By GustavoLeao / 16:48, 27 June 2006 / Deep Space Nine

The lastest issue of Star Trek Magazine, out in the UK, features an exclusive interview with Star Trek Deep Space Nine actor Rene Auberjonois, in which he recalls his role as Odo. Here are few excerpts.



Asked about the Odo/Quark relatioship, he said "I would have to say that in real life, Armin [Shimerman] is probably more Odo to my Quark. The truth is, we have a way of sort of jousting and joshing each other if we’re out hiking or if we go to dinner or if we’re just talking on the phone. Armin can tend to be wonderfully sarcastic with me, which I think was one of the things Odo did towards Quark."

Asked the heavy make up he had to endure on DS9 and the acting challenges associated with it, actor said "I think acting in the mask was probably easier than a lot of people might think. A lot of people have told me they couldn’t understand how Odo could be so expressive in terms of emotions when the mask I was in was even more limiting than the most grotesque Ferengi or Klingon make – up, because it was so neutral and inexpressive in repose. But while we tend to think all our emotions are expressed in our faces by things like smiling or frowning, in my years of study I have learned the mask does not hide emotions. Instead, it tends to amplify emotions because emotion is expressed more through the body and voice and eyes than it is through facial expressions; facial expressions are often used to hide what we’re really feeling rather than express it."

"So I actually found the mask of Odo very liberating. It really allowed me to delve into emotional layers that you often don’t get to explore when you only have your face to work with." He returned to the Star Trek franchise in an episode of Enterprise titled "Oasis", in which he played Ezrael. "Working on Enterprise was a very nice experience," recalls Auberjonois. "It wasn’t a particularly memorable role – it was just one of the many guest shots I’ve done over the years – but I had a great time doing it. It was a very happy set to be on, very easy going thanks to Scott Bakula [Captain Archer]. It was different to the Deep Space Nine set; the very nature of the show and the stories we were telling, coupled with the intensity of Avery Brooks [Sisko] as an actor and as a personality, had a major effect on the show and the atmosphere on set. Enterprise was also still in its first season when I did it, so that wonderful kind of giddy joy was still very much in play."

More from Auberjonois, including comments about his role in Boston Legal, can be found at Sci Fi Pulse.

To read the full article, get the new issue of Star Trek Magazine at your local newsstand.