Actor Steve Rankin has portrayed four different characters (and species) in the Star Trek universe. Rankin first appeared in Star Trek: The Next Generation season 3, episode 7, “The Enemy,” as an injured Romulan named Patahk. On Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Rankin first popped up as a Cardassian in the series premiere, “Emissary,” and later as a Klingon Mercenary named Yeto in DS9 season 2, episode 4, “Invasive Procedures.” Rankin’s final Star Trek appearance came in Star Trek: Enterprise season 4, episode 20, “Demons,” where he played a human militia leader from 21st-century Earth.

Steven Rankin began his acting career in 1981 and went on to appear in numerous television shows throughout the 1980s, including The Equalizer, Alien Nation, and Murphy Brown. Rankin can also be seen in episodes of Law & Order, NYPD Blue, The West Wing, The X-Files, and The Practice. He had minor roles in the films Apollo 13, L.A. Confidential, Men in Black, and Pearl Harbor. Rankin continued to remain a staple on television throughout the 2000s, appearing in episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, JAG, 24, NCIS, Malcolm in the Middle, Veronica Mars, Criminal Minds, and True Blood. Here are Rankin’s 4 Star Trek characters and species explained.

4

Patahk

Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 3, Episode 7 – “The Enemy”

In Star Trek: The Next Generation’s “The Enemy,” the USS Enterprise-D finds a Romulan survivor named Patahk on a storm-ravaged planet on the Federation side of the Neutral Zone. As Patahk fights for his life in sickbay, Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden) determines that Lt. Worf (Michael Dorn) is the only suitable donor for a blood transfusion that would save the Romulan’s life. Worf, however, refuses to save Patahk because Romulans killed his parents when he was a child.

Steve Rankin may not get many lines as the severely injured Patahk, but he does confront Worf, saying: “I would rather die than pollute my body with Klingon filth.” In a surprising turn, Worf doesn’t have a last-minute change of heart, and Patahk dies of his injuries, further complicating the discussions Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) has been having with the Romulan Commander Tomalak (Andreas Katsulas).

3

Unnamed Cardassian Officer

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Season 1, Episodes 1 & 2 – “Emissary”

Steve Rankin goes from one Federation enemy to another, as he takes on the role of a Cardassian in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine’s two-part series premiere, “Emissary.” Rankin’s Cardassian serves aboard the warship of Gul Jasad (Joel Swetow), who attacked Deep Space Nine, blaming them for the disappearance of the Cardassian vessel, the Prakesh. In reality, the Prakesh had traveled through the Bajoran wormhole, which the crew of DS9 had just discovered.

Rankin’s officer appeared to be a high-ranking Cardassian on Jasad’s ship, as he cautioned the Gul to wait for more Cardassian military ships before attacking the station. He also delivered scan results to Jasad, showing extensive weapons on DS9, but pointed out it could be a bluff. When Gul Dukat (Marc Alaimo) and the Prakesh returned through the wormhole, he ordered Jasad and his men to stand down.

2

Yeto

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Season 2, Episode 4 – “Invasive Procedures”

With only a skeleton crew on Deep Space Nine due to a plasma storm, an unjoined Trill named Verad (John Glover) takes over the station. Steve Rankin plays Yeto, one of the Klingon mercenaries hired by Verad to overpower DS9’s crew and steal the Trill symbiont of Lt. Jadzia Dax (Terry Farrell). Verad had previously been denied a symbiont on Trill, and he forces Dr. Julian Bashir (Alexander Siddig) to transfer the Dax symbiont from Jadzia to him.

As Commander Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) and DS9’s other crew members work to stop Verad and his mercenaries, Yeto guards Dr. Bashir in the infirmary. With some help from Ferengi bartender Quark (Armin Shimerman), who pretends to be injured, Bashir is able to sedate Yeto. Bashir then frees the imprisoned Constable Odo (René Auberjonois), and they thwart Verad and save Jadzia.

1

Colonel Phillip Green

Star Trek: Enterprise season 4, episode 20 – “Demons”

In his final Star Trek appearance, Steve Rankin appeared as notorious 21st-century militia leader Colonel Phillip Green in Star Trek: Enterprise. First mentioned in Star Trek: The Original Series season 3, episode 22, “The Savage Curtain,” Green led a group of eco-terrorists during World War III who were responsible for the deaths of millions. After the war, Green ordered the euthanasia of hundreds of thousands of humans who had been affected by radiation.

Rankin’s Phillip Green appeared in a recording that John Frederick Paxton (Peter Weller) was watching. Paxton led the xenophobic movement known as Terra Prime, whose believers wanted to expel all non-humans from Earth and its solar system. Rather than viewing Green as a “genocidal madman” as most historians did, Paxton and his followers bought into his rhetoric about keeping humanity “pure.” Steve Rankin may have only appeared as Phillip Green in a recording but he brought to life one of Star Trek’s cruelest historical figures.