So I did a quiet and cerebral audition and when I finished, they said, “Do you know what a Klingon is?” I said, “Oh, you want it to be loud, aggressive, abrasive, obnoxious, boorish…” They said, “Yes.” So I did it with that in mind, and I threw a chair against a wall. I’m going to be Patrick Stewart as a Klingon.” I’m not going to be offensive, overbearing, self-possessed, arrogant, boorish. I auditioned and I said to myself, “I’m not going to be your usual Klingon. Take a look, then come in and read.” It was General Martok. He said, “Oh, John, you might be good for this. I was sitting outside, angry about something, and Ron Surma came by. Don’t waste their time or my time.” Real soon after that, I had an audition. They’ve seen everything I could possibly ever do and I haven’t gotten a role. I finally told my agent, “Don’t send me up to Star Trek anymore. What are you reading this time?” I’d say, “Oh, a Cardassian,” or whatever it was. I’d come in, punch my card and people would say, “Good to see you again. I was just going to do theater in Washington, D.C., and the world took me to a different place. Being a part of the big dream factory called Hollywood, I never thought I’d go there. I’m a blue-collar actor, and so that was just a remarkable experience. The fact that I’d ever come to work on a Star Trek show and drive through the arches of Paramount Pictures to get there? It hadn’t occurred to me that, as an actor, that would ever happen. But doing that first show, it was pretty incredible to me. I’d spent several summers working with Patrick, because he ran a Shakespeare workshop on the lot at Paramount on Saturdays. Hertzler: Well, it was pretty exciting because I think I had a little scene with Patrick Stewart. You made your first DS9 appearance as the Vulcan captain in “Emissary.” What do you recall of the experience? caught up with Hertzler for the following interview. These days, Hertzler lives in the Finger Lakes region of New York these days and focuses his energy on teaching drama at Cornell University and raising his daughter. The actor - whose non- Trek credits include Quantum Leap, Zorro, Pirates of Silicon Valley, Six Feet Under, and numerous stage roles - turned up as the Hirogen Fighter in the Voyager episode “ Tsunkatse.” He went onto appear on Enterprise as the Klingon advocate Kolos in “ Judgment,” and a Klingon Commander in “Borderland." Need more? Hertzler was involved in several Klingon-themed Trek video games, penned a pair of Trek novels, The Left Hand of Destiny duology and co-starred as Koval in the fan film Star Trek: Of Gods and Men. However, Hertzler’s Trek adventure was only just beginning with DS9. He appeared first as the Vulcan Captain and Prophet in the DS9 pilot “ Emissary,” before returning several seasons later as the Changeling impostor version of the Klingon General Martok in the year-four finale “ The Way of the Warrior,” and year-five opener “ Apocalypse Rising.” He played the “real” Martok more than 20 times across seasons five, six and seven, even surviving the momentous events of the series finale, “ What You Leave Behind.” Hertzler also portrayed the human illustrator in “ Far Beyond the Stars,” the Changeling Laas in “ Chimera” and a holosuite guest in “ What You Leave Behind.” Hertzler, John Noah Hertzler, and Garman Hertzler, to name a few.) and in part because the actor tackled so many Trek roles. Chances are you didn’t even realize you saw him as often as you did - in part because he used so many names (J.G. Hertzler was all over Star Trek, especially Deep Space Nine.
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