Every Star Trek Character Played By René Auberjonois, Explained

By 1993, René Auberjonois already had a long and diverse career. He'd starred as Father Mulcahey in the critically acclaimed 1970 film, "M*A*S*H" and had a key role in the long-running sitcom "Benson" in the 1980s. For decades, he also had a prolific career as a voice actor for animation, with roles in superhero shows, appearing as DeSaad in "Super Friends" and General Zod in 1988's "Superman" series, not to mention roles in "Snorks" and "The Pirates of Dark Water." But when he joined the "Star Trek" franchise, he found what would eventually become his most iconic role: playing the shapeshifting Security Chief Odo in "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine."

Odo was the series' stoic, analytical security officer, following in the footsteps of beloved characters Mr. Spock and Commander Data, but this time that archetype also featured a surlier side. He starred in the series for all seven seasons, but it's not the only role he played in "Star Trek." In fact, beyond Odo, Aubernojois has played several different characters across multiple "Star Trek" shows and movies. 

If you're a "Deep Space Nine" fan, you may be familiar with one or two of Auberjonois' roles in the series. But if you wanted to learn more about the other roles that the actor played within "Star Trek," we've put together a primer just for you.

When introduced in "Deep Space Nine," Odo was a grumpy, distrustful sort, a mysterious figure with no knowledge of his own origins. Discovered as an "infant" floating in space, he was initially just an odd genetic specimen, but took human form thanks to the efforts of Bajoran scientist Mora Pol (James Sloyan). Years later, Odo took the role of security chief aboard the orbital ore processing station Terok Nor, where he managed to earn respect among both his Cardassian overseers and the Bajoran workers amid the Cardassian Occupation of Bajor.

It was the respect he commanded from both sides of the Occupation that led Starfleet to retain Odo as the Bajorans' head of station security after they took control of Terok Nor, renaming it Deep Space Nine. But after war broke out with the Dominion, the truth of Odo's origins was revealed. 

In a stunning twist, we learned that Odo was one of 100 Changeling "children" sent out into distant corners of the galaxy by his people — the Changeling Founders who control the Dominion. Struggling with his loyalty to Bajor, the Federation, and his own people, Odo was eventually instrumental in ending the war by helping convince the Founders to cease hostilities. In the aftermath, he returned to his people's homeworld in the Gamma Quadrant.

Thanks to his romantic relationship with fellow Bajoran officer Major Kira (Nana Visitor), Odo grew into a soulful, caring, and humble figure during the series, while never losing his edge. Though Auberjonois passed away in 2019, stock voice clips brought him back to life for a holodeck scene in the CGI-animated "Star Trek: Prodigy."

After several decades, "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" brought back the Mirror Universe from the original "Star Trek" series episode "Mirror, Mirror," in a surprising ongoing storyline. Sadly, though, Odo's Mirror Universe duplicate only appeared in one episode of that story, the Season 2 installment "Crossover." The good news is that he's once again played by René Auberjonois. While sharing many key traits with his Prime Timeline counterpart, Mirror Odo is a far more sinister version of the character serving on Terok Nor, which in this reality is still an ore processing facility using enslaved Bajoran laborers.

Serving the Cardassian/Klingon alliance, Mirror Odo is a cruel and unforgiving shapeshifter who runs security on the station at the behest of the station's overseer, Intendant Kira Nerys. In the episode, Dr. Bashir (Alexander Siddig) from Deep Space Nine is inadvertently sent into the Mirror Universe. Aboard Terok Nor, Mirror Odo subjects him to ruthless punishment for not knowing the rules aboard the station. But when a thorium leak causes chaos aboard the station, Bashir takes the opportunity to get even, stealing a phaser and murdering Odo by blasting him, incinerating his shapeshifting form.

"Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" was known for tackling heavy subjects in a more raw and nuanced way, and one of its best episodes, "Far Beyond the Stars," does just that. The story sees Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) waking up to find himself in the 1950s in New York City. He's no longer a Starfleet captain, but a science fiction writer working for one of the nation's biggest pulp magazines, "Incredible Tales." 

In this strange world, he and the rest of the crew of Deep Space Nine are all there, but playing very different characters, ala "The Wizard of Oz." Sisko is the frustrated writer Benny Russell, Martok (J.G. Hertzler) is gruff staff artist Roy Ritterhouse, and Miles O'Brien (Colm Meaney) is the robot-obsessed Albert Macklin. Odo, meanwhile, is magazine editor Douglas Pabst, which allows Auberjonois to appear in the episode without his usual alien makeup. 

Pabst is a grumpy sort who only seems to care about one thing: Making his bosses happy by selling as many copies of "Incredible Tales" as possible. This often makes him an enemy of the writers, particularly Benny, whose artistic integrity puts him at odds with the publisher's more capitalist ideals. Though the world of Benny Russell is presumed to be a dream, there is at least one "Strange New Worlds" Easter egg that suggest that it might have at least glimpsed a bit of bonus "Star Trek" history.

Despite Odo being René Auberjonois' most iconic role, it might surprise some more casual fans to learn that it's not the first role the actor played in "Star Trek." That honor falls to the character of Colonel West, who appears in a pair of deleted moments in "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country." He shows up first in an extended deleted scene early in the film, which was later added back into the movie for a director's cut years after its theatrical bow.

In that scene, the President of the Federation (Kurtwood Smith) is meeting with representatives from the Klingon and Romulan empires to discuss the matter of Captain Kirk's (William Shatner) apparent assassination of the Klingon Chancellor (David Warner, who also played multiple iconic roles in "Star Trek"). After they depart the meeting, Admiral Cartwright (Brock Peters) enters, accompanied by Colonel West (Auberjonois), who presents the President with a daring plan to rescue Kirk from the clutches of the Klingons.

Portrayed as a by-the-book military officer, West presents his plan with cold efficiency and seems unconcerned about its effect on relations between the Federation and the Klingons. Part of his dismissiveness is because West and Cartwright are secretly working with the Klingons to destabilize the upcoming peace talks. In the film's final moments, West is killed, and he is revealed as the perpetrator behind an assassination attempt on the new Klingon Chancellor (Rosanna DeSoto), using a Klingon disguise to hide his identity.

The 2001 prequel series "Star Trek: Enterprise" seemed to struggle in the ratings for most of its run, eventually leading to a premature cancellation after its fourth season. Perhaps in an attempt to get audiences to tune in, several "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" alumni were recruited for guest-starring roles, often playing new characters. This included the likes of J.G. Hertzler (Martok), Robert O'Reilly (ever unrecognizable as Gowron), and Casey Biggs (Damar). René Auberjonois was the only "DS9" regular to appear, showing up in the Season 1 episode "Oasis," where he played an alien refugee named Ezral. 

The episode sees Captain Archer and the NX-01 Enterprise paying a visit to an apparent derelict spacecraft while in search of supplies. But the ship isn't entirely deserted, and a man named Ezral is in charge of a group of heavily armed men. Ezral is there with his daughter, Liana (Annie Wersching, who returned to "Trek" in 2022 to play the Borg Queen). Ezral is cagey about their presence on the ship and wants the Enterprise to leave, and we soon learn why: Ezral and Liana are the only survivors of the ship's crew. The rest are holographic duplicates he's created to keep them company, and to assuage the guilt he feels for getting the entire crew killed in the crash that stranded them on a remote planet.

With Archer's help, Ezral is finally able to come to terms with his situation and eventually accepts Archer's help in repairing his ship. With a renewed sense of self, Ezral returns to his people with his daughter.