20 Things You Didn't Know About Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
11. Is She A Bird Or Is She A Cat?
Iman plays Martia, the shapeshifting Chameloid who seemingly helps Kirk and McCoy escape from Rura Penthe, only for her true intentions to be revealed while outside. The make-up process came in stages for the supermodel, who had a particular issue with the yellow eyes.
Martia appears in several forms in the film, including a seven-foot-tall 'brute', in Iman's words, and a 9-year-old girl. The one common trait between them all is the yellow eyes, which incidentally differentiate her from the Changelings that would follow in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. They were achieved by using soft lenses and were very uncomfortable to wear. Iman stated that after every application, the make-up team would have to touch up her look again and again. She joked that the cast and crew were so enamored with her look that it made it worth it.
When the costuming department took over, they seemed unable to decide what she should look lile. She is adorned in furs, like a cat, to which the yellow eyes added. However, she is also topped with feathers, giving her a birdlike appearance. Iman joked that she was a hybrid of the two, which was just fine with her.