Worf Actor Michael Dorn Almost Quit Star Trek: The Next Generation After 2 Seasons

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Michael Dorn had two goals when playing Worf on "Star Trek: The Next Generation": Show up and do a good job. He had no outsize or ego-driven ambitions for the character, and didn't aim to force Worf into the spotlight any more than the show's writers wanted. This approach seems to have served Dorn well, as he still holds the record for appearing in more "Star Trek" episodes than any other actor (not counting voice performances). 

That's an admirable record, considering Dorn's workday was typically longer than any of his co-stars — largely because he had to spend every morning getting into the Worf makeup. For those who aren't familiar, Worf is a Klingon and sported an oversized alien forehead, eyebrows, and nasal ridge. Dorn also had to wear a small goatee and mustache to boot. When "Star Trek: The Next Generation" first started in 1987, the makeup process took about two and a half hours to complete. That's a huge chunk of an actor's working day. 

Luckily, as the series went on, the show's makeup technicians (headed by Oscar winner Michael Westmore) managed to streamline the Worf makeup into a tight science, reducing Dorn's time in the makeup chair to a mere hour. Dorn has admitted that the time reduction was a relief and has repeated his relief over many years. Indeed, Worf even admitted in a 2006 interview that the makeup process was so long and difficult, he considered quitting "Next Generation" at the end of its second season. 

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In that same interview, Dorn also predicted that the cast of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" would reunite for another feature film in the near future. That was in 2006, after the disappointing box office of 2002's "Star Trek: Nemesis." Dorn's co-star Jonathan Frakes had theories as to what went wrong with "Nemesis," a movie that killed the film franchise for seven years until J.J. Abrams' "Star Trek" rebooted it in 2009. Dorn's prediction about a reunion wouldn't come true until the third season of "Star Trek: Picard" in 2023.

But Dorn always had issues with the Worf makeup in the first two seasons of "Next Generation." Way back in 1997, Dorn was interviewed by the vintage Peter Anthony Holder website, and admitted even back then that he wouldn't have acted in all seven seasons of the series if the makeup had stayed as troublesome as it had been. In that interview, Dorn said: 

"It's really not all that weird [becoming Worf] now, because it used to pretty tough. Because they used a large amount of glue and makeup. It just was a real process. But now they have it down to a real science, where it's about an hour. They don't use a lot a glue, they don't use a lot of makeup and it's worked out nicely, thank God. Because I just couldn't have done it for seven years or ten years the way it started out." 

To provide some clarity about the timeline, that interview was published in 1997, when "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" was still on the air. At that point, Worf, who first appeared in "Star Trek: The Next Generation," had become a regular character on "Deep Space Nine" after "Next Generation" ended. 

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Michael Dorn would continue to appear on "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" for two additional seasons after the 1997 interview. The interviewer asked Dorn what sort of offer he was given to appear on "Deep Space Nine" after completing seven seasons of "Next Generation" and two "Next Generation"-inspired feature films. Dorn admitted that it wasn't very hard, although the makeup was still an issue:

"It wasn't much to get me back. I mean, the only thing that I was concerned about was the makeup time and having to be in makeup for a lot of shots that I didn't need to be. Just things like that. Little considerations that I needed. But I love the character and I love doing him, so it didn't take much to get me back." 

Worf did come back to "Star Trek" multiple times after that interview, appearing in two more feature films, and, as mentioned, the third season of "Star Trek: Picard." There was even a time when Dorn wrote a pilot for a Worf spin-off. By his own recollection, that was in 2012 or 2013, before the launch of "Star Trek" on streaming. He said that interest waxed and waned over the years, but nothing came of it. It's a pity, as a Worf-based TV series would have worked at any time in "Trek" history.

As of this writing, it seems as if Worf's story is done. Dorn is keeping busy, however, playing the role of the villainous Karter Klay on the action series "Armorsaurs."