Happy Birthday to one of the best DS9 villains—Marc Alaimo

Happy Birthday to Marc Alaimo!

Every Star Trek series has its dreaded villain (or villains). For Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, that was the Cardassian Prefect of Bajor when the planet was under occupation and the leader of Cardassia—Gul Dukat. Even after leaving Deep Space Nine, Dukat kept an eye on the station and made sure he had his finger in every pie, causing havoc whenever and wherever he could. His only soft spot was his daughter with a Bajoran woman, Tora Ziyal, but even she wasn’t enough to redeem him. Played by Marc Alaimo, Gul Dukat continued his reign of terror throughout the series, eventually even making a pact with the Pah-Wraiths.

Marc Alaimo played one of the best villains on television

Gul Dukat was an evil villain played masterfully by Marc Alaimo. Though only appearing in 35 of the series 176 episodes, Alaimo established the Cardassians as one of the most feared enemies through his portrayal of the diabolical Dukat, and Deep Space Nine fans consistently rate him as one of the best villains.

Alaimo turns 79 today and hasn’t been acting much since the series ended, although he does pop up at Star Trek conventions occasionally, With the most recent talk of a possible resurrection of Deep Space Nine, it would be exciting to see Dukat make a reappearance. Even though he was killed, it’s Star Trek, and we all know there are ways around death in this franchise. We would love to see Alaimo back doing what he does best for Star Trek—bringing a dreaded foe to life.

In the meantime, we wish Marc Alaimo a happy 79th birthday and hope to see him at an upcoming convention!