Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Lead Actor Related To Historical Tyrant
One of the magical things about Star Trek is that it tends to make its leading actors famous, transforming them into household names while opening plenty of lucrative career doors. However, one member of Deep Space Nine already had a powerful connection to fame and influence from the moment he was born. You see, Odo actor Rene Auberjonois is related to Napoleon, which means the actor who was later connected to terrifying fictional tyrants is connected by blood to one of the most intimidating tyrants (at least, according to his foes) in recorded history.
Odo Is Related To Napoleon
As for how Rene Auberjonois is related to Napoleon, the connection goes back to a distant ancestor. The actor’s Great-great-great-grandmother was Napoleon’s youngest sister. And the romantic choices that she made in life would even further link her descendants to this complex historical figure.
While Rene Auberjonois was already notably connected to Napoleon’s youngest sister (Caroline) by blood, that connection goes even deeper thanks to her marriage. She went on to marry Joachim Murat, one of Napeoleon’s greatest generals.
The man distinguished himself in battle, fighting in both the French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars. Sadly, he died rather ignominiously, getting caught and sentenced to death after trying to invade Calabria after Napoleon’s own defeat at the Battle of Waterloo.
Rene Auberjonois Was Royalty
Interestingly, Rene Auberjonois’s connection to Napoleon also makes him the son of royalty. His mother was Princess Laure Louise Napoléone Eugénie Caroline Murat. While the actor was always very humble and gracious in life, it’s fascinating to think about the fact that Rene Auberjonois, the son of a princess and the descendant of one of history’s most famous figures, later went on to star in Deep Space Nine, the best Star Trek series ever made.
The Legend Of Napoleon
Now that we’ve established the connection between Rene Auberjonois and Napoleon, it’s time to ask the hard question: at the end of the day, should Napoleon be considered a tyrant or not? There’s actually a fairly compelling body of evidence that the ruler’s “tyrant” label was more a function of British propaganda than anything else (he was once their greatest foe), and the English had such a stranglehold on Western culture for so long that the man’s reputation was permanently altered.
Napoleon has generally been viewed more favorably in later years, including his comical reimagining as the “short, dead dude” in Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure.
A Complex Legacy
Still, generations before Rene Auberjonois was born, Napoleon cast a shadow over the entire world as a mighty leader, someone who made the world tremble. Ironically enough, it was his post-defeat exile in St. Helena that softened his tyrannical image because everything from his daily interactions to his writings helped normalize him as a man and not a monster. At the end of the day, he leaves behind a complex legacy…the kind of figure that Doctor Bashir and Chief O’Brien might follow into a doomed battle on the holodeck on Deep Space Nine.
A Gentleman And A Scholar
Fortunately, nothing is complex about the artistic legacy of Rene Auberjonois, someone who was already a legendary performer even before he joined Star Trek. The world is much poorer for his passing, and despite his bloodline, the actor was ultimately nothing like his famous relative. After all, this actor never needed any rehabilitation of his own image because he died as he had lived: as one of the greatest actors the world has ever known.
