Star Trek: Deep Space Nine fans love Avery Brooks as Benjamin Sisko, but there are a few surprising actors who nearly played the role!
Back in 1993, a new Star Trek series was a huge deal for fans. The casting was key for Benjamin Sisko, the veteran mourning his wife, raising a son and commanding this station. Avery Brooks was known for roles in Spenser: For Hire and A Man Called Hawk and nailed the part from the start.
The process to get there was interesting as the producers considered scores of actors. That included before changing Sisko to an African-American lead. While some names are notable, a few are quite surprising in terms of how they could have landed the part.
First, let's get out of the way a few names the producers wanted but were tied up at the time with various other projects: James Avery, Joe Morton, Carl Lumbly, Keith David and Stephen Collins. Clancy Brown was a top contender but had just undergone back surgery.
There were also a variety of names mentioned but unsure who was seriously approached like Colin Firth. Still, a few top names could have been great in the role and seemingly close to getting it!
James Earl Jones
This is a famous story. Given his iconic turn as Darth Vader, having James Earl Jones as the lead in the Star Trek series would have been a fabulous get for the producers. Jones was a top dream pick for the writers and showrunners when putting the series together. Because of his age, that would have changed things. Rather than being a Commander, Sisko would have been an admiral in raising Jake (whose dad would likely have been killed in the pilot).
This would have meant a much different Sisko, less a man of action and more on the station directing others. So it's likely that, combined with Jones' salary demands and schedule, prevented the producers from landing him. Sisko was better as a younger man although Jones would have been powerful in a Star Trek role.
Richard Dean Anderson
Back in 1992, Richard Dean Anderson was known for the title role in MacGyver as a genius scientist and action hero. That was up the alley for the role of Sisko and Anderson also had the gravitas needed ro the part. That might have been a lighter Sisko while still getting into the action well.
Anderson ended up turning it down, so Sisko became more of a serious character. Stargate: SG-1 fans will be grateful as Anderson was the perfect choice for Jack O'Neill, and it's hard to see Stargate becoming such a hit without him. So Star Trek's loss was a gain for sci-fi fans.
Tony Todd
Star Trek fans know Tony Todd well. The late, great actor played Worf's brother Kurn and his magnificent performance as an elder Jake in the classic DS9 episode "The Visitor." That casting is ironic, given that Todd was very close to landing the role of Ben Sisko. It would have been interesting going from Kurn to Sisko (one can imagine a scene where Worf finds something oddly familiar about his new commander), and Todd's deep voice would have been great.
It sounds like Todd and Brooks were neck and neck for the role, with the producers choosing Brooks. Todd clearly had no hard feelings as he'd appear as Kurn on DS9 and he and Brooks were good friends. Todd's passing in 2024 is a reminder of his great talents and how close he came to being Sisko.
Pierce Brosnan
James Bond in Star Trek? It's not so crazy. Pierce Brosnan had gotten his big break in the TV series Remington Steele, but in the early 1990s, he hadn't landed the role of Bond. He was a dashing type, and the producers clearly thought that if Patrick Stewart had worked as Picard, Brosnan would have been the more action-oriented Sisko.
Brosnan was seemingly approached but turned it down as he didn't feel like doing a TV series (a common thing with movie stars back then). That did free him up to eventually land the Bond role. DS9 did their own Bond tribute in "Our Man Bashir" yet almost had a real 007 in charge.
Laurence Fishburne
Timing is funny in the movie and TV business. In early 1993, Laurence Fishburne mostly performed small movie and TV roles while wanting to focus on film. With his strong demeanor, booming voice and excellent charisma, Fishburne was a top choice for Sisko. He turned it down as he wanted to focus on movies, and just months after DS9 premiered, he got his star-making role in What's Love Got To Do With It.
Fishburne did change his mind on TV with roles on CSI, Hannibal, and Black-ish. Given his turn in The Matrix, Fishburne in Star Trek would have been a fun idea.
Louis Gossett Jr.
It's easy to see why the producers were hoping to get Louis Gossett Jr. as Sisko. His Oscar-winning turn as a drill sergeant in An Officer and a Gentleman proved he could be believable as a commander. There was also a Trek connection with Gossett and LeVar Burton co-starring in the landmark TV miniseries Roots.
Gossett was no stranger to television and sci-fi (the cult movie Enemy Mine). The producers did reach out, but sadly, Gossett turned them down. Too bad as an Oscar winner added to Trek would have made DS9 more special.
Carl Weathers
The "King of Sting" as Sisko would have been awesome. Carl Weathers was famous as Apollo Creed in the Rocky films as well as action hits like Predator. He read for the role of Sisko and it looked like he was a top candidate just based on his name value. Weathers would have been magnificent as Sisko, truly action-oriented and easily able to put anyone in their place.
Maybe the producers felt he was too big a name to pass on him for Brooks. Weathers would get roles in The Mandalorian and other hits before his passing in 2024, yet he would have made a fine Sisko.
Peter Capaldi
The producers had leaned toward some British actors for Sisko before making the character African-American. That included Anthony Stewart Head, who'd play Giles on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. A surprise face in the auditions is Peter Capaldi, which is confusing given he was a relative unknown in 1992.
His youth may have been a factor in passing him over. Capaldi spent more time in England before his landmark role in The Thick of It. Of course, the world knows Capaldi as the 12th Doctor yet could have become a sci-fi icon two decades earlier as Sisko.
There were a few more names, but at the end of the day, we can agree that the producers made the right choice with Avery Brooks. Still, it's interesting to consider who could have been for this famous role.
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine streams on Paramount+.