Star Trek: Deep Space Nine’s Andrew Robinson on the challenge of being Garak, and falling in love with his character

Andrew Robinson as Garak on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

You won’t find anyone who loves Garak more than the man behind the makeup, actor Andrew Robinson. After last week’s GalaxyCon virtual panel with fellow Star Trek: Deep Space Nine co-stars Nana Visitor and Armin Shimerman, Robinson spoke with TrekMovie.com, giving an intimate and in depth look at how DS9’s resident Cardassian came to be.

It wasn’t an easy task. With the Cardassians having only appeared in two prior episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation, Robinson’s resources were limited, to say the least. “It was kind of puzzling to me,” the actor said, “and a bit of a challenge, to walk into that show and that character.”

It wasn’t long before the actor began keeping a diary, one that would help inform the character of Garak as well as shape the Cardassian culture. Speaking of his diary, Robinson said, “You know where your character came from, what his education was and...you have that as a subtext. But I also fell in love with the idea of creating Garak’s world and the world of Cardassians. Because at the time, there was nothing about Cardassia on the show... I had free rein.”

Robinson’s influence on his character goes all the way back to almost to the start of Deep Space Nine. “In that very first scene when he meets Dr. Bashir,” Robinson said in the interview, “it’s clear as a bell— and this was my choice—that he was sexually attracted to this good-looking young Starfleet doctor.” While the DS9 writing staff never specifically commented on Garak’s sexuality in the series, Robinson feels the mystery and ambiguity he established was appropriate for the character, leaving audiences forever asking, “Is he a tailor? A Spy? What is he?”

Before Deep Space Nine, Andrew Robinson didn’t see the value in performing science fiction. He, like many actors, thought, “Science fiction and outer space stuff, how good can it be?” That attitude was short-lived, however. “The thing about that show, which blew me away from the beginning, was that the writing was superior,” Robinson said of his experience on the series, adding that he felt his character arc throughout the series was “extraordinary”. “I fell in love with this character. I really did, I fell in love with the idea of Garak.”

Check out the full interview with actor Andrew Robinson, available at TrekMovie.com.

Update 16 May 2021 by Alison Pitt: A previous version of this article had Garak’s appearances going back to the DS9 pilot, “Emissary”. His first appearance was actually in season one, episode two “Past Prologue”.