Before he made gumbo, Brock Peters was an admiral in Star Trek

To many a fan of a certain age, Brock Peters was Joseph Sisko. The culinary aficionado who made some of the best food out of his restaurant in New Orleans. The father of Deep Space Nine captain Benjamin Sisko and the man who helped instill the same moral integrity into his son that fans truly enjoyed. He had a brief role on the show, but his turn as Joseph Sisko had many fans calling him one of the best side characters in Star Trek history.

For Peters, who famously played Tom Robinson in the live-action version of To Kill a Mockingbird, his turn on Star Trek didn't start with Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Like many other actors out in the world of Star Trek, Robinson joined the franchise long before Deep Space Nine. In fact, he's one of the few people in the world of Star Trek to play two different characters in two different eras of the franchise.

Before he was Benjamin's father in Deep Space Nine, he was Fleet Admiral Cartwright in both Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home and Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. It was a small role, but an important one, as he was able to provide a bit of contrast to the challenges that were going on. Especially in The Undiscovered Country.

He was a character that had a lot of meat on the bones, with the Section 31 novel (2001) revealing that he was a member of Starfleet's shadow organization. With the new Section 31 film right around the corner, it's interesting that Cartwright could've been a member of that organization and then a Starfleet Fleet Admiral.

Though that stuff isn't canon. Not yet, anyway. Perhaps the new movie will also reveal his involvement in the organization, after all, that film would be set in the same era that he'd be a member. So maybe Cartwright will get a little more backstory to his character.