Star Trek Magazine: The Klingons Strike Back
2 min readKlingon fans will enjoy the latest issue of the Star Trek Magazine, which features the warrior race.
In addition to the Klingons, Star Trek Magazine issue 24 will give readers “exclusive access” to the Star Trek DVD launch party with comments from some of the stars of the movie, and “Tribble Tweets,” a new way at looking at The Trouble with Tribbles.
J.G. Hertzler shared his memories of playing General Martok in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, admitting that he didn’t know much about the Klingons when he first began. “Well, first of all, I didn’t have any depth of knowledge about Klingon culture or behavior, so whether or not I could ‘be’ a Klingon and fill those boots was a question for me,” he said. “However, I’m a former college football linebacker, so I figured I had a shot at it. I don’t know how much you know about football, but you have to play it in a state of controlled frenzy, which is not unlike being a Klingon.”
Part of being a Klingon was intimidating the non-Klingons so that Martok could do what he needed to do in a scene where the regulars were being tested to make sure that they were not shapeshifters. Hertzler explained how he went about doing that. “As a recurring actor or guest-star coming onto the show, to try to intimidate the likes of Avery Brooks on anything is impossible, but I took a whack at it. I had to risk making these people hate me in order to be effective in the scene, and I think I succeeded.”
“I have to admit that I underestimated their ability to separate actor from character,” said Hertzler. “Nana Visitor [Major Kira] was one of the first people to say how enjoyable it was to have me play Martok. She was extremely supportive and made me feel good about being there. It’s hard to walk into the middle of a well-oiled machine like Deep Space Nine and fit in. It takes a little machete and stiletto action, or should I say Klingon bat’leth wielding, to carve out a comfortable niche for yourself. It was hairy for a few minutes, but it turned out okay.”
Martok was there to stay and Hertzler had plenty of time to figure out his character. “I had almost four years to work on my character and develop various aspects of Martok,” he said. “And as the writers got to know me, they began adding new character traits with regard to my own life, gestures and outlook on things.”
Star Trek Magazine issue 24 arrives at newsstands on February 9.
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