Star Trek: 10 Things You Didn't Know About Julian Bashir

10. Siddig For Sisko?

Not yet on a twenty-six-hour day, Alexander Siddig (aka Siddig El Fadil) already had less time to prepare for his audition. Then, as he related in The Fifty-Year Mission: The Next 25 Years, the process was even more speedy. His agent had called with a short, but effective, message: "It's Wednesday night, off you go. It's Star Trek, you've got this scene. Do a good job. See you later".

From casting documents released via TrekDocs on Twitter, it would seem that Siddig's first audition for Star Trek was, in fact, on a Thursday morning — 9:30, 23rd July at Twickenham Studios in London. Not knowing there was a new Trek show in the works, Siddig thought he was going up for a part in Star Trek: The Next Generation, perhaps as "Deanna Troi's brother". As Siddig then recalled in The Making of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, he also turned up to the audition sporting a black eye, having been punched in the face by an overzealous, and over-drunk, 'fan' on the London Underground the night before.

That didn't seem to deter producers, however. In fact, as further detailed in The Making of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Rick Berman himself had sought out Siddig in the first place, after being impressed by his performance as King Faisil in A Dangerous Man: Lawrence After Arabia. Berman had initially wanted Siddig for the part of Commander Sisko, but upon learning that the actor was only in his mid-twenties (appearing older in A Dangerous Man), Berman asked if he would audition for Doctor Bashir, at that point called 'Doctor Amoros,' instead.