Martok

Martok

J. G. Hertzler in costume as Martok (right)
Species	Klingon
Affiliation	Klingon Defense Force
Posting	Rotarran, Deep Space Nine, Qo'noS
Position	Chancellor of the Klingon Empire
Rank	General, Chancellor
Portrayed by	J. G. Hertzler

Martok, son of Urthog is a recurring character in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, played by actor J. G. Hertzler.

J.G. Hertzler made his first appearance in the franchise in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine pilot episode, "Emissary", as a Vulcan Captain who is killed when his vessel is destroyed. Following this, he made his first appearance as a Klingon in the video game Star Trek: Klingon, directed by Jonathan Frakes and also starring Robert O'Reilly as Chancellor Gowron. When the producers of Deep Space Nine were casting Martok, Herzler auditioned after initially not considering the role but found himself getting angry during the interview due to a comment from the director which he felt was insulting. But this response led to him gaining the role, and it was included as a character trait for Martok.

It took around three hours each day for the make-up to be applied to Hertzler by David Quashnick, who was the "specialist" who did both Hertzler and O'Reilly's Klingon make-up. Hertzler did not mind the process, but stated that having the prosthetics block the sight in his left side could sometimes make filming difficult as he couldn't see when turning that way. However he felt it was important to the character to remind him of the time spent on the Dominion prison world, and turned down the opportunity to have Martok's sight restored when it was suggested by executive producer Ira Steven Behr. In particular, Hertzler felt it gave the same air to Martok as Christopher Plummer's character in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.

Little backstory is given regarding the early life of Martok, except for a brief history sketched by himself in the Deep Space Nine episode "Once More Unto the Breach". It is known that he was born into a Klingon house (The House of Martok) that was not part of the aristocracy and was raised in the Ket'ha lowlands on the Klingon homeworld of Qo'noS. This area is considered a wasteland by the Klingons.