Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Star Reveals What It Would Take to Get Them to Return to the Franchise

Armin Shimerman would be willing to return to the role of Quark in future Star Trek projects — but given the level of makeup involved, it would be in a more limited capacity. The idea of making a quick guest stop on something like Picard could be appealing — not unlike what Michael Dorn’s Worf is up to — but Shimerman says he couldn’t survive doing it as a series regular on a longer season of a show. He also said that if he were to return to the part, he would have some conditions, given that it is not an easy process.

Shimerman first played a member of the Ferengi race on Star Trek: The Next Generation, and returned for Deep Space Nine to play the role of Quark (not the same character from TNG). He played Quark in over 150 episodes from the beginning until the end of the series.

“The answer is yes. I would happily do it,” Shimerman told the audience at Fanboy Expo in Knoxville. “I would not do a series regular again. I would not undergo that makeup for another seven years. I can’t live that long. But for a guest star or to do what they’re going to do on Picard with some of the characters coming back… Yeah, I would do that. But! They’d have to pay me like they paid Michael Dorn.”

That last bit, of course, is both a totally reasonable request, and also totally in character. As Quark, the owner of the space station’s bar, he always had his ear to the ground. As a Ferengi, he also always had an eye for profit.

The actor had a lot of praise for Dorn, whom he characterized as one of his closest friends, and shared a number of other anecdotes about his time on the show and plans for the future. They picked up some of the highlights over at TrekMovie.

He also said, as he did for a 2018 convention appearance, that if he were to do it, he would have to work with makeup artist Karen Weserfield, his creative partner from the Deep Space Nine years.