Star Trek’s Funniest Actor Hated Doing Comedy
Many fans of Star Trek agree that Armin Shimerman is the funniest actor in the franchise. He imbued his scheming Ferengi bartender Quark with just the right amount of (ironically enough) humanity to make him hilariously relatable. As such, he got funnier and funnier scenes throughout Deep Space Nine, but the actor once surprisingly revealed that he preferred drama for his character rather than comedy.
Armin Shimerman Preferred “Dark Quark”
This surprising admission from Armin Shimerman was regarding the Season 1 episode “The Passenger.” Fans mostly remember this as the weird body-swapping episode where a malicious entity took over Dr. Bashir. However, the episode had a B plot involving Quark helping the villain by hiring some mercenaries, all in the name of pure greed.
Thought Drama Was Easier
Armin Shimerman agreed, later saying in this episode that the bartender is “just the middle-man…trying to make a buck.” He noted that this episode gave us “a darker Quark” that we hadn’t seen since the show’s pilot. That’s when he dropped the bombshell that he deeply preferred playing a darker version of his famously funny Ferengi than a comedic version.
According to Armin Shimerman, “Anytime that I get close to that I feel a little bit better…more confident.” He then said something deeply ironic given his own Star Trek career. “Drama is always easier to play than comedy.”
Quark Is Still The Funniest Character In Star Trek
Why do we find this admission from Armin Shimerman so shocking? The short answer is that Deep Space Nine eventually turned the Ferengi in general and Quark in particular into very comedic characters, which is why we got the occasional plot where, say, Quark accidentally killed a Klingon and was suddenly stuck married to the deceased warrior’s wife.
On another occasion, Quark poses as a woman to win over a Ferengi commissioner and ends up having to dodge the man’s amorous advances in a scene of highly problematic slapstick.
A Serious Scene Accidentally Became A Comedy Sensation
Perhaps the crowning bit of Armin Shimerman’s comedy comes in the episode “The Way of the Warrior,” where Quark is speaking with Garak and begins comparing the Federation to root beer.
What makes the scene funny is that these two cynical aliens end up calling out our favorite Starfleet heroes as “vile” because they are “bubbly and cloying and happy.” Many consider this the funniest scene in all of Star Trek, which is ironic because showrunner Ira Steven Behr later revealed that this was meant to be a very serious conversation between these characters.
Shimerman Was Too Warm And Charismatic
That might underscore why Armin Shimerman’s desire for darker Quark scenes was doomed from the beginning. While the writers gave the Ferengi many intentionally funny scenes, he continued getting more serious moments until the very end of the show. However, Shimerman is so naturally warm and charismatic that, as evidenced by the root beer conversation, he could be given a very sober scene and effortlessly transform it into the funniest moment in the franchise, cementing his reputation as the funnyman in the franchise
Shimerman Could Do Anything
Still, Armin Shimerman’s point is well-taken: had Quark more consistently been given darker scenes, the actor would have been more than up to the challenge. And should this Ferengi return in a show like Star Trek: Legacy, we might get a surprising heel turn that reminds us what terrible acts he is truly capable of. Until then, whether Shimerman likes it or not, we will forever remember him as the funniest character in a franchise that has historically taken itself way too seriously.
