Kenneth Mitchell As Kol The Klingon
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For Kenneth Mitchell, playing a Klingon means hours in the make-up chair.
The actor auditioned for a role in the show, but was unaware that it was for a Klingon. “When I auditioned, I didn’t know I was auditioning to be a Klingon,” he said. “They had changed the names in the scripts when we auditioned.”
Playing Kol means looking authentic, which means spending a lot of time getting the make-up correct so that he looks the part. “That takes three-and-a-half hours to get into make-up,” said Mitchell. “First Doug Jones comes in and gives me a hug.
“It’s a challenge and it’s not easy. But we do it for you guys. Every night I’m cutting out of my prosthetics, I feel very rewarded not just for myself but for you guys”
The actor has to practice speaking in the Klingon language, which takes plenty of time and concentration. “I [am] also constantly running my lines,” said Mitchell. “Over and over again. As you know, it’s incredibly challenging and complex language. It’s complicated for a reason. So it feels alien like. It takes a lot of muscle memory to memorize every separate syllable. My kids and my family think I’m crazy. But at the end of the day, it is all worth it. It is such an amazing texture to the show and a real asset to helping the audience learn more about the Klingon culture.”
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