Star Trek: Michael Dorn Weighs In on 'Discovery' Klingons

No one has spent more time in Klingon makeup than Michael Dorn. He played Starfleet's first Klingon officer, Worf, through seven seasons of Star Trek: The Next Generation. He then went on to reprise the role in four seasons of Deep Space Nine and four movies. He also played one of Worf's ancestors in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.

That makes him an authority on all things Klingon, and he finally weighed in on Star Trek: Discovery's controversial redesign for the alien race.

Dorn was a guest at Rose City Comic Con, along with Next Generation co-stars Gates McFadden and Marina Sirtis. During their panel, a fan asked Dorn what he thought of Discovery's Klingon design.

"In a general sense, in every iteration of Star Trek – outside of Next Generation and Deep Space Nine and all those Klingons – the producers were trying to make it their own and put their own stamp on the Klingons," Dorn said (via Trek Movie). "So, they decided 'We are going to do something different than everybody else,' and I think that is what they came up with for Discovery. There is no rhyme or reason to it, or to any of the stuff, so I think it is just a matter that they want to put a stamp."

While Dorn understands the reason for the redesign, he admits he does not envy actors like Mary Chieffo who have to work under that makeup.

"I am actually really glad that I am not in that makeup, because if you go online and look up YouTube of Mary Chieffo – just a wonderful sweetheart - but what they do to that poor girl is mind-boggling. There are three makeup artists working the whole time on her...I mean, it's okay. It's just another iteration."

You can see the video that Dorn is referencing here.

At prompting from McFadden, Dorn went on to wonder how the makeup might impede the actor's performance.

"That is the problem," he said. "There is nothing of her, at all. Nothing. Just her eyeballs. That's it."

Dorn may worry about the challenges the Chieffo faces, but she's had nothing but kind words to say about the makeup artists who work on her and their respect for her craft.

"What's a tribute to [prosthetics supervisor James Mackinnon] is that he's so respectful of the actor's process," Chieffo said. "So on days where I was like, 'You know what, I just need quiet,' or, 'I just need to run my lines,' he would let Rea Nolan, our dialect coach come in, even just for her to say the lines to me — because a lot of times when I'm getting the makeup applied, I can't use my mouth. He was just very respectful of what I needed on a day-to-day basis."

What do you think of Star Trek: Discovery's Klingons? Let us know in the comments!