Star Trek: 10 Things You Didn't Know About Benjamin Sisko
9. You Got the Look
It's hard not to write about the season four visual changes that helped influence the development of Benjamin Sisko.
Avery Brooks wanted the shaved head and goatee look from the very beginning and according to Ira Steven Behr in Altman and Gross' The Fifty Year Mission the actor was uncomfortable for the first few seasons.
...that was so much a part of who Avery was. That look, that persona...I don't know if he was struggling, but I would say that it was when we started writing to Avery and let Avery look like Avery, the character became a much better character.
The changes began in Explorers with the arrival of the beard. After three years of Brooks pushing for a change, producer Ira Steven Behr was prepared for a battle. However, by the time The Way of the Warrior was filmed, all that Brooks added was the shaved head. With the actor more comfortable in his appearance, and sporting a fourth pip awarded in the third season finale, Sisko has now joined the ranks of Picard and Kirk before him.