Gul Dukat
| Species | Cardassian |
|---|---|
| Affiliation | The Pah Wraiths, formerly the Cardassian Union |
| Posting |
Kornaire Prefect of Bajor/Overseer of the Cardassian Occupation Terok Nor commanding officer Commanding officer of the Second Order Cardassia Prime Chief military advisor to the Detapa Council Groumall commanding officer Leader of the Cardassian Union Emissary of the Pah-Wraiths |
| Rank |
Gul Legate (demoted) |
| Portrayed by | Marc Alaimo |
Dukat is the main antagonist of the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. A member of the fictional Cardassian species, he is introduced as the former overseer of the series' namesake space station but goes on to become the leader of his species' governing body, the Cardassian Union. At times an enemy while at others an ally of the series' protagonist, Benjamin Sisko, Dukat appears in 35 of the series' 176 episodes, beginning with the pilot episode, "Emissary", and ending with the series finale, "What You Leave Behind". He was portrayed by Marc Alaimo throughout.
The Cardassians were introduced to the Star Trek universe in the Next Generation episode "The Wounded". In that episode, Marc Alaimo played a Cardassian named Macet. While the similarities between Macet and Dukat were never explained when Dukat was cast for Deep Space Nine, the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine relaunch novel Demons of Air and Darkness features Macet, who explains to Kira Nerys, "Skrain Dukat was my cousin."
Dukat played a versatile role throughout the series and was often a nuanced character. In the words of Deep Space Nine co-executive producer Ronald D. Moore, "I don't think of him as being completely evil through and through ... He can be charming. He can be generous. He can do the right thing. All of that somehow makes his 'evil' actions all the more despicable, because we know that there was the potential in there for him to be a better person." Ultimately, despite the character's versatility, "Dukat is a bad guy. A very bad guy." Indeed, StarTrek.com describes him as "the most complex and fully developed villain in Star Trek history".
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