What Star Trek's Worf Looks Like In Real Life

When "Star Trek: The Next Generation" warped onto the network landscape in 1987, it brought with it a wave of thrilling new Starfleet adventures, and an eclectic cast of characters worthy of charting the brave new worlds within. One could argue few of those characters have remained quite as beloved in "TNG" canon as the Klingon warrior turned Starfleet Lieutenant Worf. And that has everything to do with the work of Michael Dorn, who played the role in every season of "The Next Generation," and numerous other "Star Trek" projects, including the lauded third season of "Star Trek: Picard."  

As evinced by the overwhelmingly positive response to Worf's "Picard" return (alongside several other "TNG" all-stars), "Trek" fans continue to have a lot of love for Dorn and his fiery Starfleet persona. For his part, Dorn clearly still enjoys getting in tough guy mode to play his signature role. And this despite the fact that he almost gave up his Worf gig during the heyday of "The Next Generation" due to the heavy prosthetics required to play a Klingon.

It should, of course, surprise exactly no one that Dorn doesn't really look much like his Klingon counterpart in real life. Indeed, the African-American actor looks pretty normal when he's not buried under layers of furled-brow prosthetics — though even some "Trek" fans likely have a little trouble recognizing him out of make-up.

That's not to say fans haven't seen Michael Dorn's face on screens big and small over the years. In fact, the actor spent the better part of the decade prior to his debut on "Star Trek: The Next Generation" portraying Officer Jedediah Turner in the late-70s, early-80s staple "Chips." He booked that gig a year after making his big screen debut opposite Sylvester Stallone and Carl Weathers playing a body guard in 1976's iconic Best Picture winner "Rocky." And he indeed played both roles without an ounce of prosthetic help.

Dorn would go on to appear in several other '80s hits prior to booking "TNG," including "Hunter," "Gimme a Break," "Punky Brewster," "Charles in Charge," "Webster," and "227." Though Dorn has kept busy in and out of "Star Trek" regalia since "The Next Generation" ended, Worf continues to be the actor's unquestioned career calling card. He has, however, made memorable appearances without the make-up of late, including a multi-season arc playing Dr. Carter Burke to Stana Katic's troubled Detective Kate Bekett on ABC's procedural hit "Castle."

Fans of Seth McFarlane's unflinchingly crass comedic sequel "Ted 2" no doubt recognize Dorn as Rick, the doting partner of Patrick Warburton's Guy. And "Ted 2" fans no doubt recall Dorn hilariously paid homage to his "Star Trek" persona by donning a Starfleet inspired getup during the film's cosplay scene. The actor has also lent his voice to dozens of animated and video game projects over the years, which includes voicing a cartoonish version of Worf in several episodes of "Family Guy."