Vaughn Armstrong
Encyclopedia
Vaughn Dale Armstrong is an American
actor
.
.
franchise, having appeared in every Trek series but the original. He has played twelve different characters over the years - a record unmatched by any other actor in Trek.
Armstrong's first appearance in Trek was in the Star Trek: The Next Generation
episode "Heart of Glory" in which he played Commander Korris, a renegade Klingon
who stole a cargo ship and tried to use it to attack his fellow Klingons (whom he believed had gone "soft"). His other characters are:
While his most recent character, Admiral Forrest, was killed in action on Star Trek: Enterprise
, Armstrong got the chance to play Forrest again in the two-part episode "In a Mirror, Darkly", in which the Mirror Universe
version of Forrest appears.
as a security guard affiliated with the Nightwatch in the 1996 episodes "Messages from Earth
" and "Point of No Return
". He appeared in an episode of Seinfeld
as a detective, and in Quantum Leap, he guest starred in the episode "It's A Wonderful Leap" as Fred Trump (father of Donald Trump
), alongside future Enterprise co-star Scott Bakula
. Armstrong has also appeared in such classic feature films as Cinderella 2000 and The Philadelphia Experiment
.
Armstrong's talents also extend into the musical arena. He has mastered the ukulele
, using a "banjo"-style ukulele he made himself. With it he entertains audiences with Civil War-era songs and roots music, leading into the blues music he plays with others. His Trek-related blues songs are popular at convention appearances. His filk
-song band, The Enterprise Blues Band, includes fellow Trek actors Richard Herd
(Owen Paris), Steve Rankin (Colonel Green
and other roles), and Casey Biggs
(Damar). He has joked onstage during conventions that he is the innovator of Klingon
"gutbucket" music, and Andorian
blues.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
.
Prior to acting
Armstrong served in the United States military and saw action in the Vietnam WarVietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
.
Star Trek
Vaughn Armstrong is one of the longest-serving actors in the Star TrekStar Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
franchise, having appeared in every Trek series but the original. He has played twelve different characters over the years - a record unmatched by any other actor in Trek.
Armstrong's first appearance in Trek was in the Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry as part of the Star Trek franchise. Roddenberry, Rick Berman, and Michael Piller served as executive producers at different times throughout the production...
episode "Heart of Glory" in which he played Commander Korris, a renegade Klingon
Klingon
Klingons are a fictional warrior race in the Star Trek universe.Klingons are recurring villains in the 1960s television show Star Trek: The Original Series, and have appeared in all five spin-off series and eight feature films...
who stole a cargo ship and tried to use it to attack his fellow Klingons (whom he believed had gone "soft"). His other characters are:
- KlingonKlingonKlingons are a fictional warrior race in the Star Trek universe.Klingons are recurring villains in the 1960s television show Star Trek: The Original Series, and have appeared in all five spin-off series and eight feature films...
s: - Commander Korris (Star Trek: The Next GenerationStar Trek: The Next GenerationStar Trek: The Next Generation is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry as part of the Star Trek franchise. Roddenberry, Rick Berman, and Michael Piller served as executive producers at different times throughout the production...
episode "Heart of Glory") - Korath (Star Trek: VoyagerStar Trek: VoyagerStar Trek: Voyager is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe. Set in the 24th century from the year 2371 through 2378, the series follows the adventures of the Starfleet vessel USS Voyager, which becomes stranded in the Delta Quadrant 70,000 light-years from Earth while...
episode "Endgame", also appearing in Star Trek: The ExperienceStar Trek: The ExperienceStar Trek: The Experience was a themed attraction at the Las Vegas Hilton in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, based on the Star Trek entertainment franchise. It opened in January 1998, closed in September 2008, and was scheduled to reopen in the Neonopolis Mall on May 8, 2009 in time for the premiere of the...
) - Klaax (Star Trek: EnterpriseStar Trek: EnterpriseStar Trek: Enterprise is a science fiction television series. It follows the adventures of humanity's first warp 5 starship, the Enterprise, ten years before the United Federation of Planets shown in previous Star Trek series was formed.Enterprise premiered on September 26, 2001...
episode "Sleeping Dogs") - CardassianCardassianThe Cardassians are an extraterrestrial species in the Star Trek science fiction franchise. First introduced in the 1991 Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "The Wounded", the species originating on the fictional Alpha Quadrant planet Cardassia Prime...
s: - GulCardassianThe Cardassians are an extraterrestrial species in the Star Trek science fiction franchise. First introduced in the 1991 Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "The Wounded", the species originating on the fictional Alpha Quadrant planet Cardassia Prime...
