Armin Shimerman
Shimerman in 2020
Born	(1949-11-05)November 5, 1949 (age 75) Lakewood, New Jersey, U.S.
Occupations	Actor author
Years active	1979–present
Spouse	Kitty Swink ​ (m. 1981)​

Armin Shimerman (born November 5, 1949) is an American actor known for his role asQuark theFerengi in theStar Trek franchise, appearing as the character in all seven seasons ofStar Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993–1999). He also had a recurring role asPrincipal Snyder in the first three seasons ofBuffy the Vampire Slayer (1997–1999), and voiced General Skarr and other characters in the animated seriesThe Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy (2001–2007), Doctor Nefarious in theRatchet & Clank video-game series, andAndrew Ryan in theBioShock video-game series.

Shimerman was born into a Jewish family^[1][2] inLakewood, New Jersey, on November 5, 1949, the son of accountant Susan and house painter Herbert Shimerman.^[3] When he was 15, he moved with his family toLos Angeles, where his mother enrolled him in a drama group in an effort to expand his social circle. He attendedSanta Monica High School and was active in drama.^[4] As a senior, he played leading roles in school productions ofHamlet,The Crucible, andThe Skin of Our Teeth before graduating in 1967.^[5][6] After graduating fromUCLA, he was selected to apprentice at theOld Globe Theater inSan Diego. He began pursuing a career in theater and eventually moved to New York City, where he was a member of theImpossible Ragtime Theater.^[7] Returning to Los Angeles, he took roles in twoCBS series to launch his television acting career.

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Shimerman is known for his work as theFerengi bar ownerQuark in the long-running television seriesStar Trek: Deep Space Nine, though his involvement with theStar Trek franchise began with appearances as other Ferengi characters in theStar Trek: The Next Generation episodes "The Last Outpost" and "Peak Performance". As the character Quark, Shimerman became one of Star Trek's most widely known characters, and he appeared several times on the cover ofTV Guide, either with other actors or alone as part of a collector's series.

Along withPatrick Stewart,Marina Sirtis,Jonathan Frakes, andJohn de Lancie, Shimerman is one of only a few actors to play the same character on four or more differentStar Trek series. He played Quark inStar Trek: The Next Generation,Star Trek: Deep Space Nine,Star Trek: Voyager, andStar Trek: Lower Decks. He reprised the role of Quark in the 1998 filmStar Trek: Insurrection, but only in deleted scenes.

In addition toStar Trek, Shimerman has had roles as Pascal onBeauty and the Beast and asPrincipal Snyder in 19 episodes ofBuffy the Vampire Slayer. He has also starred as Anteaus inStargate SG-1 as one of theNox, an evil wizard inCharmed, appeared as Stan the caddy inan episode ofSeinfeld, and as Dr. Patemkin onLeverage.

Shimerman has appeared in the first seven episodes as Judge Brian Hooper in the third season ofBoston Legal, joining fellowStar Trek actorsWilliam Shatner,René Auberjonois, andEthan Phillips. His character even shared a scene with Auberjonois, with the strife between the two characters reminiscent of the conflict between Shimerman's Quark and Auberjonois's Odo.

He made an appearance as "The Terror" in the firstThe Tick live-action series.

He appeared in the seriesNumb3rs episode "Provenance" as Patrick Holden. He had a small cameo in the episode "Posse Comitatus" ofThe West Wing as Richard the III and another in the film as an Old Man in the subway inWhat the Bleep Do We Know!?.

He has made appearances in various television series such asBabes as Mr. Ian Anderson,Married... with Children as Mr. Lovejoy,Warehouse 13 as Charlie Martin,Tremors as Cecil Carr,The Young and the Restless as Judge Graham Roberts,Castle as Benjamin Donnelly,Bad Samaritans as the Judge, andRed Bird as Max.

He has voiced several video-game villains, includingToad and Zealot inX-Men Legends andX-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse respectively,Andrew Ryan in theBioShock series, Razputin's father inPsychonauts, andGeneral Skarr fromEvil Con Carne andThe Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy. He then lent his voice talent to BioWare for their gamesJade Empire (as Emperor Sun Hai, Abbot Song, and the Innkeeper) andMass Effect (as the original Salarian Councilor and Fai Dan). He also voiced Dr. Emil Narud, Mohandar, and Dr. Emil Narud in its human form in the 2010 RTS video gameStarCraft II: Wings of Liberty and the 2013 expansionStarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm, respectively.

He also voiced the role of Quark in variousDeep Space Nine video games, such asHarbinger andthe Fallen and reprised the role in the 2018 expansionStar Trek Online: Victory is Life.

He also voiced Ben Robbins and the Shopkeeper in the first two episodes ofRocket Power from 1999 to 2000.

In 2008, he voiced the character of Wilmer in an audio dramatization ofThe Maltese Falcon, which also featured actorsMichael Madsen,Sandra Oh, andEdward Herrmann. In addition, he voiced the character of Mr. Phillips inFocus on the Family Radio Theatre's production ofAnne of Green Gables. He also voiced Raanu along with the villager and a village leader in the straight-to-DVD animated filmBionicle: The Legend Reborn. He also voicesGreen Goblin in the action role-playing video gameMarvel: Ultimate Alliance 2.

