10 One-Off Star Trek Characters Who Never Left
8. Ro Laren
Michelle Forbes has a very interesting story with Star Trek. Ro Laren, the ensign who rose to lieutenant, only to join the Maquis, was not her first role in the franchise. Instead, she appeared a season earlier in the episode Half A Life, playing the daughter of David Ogden Stiers' Dr Timicin. Though the part was small, she impressed the producers, and she was invited back for the role of Ro Laren.
She was a brash, insubordinate Bajoran ensign. She was also the first Bajoran seen on-screen. This allowed Michael Westmore to base the make-up for this race on her image, opting not to hide her under too many prosthetics. A simple ridged nose, with a small V above, was complemented by a decorative earring - something Riker immediately told her to remove.
Her first episode was all about the character, though it could have been the end for her, as Ro Laren wasn't originally intended to be a recurring character. Then, after Forbes delivered her performance, she was invited back again and again, culminating in her promotion, and defection, in the penultimate episode of the Next Generation, Preemptive Strike.