Possible movie A Sitch in Time. He also appeared on "Without a Trace" on November 15, 2007.
[edit] Hobbies
Dorn enjoys flying, something he was not permitted to do while in The Next Generation but was apparently able to do after joining the cast of Deep Space Nine. He has flown with the Blue Angels as well as the Thunderbirds. Dorn owns several aircraft, including an old Air Force T-33 Shooting Star trainer jet, an F-86 Sabre, and a North American Sabreliner. The T-33 is often referred to as "his starship." Michael Dorn also serves on several organizations, one of which is the Air Force Heritage Foundation[5] where he is on the advisory board. Dorn has also done interviews for the "Private Jets" episode of Modern Marvels on The History Channel. He is also a fan of Comedy Central's South Park and admitted in an interview that he wished they'd asked him to guest voice himself in his appearance in the episode "Fun with Veal".
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Michael Dorn at the Internet Movie Database
- Michael Dorn at TV.com
- Michael Dorn at the Voice Chasers Database
- Michael Dorn article at Memory Alpha, a Star Trek wiki
- His filmography
- Serves on the Air Force Aviation Heritage Foundation as an advisory board member
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