If you're a fan of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine like I am, then you no doubt grieved when the world lost Rene Auberjonois to lung cancer in 2019. He was a prolific voice and television actor. I remember hearing his voice in my favorite animated movie, The Last Unicorn, as a kid, and being delighted because everyone in our house loved Benson.
Auberjonois left behind family, friends, and fans, but it is Nana Visitor who says she lives with his presence every day. In an interview with ScreenRant, the DS9 actress, who worked with Auberjonois for seven seasons on the Star Trek series, says that he is present for her, even all these years later. Visitor said:
"I have this weird thing that I can't formulate in my mind people's faces that I aren't in front of me. I have difficulty recognizing many people. But I can [see Rene] right here in front of me, his face. I feel him all the time now. I wish I could feel my mother, who is gone now since 2000, the way Rene is present for me. I don't know why he's so vibrant for me, but he is, and I miss him every day."
Visitor continued by saying:
"He taught me so much in such small, tiny ways. I remember saying to him, 'I never want to do Broadway again.' And he said, 'Think about that. Wait, stop. Where is that coming from? What you feel or what you fear?' And that was all he said about it. And I thought for the next couple of years about that. Things like that, he made me think about, so he was a big deal in my life. He was incredible to work with. He was like an actor's actor to me. I was vibrating that we actually worked together. I couldn't believe i. That was really a thrill. Not always easy, but a thrill, always a thrill."
Visitor believes the writers got her romances wrong until Odo
Major Kira Nerys was an angry Bajoran woman who grew up during the Cardassian occupation of her home world. Any tenderness or vulnerability left inside her was buried under layer after layer of emotional rubble. This, along with the struggle of her people on Bajor, left a woman who, Visitor believes, would not have fallen for any suitor until Odo. Visitor said during the same sit-down:
"I felt like the writers got it wrong with Kira [until Odo]. She wouldn't have wanted muscle men or hunks, or men of power, or men of daring. That's not what mattered to her. That's not where she lived. She wasn't looking at hierarchy or power, or this is the most anything in terms of a mate. So it was perfect that this was a shapeshifter, that it didn't matter what shape he was in. Could be a woman, a man. It didn't matter, an eagle. Or just golden light. It was the soul she loved. It was who he was that she loved. And that made so much sense to me. That's the right partner for her."
I believe Odo was a truly perfect love interest for Kira, a woman whose scars ran deep. Anyone who wanted to get close to her on an intimate level had to unbury her hidden heart without trying to dominate her. Odo recognized her strength and tried not to push against it; instead, he gave her time, which was a rare commodity back during the Cardassian occupation. I felt emotional when they parted.
What are your favorite memories of Rene Auberjonois as Odo, particularly with Major Kira? Share your thoughts and comments with us on the Redshirts Always Die Facebook and X pages.