Armin Shimerman

Armin Shimerman
Shimerman at GalaxyCon Richmond in 2020
Born	(1949-11-05) November 5, 1949 (age 71) Lakewood, New Jersey, U.S.
Occupation	Actor author
Years active	1979–present
Spouse(s)	Kitty Swink ​ (m. 1981)​

Armin Shimerman (born November 5, 1949) is an American actor and author. He is known for his work as the Ferengi bartender Quark on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Principal Snyder on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Judge Brian Hooper in the first 7 episodes of Boston Legal in its third season in 2006. He is also known for his voice work as General Skarr and Stomach (along with various other characters) in Grim & Evil, Evil Con Carne, and The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy, Dr. Achilles Milo in Justice League Unlimited and reprised the role in the 2016 video game Batman: Arkham Underworld, Prof. Mark Haley and Ace Morgan, The Calculator, The Psycho Pirate and The Second Red Lantern Guardian in Batman: The Brave and the Bold, Raanu (along with a Villager and a Village Leader) in Bionicle: The Legend Reborn, Zilius Zox in Justice League Action, Doctor Nefarious in the Ratchet & Clank series, Raz's Father and Augustus Aquato in the 2005 video game Psychonauts and the 2021 video game Psychonauts 2 respectively, The Innkeeper, Abbot Song and Emperor Sun Hai in the 2005 video game Jade Empire and Andrew Ryan from BioShock. He also voiced various characters such as Dr. Henry, the Nightmare Alien, Mr. Murphy, The Waiter, A Gopher Person, The Third Zingo, Buttonwillow and Guys 1 and 3 in the Cartoon Network animated series Regular Show and also provided additional voice work for Mass Effect, Mass Effect 2, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Mass Effect 3, Diablo III, Diablo III: Reaper of Souls, Uncle Grandpa and We Bare Bears.

He is sometimes credited as Arman Shimmerman or most notably Armin Shimmerman.

Early life[]

Shimerman was born to a Jewish family^[1][2] in Lakewood, New Jersey, the son of Susan, an accountant, and Herbert Shimerman, a house painter.^[3] When Shimerman was 15, his family moved to Los Angeles, where his mother enrolled him in a drama group in an effort to expand his social circle. Shimerman attended Santa Monica High School and was active in drama.^[4] As a senior, he played leading roles in school productions of Hamlet, The Crucible and The Skin of Our Teeth before graduating in 1967.^[5][6] After graduating from UCLA, Shimerman was selected to apprentice at the Old Globe Theater in San Diego. Shimerman began pursuing a dramatic career in theater, eventually moving to New York, where he was a member of the Impossible Ragtime Theater.^[7] Returning to Los Angeles, Shimerman received roles in two CBS series, launching his television acting career.

Career[]

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Acting[]

Television[]

Shimerman (center) with Deep Space 9 co-stars Marc Alaimo (left) and Colm Meaney (right)

Shimerman is perhaps best known for his work as the Ferengi bar owner Quark in the long-running television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, though his involvement with the Star Trek franchise began with appearances as other Ferengi characters in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episodes "The Last Outpost" and "Peak Performance". As the character Quark, Shimerman became one of Star Trek's most widely known characters, and he appeared several times on the cover of TV Guide, either with other actors or alone as part of a collector's series. He says that his favorite episode of Deep Space Nine is "Little Green Men" as it was the only episode where he is shown captaining a ship.

Shimerman (left) and Max Grodénchik (right) played the characters of two Ferengi brothers, Quark and Rom, on Deep Space 9

Along with Patrick Stewart, Marina Sirtis, Jonathan Frakes, John de Lancie, Michael Ansara, and Richard Poe, he is one of only a few actors to play the same character on three different Star Trek series. He played Quark in Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Voyager He reprised the role of Quark in the 1998 film Star Trek: Insurrection but only in deleted scenes.

In addition to Star Trek, Shimerman has had roles as Pascal on Beauty and the Beast and as Principal Snyder in 19 episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. He has also starred as Anteaus in Stargate SG-1 as one of the Nox, an evil wizard in Charmed, appeared as Stan the caddy in an episode of Seinfeld and as Dr. Patemkin on Leverage.

Shimerman has appeared in the first 7 episodes as Judge Brian Hooper in the third season of Boston Legal, joining fellow Star Trek actors William Shatner, René Auberjonois, and Ethan Phillips. His character even shared a scene with Auberjonois, with the strife between the two characters reminiscent of the conflict between Shimerman's Quark and Auberjonois's Odo.

He made an appearance as "The Terror" in the first The Tick live-action series.

He appeared in the series Numb3rs episode "Provenance" as Patrick Holden. He had a small cameo in the episode "Posse Comitatus" of The West Wing as Richard the III and another in the film as an Old Man in the subway in What the Bleep Do We Know!?.

He has made appearances in various television series such as Babes as Mr. Ian Anderson, Married... with Children as Mr. Lovejoy, Warehouse 13 as Charlie Martin, Tremors as Cecil Carr, The Young and the Restless as Judge Graham Roberts, Castle as Benjamin Donnelly, Bad Samaritans as the Judge, and Red Bird as Max.

Voice work[]

He has voiced several video game villains, including Toad and Zealot (as well as the 5th Male Prisoner) in X-Men Legends and X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse respectively, Andrew Ryan in the BioShock series, Razputin's father in Psychonauts, and General Skarr from Evil Con Carne and The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy. He then lent his voice talent to BioWare for their games Jade Empire (as Emperor Sun Hai, Abbot Song and the Innkeeper) and Mass Effect (as the original Salarian Councilor and Fai Dan). He also voiced Dr. Emil Narud, Mohandar and Dr. Emil Narud in its Human Form in the 2010 RTS video game StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty and the 2013 expansion StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm respectively.

