Star Trek's 10 Most Iconic English Villains

Having already played St. John Talbot in The Final Frontier, and the Lincolnesque Chancellor Gorkon in The Undiscovered Country, David Warner's third and final Star Trek role may have been on the small screen, but undoubtedly left the biggest impression. Despite occurring in only the second half, the Next Generation two parter Chain of Command is dominated by the interrogation of Picard at the hands of the brutal Gul Madred. Something which is essentially a one set, two man play between two of the Royal Shakespeare Company's greatest exports.

A heavyweight battle of wills between captains of two superpowers on the brink of war, the fact that Picard is drugged, stripped, and tortured may make it seem rather one sided, but he wasn't given command of the Enterprise for nothing. After Madred boasts about his rise through the ranks after a childhood in poverty, Picard uses his adversary's weakness to keep hold of his sanity. Taking pity on the sadist with airs of philosophy and debate as someone who was once himself bullied and beaten, he is able to keep the upper hand and refuse to "admit" that there were five lights in front of him.

A performance which is all the more impressive considering that Warner was given the role with only three days notice, all that he knew of Cardassians was “that they weren't very nice", and actually delivered his lines from cue cards. Not that you'd be able to tell from such a masterful performance that is now revered as one of TNG's finest moments.