Star Trek: 10 Things You Didn't Know About Martok
5. His Missing Eye Almost Caused A Big Accident
Ask any Trek actor with an alien character, and you'll undoubtedly get some stories as to just how much make-up and prostheses influence their performances.
With Hertzler's insistence that Martok would not accept an artifical eye following his return to the Alpha Quadrant, the actor would spend the next several years with a patch of latex covering his left eye. Whilst this would prove to be thematically significant, problems began on set with Hertzler immediately losing both part of his left visual field and a fair amount of depth perception alongside it.
Although stunt performers could take on the more physically demanding parts of the performance, a notable instance occurred when filming a scene with Worf. During rehearsal, Hertzler had no issues following direction as he ran across frame, but nobody had considered that, once rehearsal had finished, there would be a camera sat squarely in what would have been his line of sight.
Needless to say, there was a fair amount of suffering for your art.