Danar (Star Trek: Deep Space NineStar Trek: Deep Space NineStar Trek: Deep Space Nine is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe...
episode "Past Prologue") - Seskal (Star Trek: Deep Space NineStar Trek: Deep Space NineStar Trek: Deep Space Nine is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe...
episodes "When It Rains…" and "The Dogs of War") - RomulanRomulanThe Romulans are a fictional alien race in the Star Trek universe. First appearing in the original Star Trek series in the 1966 episode "Balance of Terror", they have since made appearances in all the main later Star Trek series: The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager...
: - Telek R'Mor (Star Trek: VoyagerStar Trek: VoyagerStar Trek: Voyager is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe. Set in the 24th century from the year 2371 through 2378, the series follows the adventures of the Starfleet vessel USS Voyager, which becomes stranded in the Delta Quadrant 70,000 light-years from Earth while...
episode "Eye of the Needle") - BorgBorg (Star Trek)The Borg are a fictional pseudo-race of cybernetic organisms depicted in the Star Trek universe associated with Star Trek.Whereas cybernetics are used by other races in the science fiction world to repair bodily damage and birth defects, the Borg use enforced cybernetic enhancement as a means of...
: - Lansor/Two of Nine (Star Trek: VoyagerStar Trek: VoyagerStar Trek: Voyager is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe. Set in the 24th century from the year 2371 through 2378, the series follows the adventures of the Starfleet vessel USS Voyager, which becomes stranded in the Delta Quadrant 70,000 light-years from Earth while...
episode "Survival Instinct") - VidiianVidiianThe Vidiians are a fictional race in the science fiction television series Star Trek: Voyager, located in the Delta Quadrant. The Vidiians suffer from a necrotizing plague called "the Phage"...
: - Vidiian Captain (Star Trek: VoyagerStar Trek: VoyagerStar Trek: Voyager is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe. Set in the 24th century from the year 2371 through 2378, the series follows the adventures of the Starfleet vessel USS Voyager, which becomes stranded in the Delta Quadrant 70,000 light-years from Earth while...
episode "FuryFury (Star Trek: Voyager)"Fury" is an episode of Star Trek: Voyager, the 23rd episode of the sixth season. It saw the return, for this episode only, of former regular cast member Jennifer Lien as her character Kes...
") - HumanHumanHumans are the only living species in the Homo genus...
: - Admiral Forrest (recurring role on Star Trek: EnterpriseStar Trek: EnterpriseStar Trek: Enterprise is a science fiction television series. It follows the adventures of humanity's first warp 5 starship, the Enterprise, ten years before the United Federation of Planets shown in previous Star Trek series was formed.Enterprise premiered on September 26, 2001...
) - Captain Maximilian Forrest (Mirror UniverseMirror Universe (Star Trek)The Mirror Universe is a fictional parallel universe in which the plots of several Star Trek television episodes take place...
version of Admiral Forrest) - HirogenHirogenThe Hirogen are a fictional race in the Star Trek universe, a long-running plot device in the Star Trek: Voyager television series, appearing nine times in Seasons 4-7....
: - Hirogen-Alpha (Star Trek: VoyagerStar Trek: VoyagerStar Trek: Voyager is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe. Set in the 24th century from the year 2371 through 2378, the series follows the adventures of the Starfleet vessel USS Voyager, which becomes stranded in the Delta Quadrant 70,000 light-years from Earth while...
episode "Flesh and BloodFlesh and Blood (Star Trek: Voyager)"Flesh and Blood" is a two part episode from the seventh season of Star Trek: Voyager. The first half of the episode has a 4.4/5 and the second half of the episode has a 4.3/5 on the official Star Trek website...
") - Kreetassan:
- Kreetassan Captain (Star Trek: EnterpriseStar Trek: EnterpriseStar Trek: Enterprise is a science fiction television series. It follows the adventures of humanity's first warp 5 starship, the Enterprise, ten years before the United Federation of Planets shown in previous Star Trek series was formed.Enterprise premiered on September 26, 2001...
episodes "Vox Sola" and "A Night In Sickbay")
While his most recent character, Admiral Forrest, was killed in action on Star Trek: Enterprise
Star Trek: Enterprise
Star Trek: Enterprise is a science fiction television series. It follows the adventures of humanity's first warp 5 starship, the Enterprise, ten years before the United Federation of Planets shown in previous Star Trek series was formed.Enterprise premiered on September 26, 2001...