He also voiced the role of Quark in various Deep Space Nine video games such as Harbinger and the Fallen and reprised the role in the 2018 expansion Star Trek Online: Victory is Life.

He also voiced Ben Robbins and the Shopkeeper in the first 2 episodes of Rocket Power from 1999 to 2000.

In 2008, he voiced the character of Wilmer in an audio dramatization of The Maltese Falcon that also featured Michael Madsen, Sandra Oh, and Edward Herrmann. In addition, he also voiced the character of Mr. Phillips in Focus on the Family Radio Theatre's production of Anne of Green Gables. He also voiced Raanu along with the Villager and a Village Leader in the straight-to-DVD animated film Bionicle: The Legend Reborn. He also voices Green Goblin in the action role-playing video game Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2.

In 2011, he provided additional voices for the MMORPG Star Wars: The Old Republic.

In 2012, he also voiced Che Garcia Hansson and Old Joseph Cajiais for the MMORPG The Secret World.

His best known voice work is that of Doctor Nefarious in the Ratchet & Clank franchise, a role for which he received much praise.

He reprised his roles as Dr. Nefarious and Andrew Ryan and also voiced a Vox Populi enemy in the crossover fighting game PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale.

Writing[]

Deep Space Nine[]

Shimerman co-authored a Star Trek: Deep Space Nine novel, The 34th Rule, with David R. George III, published January 1, 1999. It focuses on his character Quark, who loses his bar and is imprisoned as a result of a diplomatic crisis between the Bajoran and Ferengi governments. The novel is an allegory for the internment of Japanese Americans during the Second World War.^[8]

The Merchant Prince series[]

Shimerman has co-written a series of books in which he provides a science fictional basis for the life of Dr. John Dee. The first novel in the series, The Merchant Prince, was co-written with Irish author Michael Scott, known for his Nicholas Flamel series. Published in 2000, it features the historical figure John Dee being placed in suspended animation in 1575 by an alien race known as the Roc and awakening in 2099. The cover features Shimerman in Elizabethan garb. Shimerman commented: "John Dee really did exist. We're pretty sure he was a member of Queen Elizabeth's secret service, which put it in his purview to kill if he needed to. The Elizabethan period was a much more perilous time; you had to be quick with a dagger and nefarious in order to survive".^[9] Shimerman thought there were aspects of both himself and his Star Trek: Deep Space Nine character, Quark, in the novel's interpretation of John Dee. Shimerman commented: "There are aspects of Quark similar to Dr. Dee, and undoubtedly there are aspects of Dr. Dee similar to Armin Shimerman, which would make him seem like Quark as well".^[9]

The other novels in the series are Outrageous Fortune (2002), co-written with Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, known for her historical horror novels, and Capital Offense (2003).

In late 2020, Shimerman's new book, Illyria: Betrayal of Angels, was released by publisher Jumpmaster Press. Betrayal of Angels is the first book in Shimerman's trilogy about John Dee. ^[10]

Teaching[]

Shimerman has been teaching Shakespeare for years, and as an adjunct professor for the University of Southern California. He also serves as Shakespeare scholar for productions in and around the Los Angeles area. ^[11]

Personal life[]

Shimerman married actress Kitty Swink in 1981.

Filmography[]

Film[]

Television[]

Video games[]

Soundtrack performances[]

• Cop Rock (1990) - (performer: "He's Guilty") - Episode: "Pilot"
• Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1998) - (performer: "Slug-o-Cola" - uncredited) - Episode: "Profit and Lace"
• What We Left Behind: Star Trek DS9 (2018) - (performer: "What We Left Behind")
• Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart (2021) - (performer: "Join Me at the Top")

Writer work[]

• Evil Con Carne (2004) - (story - segment "Hector, King of the Britons") - Episode: "Jealousy, Jealous Do/Hector, King of the Britons"

Audio work[]

• The 34th Rule (2000) - Narrator / Quark
• Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Legends of the Ferengi (2001) - Narrator / Quark
• Incident at Vichy (2002) - First Detective / Professor Hoffman
• Magic Time (2005) - Narration
• Twelve Angry Men (2006) - Juror #4
• The War of the Worlds (2007) - Announcer / others
• The Maltese Falcon (2008) - Wilmer
• Adventures in Odyssey (2009) - Prince George
• The Mark of Zorro (2011) - Tavern Landlord
• Die, Snow White! Die, Damn You!: A Very Grimm Tale (2012) - The Magic Mirror
• Wild Cards IV: Aces Abroad (2016) - Narration
• Magic Time: an Audio Play (2017) - Sam Lungo

Broadway work[]

• Threepenny Opera (1976-1977) - Mr. Charles Filch / Ed / Ensemble
• Saint Joan (1977-1978) - Baudricourt's Steward / Page to Warwick / Thomas de Courcelles / The English Soldier / Ensemble
• I Remember Mama (1979) - Mr. Thorkelson

Bibliography[]

Deep Space Nine[]

• The 34th Rule (1998), a novel centering on his character Quark (with David R. George III)

Merchant Prince series[]

• The Merchant Prince (2000) (with Michael Scott)
• Outrageous Fortune (2002) (with Chelsea Quinn Yarbro)
• Capital Offense (2003)

ILLYRIA Series

• Betrayal of Angels (2020)

References[]

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Armin Shimerman.

• Armin Shimerman at IMDb
• Armin Shimerman at the Internet Broadway Database
• Bio @ Starfleetlibrary.com
• QUARK'S RENAISSANCE: Armin Shimerman Pens Novel About Philosopher John Dee
• An Interview with Armin Shimerman by Buffering the Vampire Slayer, A Buffy the Vampire Slayer Podcast, 19 November 2016.