10 Background Star Trek Actors More Important Than You Think

Star Trek often has a problem of portraying alien species as monocultures, meaning there is little to no diversity in the general behavior of different groups in the species. Generally, most Vulcans are logical and reject emotion, most Ferengi greedy and sexist, and most Klingons blood-thirsty warriors.

The Klingons seem to get the worst of this treatment. There are barely any appearances of Klingons who are not either warriors or in politics (or, most commonly, both). This is why it was amazing to see Tricia O'Neil in the Next Generation episode Suspicions playing Kurak, a Klingon warp-field specialist!

Kurak was the first onscreen Klingon scientist and helped to make Star Trek's aliens feel less one-dimensional. Tricia was familiar with past Klingon performances in Trek and used them as examples, combining the over-the-top, abrasive nature of the Klingons with a genuine love of science and a profound intellect. This performance alone makes the Klingon society much more believable, as it shows that while all Klingons may have a certain temper to them and a general toughness, they still need their scientists.

Tricia O'Neil made the Klingon culture much more realistic by taking inspiration from past performances while bringing something new to the table.