Robert O'Reilly (born March 25, 1950) is an American film, stage, and television actor who has appeared in a variety of roles. He appeared in the ''

Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vari ...

'' franchise for over ten years, primarily in his recurring role on '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' and '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' as Chancellor Gowron, the leader of the

Klingon Empire The Klingons ( ; Klingon: ''tlhIngan'' ) are a fictional species in the science fiction franchise ''Star Trek''. Developed by screenwriter Gene L. Coon in 1967 for the original ''Star Trek'' (''TOS'') series, Klingons were swarthy humanoids ch ...

. He has also appeared in over 100 films and television episodes, and has acted on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

and at

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...

. His links with the Colony Theatre Company resulted in his receiving a

Drama-Logue Award The Drama-Logue Award was an American theater award established in 1977, given by the publishers of Drama-Logue newspaper, a weekly west-coast theater trade publication. Winners were selected by the publication's theater critics, and would recei ...

in 1981 for directing the play ''Getting Out''.

Career

O'Reilly has appeared in over a hundred films and television episodes, primarily as either the antagonist or as a villain. The television series he has appeared in include ''

Cheers ''Cheers'' is an American sitcom television series that ran on NBC from September 30, 1982, to May 20, 1993, with a total of 275 half-hour episodes across 11 seasons. The show was produced by Charles/Burrows/Charles Productions in association w ...

'', ''

Darkroom A darkroom is used to process photographic film, to make prints and to carry out other associated tasks. It is a room that can be made completely dark to allow the processing of the light-sensitive photographic materials, including film and ph ...

'', ''

Knight Rider ''Knight Rider'' is an American entertainment franchise created by Glen A. Larson. The core of ''Knight Rider'' is its three television series: the original ''Knight Rider'' (1982–1986) and sequel series ''Team Knight Rider'' (1997–1998) ...

'', ''

Sledge Hammer! ''Sledge Hammer!'' is an American satirical police sitcom produced by New World Television that ran for two seasons on ABC from September 23, 1986 to February 12, 1988. The series was created by Alan Spencer and stars David Rasche as Inspector ...

'', ''

MacGyver Angus "Mac" MacGyver is the title character and the protagonist in the TV series ''MacGyver''. He is played by Richard Dean Anderson in the 1985 original series. Lucas Till portrays a younger version of MacGyver in the 2016 reboot. In both po ...

'', '' In the Heat of the Night'', ''

NYPD Blue ''NYPD Blue'' is an American police procedural television series set in New York City, exploring the struggles of the fictional 15th Precinct detective squad in Manhattan. Each episode typically intertwines several plots involving an ensemble c ...

'', and twice in ''

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

''. His film appearances include the

Jim Carrey James Eugene Carrey (; born January 17, 1962) is a Canadian-American actor, comedian and artist. Known for his energetic slapstick performances, Carrey first gained recognition in 1990, after landing a role in the American sketch comedy te ...

film '' The Mask''. He has retired from acting.

Star Trek

O'Reilly made his first appearance in the ''

'' franchise with an appearance in the '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' episode "

Manhunt Manhunt may refer to: Search processes * Manhunt (law enforcement), a search for a dangerous fugitive * Manhunt (military), a search for a high-value target by special operations forces or intelligence agencies Social organisations * Manhun ...

". The character he played in that episode has been referred to both as "Tough guy" and "Scarface". Nemecek (2003): p. 145 He was then cast as the

Klingon The Klingons ( ; Klingon: ''tlhIngan'' ) are a fictional species in the science fiction franchise ''Star Trek''. Developed by screenwriter Gene L. Coon in 1967 for the original ''Star Trek'' (''TOS'') series, Klingons were swarthy humanoids c ...

Gowron Gowron, son of M'Rel, is a fictional character who appeared in the American science fiction television series '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' and '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine''. Portrayed by Robert O'Reilly, he is the leader of the Klingon ...

in the episode "

Reunion Reunion may refer to: * Class reunion * Family reunion Reunion, Réunion, Re-union, Reunions or The Reunion may also refer to: Places * Réunion, a French overseas department and island in the Indian Ocean * Reunion, Commerce City, Colorado, U ...

" which saw the character become the new Chancellor of the Klingon Empire. O'Reilly had just finished appearing on stage as

Edmund Edmund is a masculine given name or surname in the English language. The name is derived from the Old English elements ''ēad'', meaning "prosperity" or "riches", and ''mund'', meaning "protector". Persons named Edmund include: People Kings and ...

in ''

King Lear ''King Lear'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his power and land between two of his daughters. He becomes destitute and insane an ...

'' and saw similarities between the two characters which resulted in him basing Gowron upon the

Shakespearian William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

character. The episode was directed by ''TNG'' cast member

Jonathan Frakes Jonathan Scott Frakes (born August 19, 1952) is an American actor and director. He is best known for his portrayal of Commander William Riker in the television series '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' and subsequent films and series. Frakes als ...

