Armin Shimerman

Armin Shimerman was born on November 5, 1949, in Lakewood, New Jersey, into a Jewish family, the son of accountant Susan and house painter Herbert Shimerman. At age 15, he relocated with his family to Los Angeles, where his mother enrolled him in a drama group to broaden his social connections. He attended Santa Monica High School, where he was active in drama and, as a senior, took leading roles in school productions of Hamlet, The Crucible, and The Skin of Our Teeth, graduating in 1967. After completing his studies at UCLA, he was selected to apprentice at the Old Globe Theater in San Diego. He subsequently moved to New York City, where he became a member of the Impossible Ragtime Theater, before eventually returning to Los Angeles to pursue television work.

During his time in New York, Shimerman appeared on Broadway between 1976 and 1979, accumulating credits in three productions: I Remember Mama, Saint Joan, and Threepenny Opera. He later launched his television career by taking roles in two CBS series after returning to Los Angeles.

Shimerman's most prominent television role came with Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, in which he played Ferengi bar owner Quark across all seven seasons from 1993 to 1999. His connection to the Star Trek franchise predated that series, however, as he had appeared in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episodes "The Last Outpost" and "Peak Performance" as other Ferengi characters. He went on to portray Quark in Star Trek: Voyager and Star Trek: Lower Decks as well, placing him among a small group of actors, alongside Patrick Stewart, Marina Sirtis, Jonathan Frakes, and John de Lancie, to have played the same character across four or more different Star Trek series. He also reprised the role in deleted scenes from the 1998 film Star Trek: Insurrection and in the 2018 expansion Star Trek Online: Victory is Life. Shimerman appeared multiple times on the cover of TV Guide in connection with his Star Trek work.

Beyond Star Trek, Shimerman played Principal Snyder in 19 episodes across the first three seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer from 1997 to 1999, and held the recurring role of Pascal on Beauty and the Beast. His other television appearances include Judge Brian Hooper in the first seven episodes of the third season of Boston Legal, where he shared scenes with fellow Star Trek alumnus René Auberjonois; Anteaus in Stargate SG-1; a recurring role as Mr. Ian Anderson on Babes; Mr. Lovejoy on Married... with Children; Charlie Martin on Warehouse 13; Cecil Carr on Tremors; Judge Graham Roberts on The Young and the Restless; Benjamin Donnelly on Castle; and Patrick Holden in the Numb3rs episode "Provenance." He also made a cameo as Richard III in The West Wing episode "Posse Comitatus" and appeared as Stan the caddy in an episode of Seinfeld and as Dr. Patemkin on Leverage.

Shimerman has been extensively active in voice work across animation and video games. He voiced General Skarr in both Evil Con Carne and The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy from 2001 to 2007, and Ben Robbins and the Shopkeeper in the first two episodes of Rocket Power from 1999 to 2000. Among his video game roles, he voiced Andrew Ryan in the BioShock series, Doctor Nefarious in the Ratchet & Clank franchise, Toad in X-Men Legends, Zealot in X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse, Razputin's father in Psychonauts, and Emperor Sun Hai, Abbot Song, and the Innkeeper in BioWare's Jade Empire. For Mass Effect, he voiced the original Salarian Councilor and Fai Dan. He voiced Dr. Emil Narud and Mohandar in StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty and reprised the Dr. Emil Narud role in StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm. In 2011, he contributed additional voices to Star Wars: The Old Republic, and in 2012 voiced Che Garcia Hansson and Old Joseph Cajiais for The Secret World. He also voiced the Green Goblin in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 and reprised his roles as Dr. Nefarious and Andrew Ryan, along with voicing a Vox Populi enemy, in PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale. In 2008, he voiced Wilmer in an audio dramatization of The Maltese Falcon alongside Michael Madsen, Sandra Oh, and Edward Herrmann.

As an author, Shimerman co-wrote the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine novel The 34th Rule with David R. George III, published January 1, 1999. The novel centers on Quark losing his bar and being imprisoned during a diplomatic crisis between the Bajoran and Ferengi governments, and serves as an allegory for the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. He also co-authored a series of novels built around a science-fictional reimagining of the historical figure John Dee. The first, The Merchant Prince, was co-written with Irish author Michael Scott and published in 2000; it depicts John Dee being placed in suspended animation in 1575 by an alien race and awakening in 2099. Subsequent volumes include Outrageous Fortune (2002), co-written with Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, and Capital Offense (2003). In late 2020, Shimerman released Illyria: Betrayal of Angels through Jumpmaster Press, the first book in a new trilogy about John Dee.

Shimerman has taught Shakespeare for a number of years and has served as an adjunct professor at the University of Southern California, as well as a Shakespeare scholar for productions in the Los Angeles area. He married actress Kitty Swink in May 1981.