In 2011, he provided additional voices for the MMORPGStar Wars: The Old Republic.

In 2012, he also voiced Che Garcia Hansson and Old Joseph Cajiais for the MMORPGThe Secret World.

His best known voice work is that ofDoctor Nefarious in theRatchet & Clank franchise, a role for which he received much praise.

He reprised his roles as Dr. Nefarious and Andrew Ryan and also voiced a Vox Populi enemy in the crossover fighting gamePlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale.

Shimerman co-authored aStar Trek: Deep Space Nine novel,The 34th Rule, withDavid R. George III, published January 1, 1999. It focuses on his character Quark, who loses his bar and is imprisoned during a diplomatic crisis between the Bajoran and Ferengi governments. The novel is an allegory for theinternment of Japanese Americans during World War II.^[8]

Shimerman has co-written a series of books in which he provides a science-fictional basis for the life ofJohn Dee. The first novel in the series,The Merchant Prince, was co-written with Irish authorMichael Scott, known for hisNicholas Flamel series. Published in 2000, it features the historical figure John Dee being placed in suspended animation in 1575 by an alien race known as the Roc and awakening in 2099. The cover features Shimerman in Elizabethan garb. Shimerman commented: "John Dee really did exist. We're pretty sure he was a member ofQueen Elizabeth's secret service, which put it in his purview to kill if he needed to. TheElizabethan period was a much more perilous time; you had to be quick with a dagger and nefarious in order to survive".^[9] Shimerman thought aspects of both himself and hisStar Trek: Deep Space Nine character, Quark, were in the novel's interpretation of John Dee. Shimerman commented: "There are aspects of Quark similar to Dr. Dee, and undoubtedly there are aspects of Dr. Dee similar to Armin Shimerman, which would make him seem like Quark, as well".^[9]

The other novels in the series areOutrageous Fortune (2002), co-written withChelsea Quinn Yarbro, known for her historical horror novels, andCapital Offense (2003).

In late 2020, Shimerman's new book,Illyria: Betrayal of Angels, was released by publisher Jumpmaster Press.Betrayal of Angels is the first book in Shimerman's trilogy about John Dee.^[10]

Shimerman has been teachingShakespeare for years, and as an adjunct professor for theUniversity of Southern California. He also serves as Shakespeare scholar for productions in and around the Los Angeles area.^[10]

Shimerman married actressKitty Swink^[11] in May 1981.^[12]

• Cop Rock (1990) - (performer: "He's Guilty") - Episode: "Pilot"
• Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1998) - (performer: "Slug-o-Cola" - uncredited) - Episode: "Profit and Lace"
• What We Left Behind: Star Trek DS9 (2019) - (performer: "What We Left Behind")
• Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart (2021) - (performer: "Join Me at the Top")

• Evil Con Carne (2004) - (story - segment "Hector, King of the Britons") - Episode: "Jealousy, Jealous Do/Hector, King of the Britons"

• The 34th Rule (2000) - Narrator, Quark
• Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Legends of the Ferengi (2001) - Narrator, Quark
• Incident at Vichy (2002) - First Detective, Prof. Hoffman
• Magic Time (2005) - Narration
• Twelve Angry Men (2006) - Juror #4
• The War of the Worlds (2007) - Announcer, Others
• The Maltese Falcon (2008) - Wilmer
• Adventures in Odyssey (2009) - Prince George
• The Mark of Zorro (2011) - Tavern Landlord
• Die, Snow White! Die, Damn You!: A Very Grimm Tale (2012) - The Magic Mirror
• Wild Cards IV: Aces Abroad (2016) - Narration
• Magic Time: an Audio Play (2017) - Sam Lungo

• Threepenny Opera (1976-1977) - Mr. Charles Filch, Ed, Ensemble
• Saint Joan (1977-1978) - Baudricourt's Steward, Page to Warwick, Thomas de Courcelles, The English Soldier, Ensemble
• I Remember Mama (1979) - Mr. Thorkelson
• The Play That Goes Wrong (2022) - Dennis Tyde, Perkins

• The 34th Rule (1998) (withDavid R. George III)
• The Merchant Prince (2000) (withMichael Scott)
• Outrageous Fortune (2002) (withChelsea Quinn Yarbro)
• Capital Offense (2003)
• Betrayal of Angels (2020)

Wikimedia Commons has media related toArmin Shimerman.

• Armin Shimerman atIMDb
• Armin Shimerman at theInternet Broadway Database
• Bio @ Starfleetlibrary.com
• QUARK'S RENAISSANCE: Armin Shimerman Pens Novel About Philosopher John Dee
• An Interview with Armin Shimerman by Buffering the Vampire Slayer, A Buffy the Vampire Slayer Podcast, 19 November 2016.

• 1949 births
• Living people
• Male actors from New Jersey
• American male film actors
• American male television actors
• American male voice actors
• Audiobook narrators
• Male actors from Los Angeles
• People from Lakewood Township, New Jersey
• University of California, Los Angeles alumni
• Jewish American male actors
• 21st-century American Jews
• Actors from Ocean County, New Jersey

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