, and O'Reilly later said that he thought he was hired both for the sense of curiosity he brought to the role and a piercing, unsettling gaze he and others referred to as "that crazy loon eyeball thing". He went on to appear as Gowron over the course of the next decade in several further episodes of ''The Next Generation'', as well as '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine''. He also filmed segments for the video game '' Star Trek: Klingon'', which was also directed by Frakes. The game was the first ''Star Trek'' game to use real actors, and was awarded the Sci-Fi Universe Reader's Choice Universe Award for Best Achievement in Genre Multi-Media. At the time of filming the game, he had heard a rumour that

Michael Dorn Michael Dorn (born December 9, 1952) is an American actor best known for his role as the Klingon Worf in the '' Star Trek'' franchise. He has appeared more times as a regular cast member than any other ''Star Trek'' actor in the franchise's histo ...

was joining the cast of ''Deep Space Nine''. Given the relationship between Gowron and Dorn's character,

Worf Worf, son of Mogh is a fictional character in the ''Star Trek'' franchise. He appears in the television series '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' (''TNG'') and seasons four through seven of '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' (''DS9'') as well as t ...

, O'Reilly thought that this might lead to his return to a ''Star Trek'' television series too. Both Dorn and O'Reilly reprised their characters together in the series four opening episode " The Way of the Warrior". O'Reilly also appeared as a different Klingon in the Star Trek: The Next Generation Interactive VCR Board Game, a

video cassette A videocassette recorder (VCR) or video recorder is an electromechanical device that records analog audio and analog video from broadcast television or other source on a removable, magnetic tape videocassette, and can play back the recordin ...

-based

board game Board games are tabletop games that typically use . These pieces are moved or placed on a pre-marked board (playing surface) and often include elements of table, card, role-playing, and miniatures games as well. Many board games feature a comp ...

. His likeness was used for three action figures, a life-size poster and several lithographs. After the end of ''Deep Space Nine'', O'Reilly made one further appearance in ''Star Trek'' as the character Kago-Darr in the ''

Star Trek: Enterprise ''Star Trek: Enterprise'', titled simply ''Enterprise'' for its first two seasons, is an American science fiction television series created by Rick Berman and Brannon Braga. It originally aired from September 26, 2001, to May 13, 2005 on Uni ...

'' episode "

Bounty Bounty or bounties commonly refers to: * Bounty (reward), an amount of money or other reward offered by an organization for a specific task done with a person or thing Bounty or bounties may also refer to: Geography * Bounty, Saskatchewan, a g ...

". He was thankful for the role, as he felt that the writers and producers of the show had created it for him specifically as his family was trying to adapt following the birth of his triplets. After his retirement from acting, he continues to attend ''Star Trek'' conventions, including performing in character as Gowron alongside

J. G. Hertzler John Garman Hertzler Jr. (born March 18, 1950) is an American actor, author, screenwriter, and activist best known for his role on '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' as the Klingon General (later Chancellor) Martok, whom he portrayed from 1995 unt ...

as fellow Klingon

Martok Martok, son of Urthog is a recurring character in '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'', played by actor J. G. Hertzler. Martok is a high-ranking Klingon leader at the Federation-Bajoran space station in the late 2300s. Martok figures prominently in m ...

. In 2020, he reprised the voice of Gowron and the Klingon Aakar, an ancestor of Gowron's, in the video game

Star Trek Online ''Star Trek Online'' is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) developed by Cryptic Studios based on the ''Star Trek'' franchise. The game is set in the 25th century, 30 years after the events of '' Star Trek: Nemesis''. ''Sta ...

Theatre

O'Reilly has appeared on

in the revival of '' The Tavern'', and also appeared

off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

in ''The Promise'' and at

in ''/'' by

Nam June Paik Nam June Paik (; July 20, 1932 – January 29, 2006) was a Korean American artist. He worked with a variety of media and is considered to be the founder of video art. He is credited with the first use (1974) of the term "electronic super hi ...

. He is currently associated with the Colony Theatre Company as an actor and director. He first became involved with the theatre company about a year after its founding. Amongst these was ''Getting Out'' by Marsha Norman, for which he was awarded a

and nominated for an award by the Los Angeles Drama Critics' Circle in 1981. He directed ''Generations'' by Dennis Clontz, which was runner up to the American Theatre Critics’ Association award for best new play outside of New York.

Personal life

O'Reilly's wife Judy gave birth to triplet sons Jack, Michael and Joseph in 1997. The family reside in

Burbank, California Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Burbank has a population of 107,337. The city was named after David Burbank, w ...

. O'Reilly's hobbies include

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

and

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

References

Notes

Bibliography

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:OReilly, Robert 1950 births Male actors from New York City American male film actors American male stage actors American male television actors Living people