Why Armin Shimerman hated guest-starring on Seinfeld

While Armin Shimerman was starring as Quark on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, he also took some time to guest star on a very popular show at the time, Seinfeld.

Armin Shimerman will be forever known as the avaricious Ferengi, Quark, on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. The character was extremely popular during the series run, and recently, Shimerman returned to the character in voice on Star Trek: Lower Decks, and he’s said before that he would gladly return as Quark in a guest-starring capacity. It’s clearly a role he has nothing but love for. The same can’t be said, however, for his guest-starring role on the seventh season of Seinfeld entitled “The Caddy,” and that was no thanks to the cast.

When asked at a Florida Supercon Q&A [via NedHardy.com] about what it was like to work with the Seinfeld cast, the actor didn’t hold his punches, saying he hated them.

“I hated them – hated them. They were non-communative, ugly, non-responsive, what’s the word? Insular.”

Armin Shimerman was ignored during his time on the Seinfeld.

As big of a fan of Star Trek as Jason Alexander is, it seems strange that he would be one of the ones ignoring a well-known Star Trek actor. But Shimerman said no one said a word to him except cues.

"“Nobody said a word to me except cues. Nobody, nobody came up and started a conversation.”"

The actor went on to describe a particular moment when Seinfeld stars, Jerry Seinfeld and Julia Louis-Dreyfus, carried on a conversation while he was sitting on a pew with them, all squeezed in together. They talked about their Christmas plans, and he was sitting between the two. They didn’t ask about his plans or apologize for talking around him.

"“The three of us are sitting there, it’s Christmas time. The two of them are talking about their Christmas plans and what they’re going to do for their vacation and and all this stuff and they talk for half an hour. I’m between them, right here, never once, not once did they say what are you going to do? Never once did they say a pardon us for talking around you. Never once. It was as though I wasn’t there.”"

Shimerman said “if you have a guest star, if you have a day player, if you have an extra, you do not avoid them. You speak to them. We’re all human beings together.” He added that it wasn’t acceptable, and that he wasn’t very fond of them.

Seinfeld was airing its seventh season during Star Trek: Deep Space Nine’s fourth season so it would seem like all of the actors would have interacted with one another, if nothing else, to commiserate on working on a television show for so long. It’s sad to hear that wasn’t the case and to discover a Star Trek actor was treated so dismissively.