, Armstrong got the chance to play Forrest again in the two-part episode "In a Mirror, Darkly", in which the Mirror Universe
Mirror Universe (Star Trek)
The Mirror Universe is a fictional parallel universe in which the plots of several Star Trek television episodes take place...
version of Forrest appears.
Other work
Outside of Star Trek, Armstrong also appeared on Babylon 5Babylon 5
Babylon 5 is an American science fiction television series created, produced and largely written by J. Michael Straczynski. The show centers on a space station named Babylon 5: a focal point for politics, diplomacy, and conflict during the years 2257–2262...
as a security guard affiliated with the Nightwatch in the 1996 episodes "Messages from Earth
Messages from Earth
"Messages from Earth" is an episode from the third season of the science fiction television series Babylon 5.-Synopsis:Marcus Cole escorts Dr. Mary Kirkish, a former member of Interplanetary Expeditions, to meet with the Babylon 5 War Council about something that is so secretive that Marcus had to...
" and "Point of No Return
Point of No Return (Babylon 5)
Point of No Return is an episode from the third season of the science-fiction television series Babylon 5.-Synopsis:The B5 command staff deal with orders to allow the Nightwatch to take over station security...
". He appeared in an episode of Seinfeld
Seinfeld
Seinfeld is an American television sitcom that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, lasting nine seasons, and is now in syndication. It was created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld, the latter starring as a fictionalized version of himself...
as a detective, and in Quantum Leap, he guest starred in the episode "It's A Wonderful Leap" as Fred Trump (father of Donald Trump
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump, Sr. is an American business magnate, television personality and author. He is the chairman and president of The Trump Organization and the founder of Trump Entertainment Resorts. Trump's extravagant lifestyle, outspoken manner and role on the NBC reality show The Apprentice have...
), alongside future Enterprise co-star Scott Bakula
Scott Bakula
Scott Stewart Bakula is an American actor, known for his role as Sam Beckett in the television series Quantum Leap, for which he won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama in 1991 and was nominated for four Emmy Awards. He also had a prominent role as Captain Jonathan...
. Armstrong has also appeared in such classic feature films as Cinderella 2000 and The Philadelphia Experiment
The Philadelphia Experiment (film)
The Philadelphia Experiment is a 1984 science fiction film. It is directed by Stewart Raffill and stars Michael Paré, Bobby Di Cicco, and Nancy Allen.-Overview:...
.
Armstrong's talents also extend into the musical arena. He has mastered the ukulele
Ukulele
The ukulele, ; from ; it is a subset of the guitar family of instruments, generally with four nylon or gut strings or four courses of strings....
, using a "banjo"-style ukulele he made himself. With it he entertains audiences with Civil War-era songs and roots music, leading into the blues music he plays with others. His Trek-related blues songs are popular at convention appearances. His filk
Filk music
Filk is a musical culture, genre, and community tied to science fiction/fantasy fandom and a type of fan labor. The genre has been active since the early 1950s, and played primarily since the mid-1970s. The term predates 1955.-Definitions:As the Interfilk What Is Filk page demonstrates, there is...
-song band, The Enterprise Blues Band, includes fellow Trek actors Richard Herd
Richard Herd
Richard Herd, Jr. is an American actor in television and film. He is well known in the science fiction community for his role in the 1983 NBC miniseries V and the 1984 sequel V: The Final Battle, as John, the Visitors' Supreme Commander...
(Owen Paris), Steve Rankin (Colonel Green
Colonel Phillip Green
Colonel Phillip Green is a character in the fictional Star Trek universe. He is introduced in the Original Series episode "The Savage Curtain." Green first was portrayed by Phillip Pine and then later by Steve Rankin.-Overview:...
and other roles), and Casey Biggs
Casey Biggs
Casey Patrick Biggs is an American actor, best known throughout the Star Trek community for his recurring role as the Cardassian Damar, on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.-Biography:...
(Damar). He has joked onstage during conventions that he is the innovator of Klingon
Klingon
Klingons are a fictional warrior race in the Star Trek universe.Klingons are recurring villains in the 1960s television show Star Trek: The Original Series, and have appeared in all five spin-off series and eight feature films...
"gutbucket" music, and Andorian
Andorian
Andorians are a fictional race of humanoid extraterrestrials created by D. C. Fontana for the Star Trek universe. They are native to the icy M-class moon Andoria , which orbits a blue, ringed gas giant. Definitive traits include their blue skin, a pair of cranial antennae, and white hair...
blues.