MacDonald Captivated By Tosk

Scott MacDonald has played a Jem'Hadar, a Romulan, a Klingon and a human, but it's his role as Tosk in the DS9 episode 'Captive Pursuit' that ranks as his favourite.

"There was so much to overcome to get the character across," he told Jacqueline Bundy at the Trekker Newsletter. "Those contact lenses were murder. I don't wear them in real life so it was rough to get used to. I had makeup on my hands so they hired an eye tech to handle them. Plus they were cats-eye, straight up and down, so occasionally they would just roll and ruin a take. But try getting a stranger's finger in your eye right before you do a take - it's an experience I won't ever forget! But to have Tosk turn out really well despite all the hurdles makes him my favourite I think."

MacDonald felt that nailing the audience's sympathies was an important part of his performance as Tosk. "In the audition I remember they were having me read him meaner than I saw him when I looked at the words," he said. "I was lucky, it is a very well written piece. I think I felt if he was too scary then the audience might not root for Tosk and thus, not root for O'Brien either."

On set, MacDonald found that he was working in a very friendly and productive atmosphere. "Much of the humour came out of Colm's [Meany] great responses - it is inherent in the word play and the scenes," he said. "Structurally, I remember thinking it was such a solid episode from so many areas. Colm is a fine actor and I really liked working with him, and Corey [Allen] was an active director taking an interest in actor's choices, and the script was excellent. In the end I was proud of how Tosk turned out - a good tragic hero, and likeable enough to root for."

The full interview, in which MacDonald also talked about his other Trek roles, can be found here at the Trekker Newsletter.

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