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Full Name Robert Adame Beltran
Occupation Actor
Nationality Mexican-American
Birthplace Bakersfield, California, USA
Birth Date Nov 19, 1953
Age 70 Years, 5 Months

Robert Beltran | Biography

On 10 October 2021, executive producers of 'Star Trek,' Kevin and Dan Hageman revealed Beltran would reprise his role as Chakotay in the sci-fi animated series 'Star Trek: Prodigy.' The information was announced at New York Comic-Con. Eventually, the animated series aired on 28 October 2021.

Original : November 17, 2021

Robert Adame Beltran is an actor best known for his role as Commander Chakotay in the 1990s television series Star Trek: Voyager.

Who is Robert Beltran?

Robert Beltran is a Mexican-American theater, television, and film actor. As of 2021, he is voicing his most famous on-screen character Chakotay in the new sci-fi animated series, Star Trek: Prodigy .

Bartel has also done many theaters plays. He has made appearances in production for El Teatro Campesino, the LA Theater Center, and the California Shakespeare Festival, to name a few. In addition, he has featured in plays like Hamlet , A Midsummer Night’s Dream , A Touch of the Poet , King Henry IV , and The Prince .

Additionally, Bartel is the founder and co-artistic director of the East LA Classic Theater Group. In the group, he has a staff filled with professional actors. In his production, he has served as director and co-producer.

Age & Ethnicity

Robert Beltran was born on 19 November 1953 in Bakersfield, California, USA. He is of Mexican-Native American ancestry. However, he describes Latino as his heritage. Beltran is 67 years old as of 2021.

Beltran was born to Mexican-American parents, Aurelia Olgin and Louis Perez Beltran. He graduated with a degree in theater at California State University, Fresno.

Beltran is the seventh child of Aurelia Olgin and Louis Perez Beltran. The couple has ten children together. He, along with his nine siblings, grew up in Bakersfield, California.

One of his siblings, Louie Cruz Beltran, is a successful musician. He focuses on Latin jazz music.

Movies & TV Shows

Beltran made his career debut in 1981 from Luis Valdez’s movie, Zoot Suit . The following year, he portrayed the role of Raoul in Eating Raoul . Paul Bartel made the movie. Likewise, in 1987, he appeared in Gaby: A True Story and Slam Dance. In 1989, he was cast in another Paul Bartel movie, Scenes from the Class Struggle in Beverly Hills .

In 1995, Beltran got his career-defining part of Commander Chakotay on Star Trek: Voyager . He also received a ‘Nosotros Golden Eagle Award’ as the best actor in a television series for his role. He appeared in 165 episodes between 1995 and 2001.

Beltran has made appearances in notable television series such as Midnight Caller , She Wrote , Lois and Clark, Miami Vice , and Murder . He also made appearances in The New Adventures of Superman and is a regular in the HBO drama series Big Love .

On 10 October 2021, executive producers of Star Trek Kevin and Dan Hageman revealed Beltran would reprise his role as Chakotay in the sci-fi animated series Star Trek: Prodigy. The information was announced at New York Comic-Con. Eventually, the animated series aired on 28 October 2021.

Is Robert Beltran Married?

As of now, no sources have revealed whether or not Beltran is married or has a wife. However, he has a daughter, Marlena Beltran, born in 2011. Beltran has also made several appearances with his daughter.

Other than that, he hasn't revealed any information about his partner or his relationship status.

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To report about any issues in our articles, please feel free to Contact Us . Our dedicated Editorial team verifies each of the articles published on the Biographyhost.

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The Intriguing World Of Entertainment

Whatever Happened to Robert Beltran, Chakotay From ‘Star Trek: Voyager’?

By Christopher Covello | January 18, 2023

Robert Beltran is known for his role as Commander Chakotay on the cult-favorite 1990s show Star Trek: Voyager, but the actor had a string of credits to his name before appearing on the hit show.

The California-born actor shared the screen early on with legendary Chuck Norris, but where is he now? Keep reading to find out!

Early Life

Robert Adame Beltran was born in Bakersfield, CA, on November 19, 1953, to Aurelia and Luis Beltran Perez, and is of Mexican-Native American ancestry, with Beltran describing his heritage as Latindo.

The actor is one of ten children, having two sisters and seven brothers. Robert Beltran is the brother of Louie Cruz Beltran , a Latin Jazz musician who uses Afro-Cuban rhythms in his music.

Beltran attended East Bakersfield High School, followed by Bakersfield College, and then graduated from California State University, Fresno , with a degree in Theater Arts.

The actor told the Latin Post this about his childhood, ‘Although we didn’t have a lot of money when I was growing up, we had a really good time. We had a lot of fun.”

Acting Career

Beltran moved to Los Angeles after college to pursue acting and first appeared in the film Zoot Suit (1981). A year later, he had his breakout role in the movie Eating Raoul, where he played the title character. He went on to land roles in films like Lone Wolf McQuade (1983), The Mystic Warrior (1984), and Night of the Comet (1984).

In addition, Beltran eventually landed several roles to help him grow his fan base and become a household name. Here’s a look at some of the roles he is most known for.

Models, Inc.

Models, Inc. was a prime-time soap opera that aired for one season, from 1994-1995. The FOX series was a spinoff of Melrose Place, and the storyline revolved around a Los Angeles modeling agency. Beltran had a recurring role as Louis Soto, a police lieutenant investigating the murder of one of the main characters.

Nixon

Beltran played Frank Sturgis, one of the White House plumbers to break into Watergate in the 1995 film Nixon. The historical film drama starred Anthony Hopkins as U.S. President Richard Nixon and was directed by Oliver Stone.

Star Trek: Voyager

Likely his most well-known role, Beltran appeared as Commander Chakotay for 172 episodes in the science fiction television series Star Trek: Voyager . The series ran from 1995-2001, with Beltran appearing in all seven seasons.

Beltran has been nominated for his performances on Star Trek: Voyager, including one win in 1997 for Outstanding Actor in a Television Series.

Criticisms of the show

Unfortunately, fans didn’t feel the love for Beltran’s character, with some fans saying they didn’t appreciate the stereotypical Native American story lines and felt producers misrepresented his character.

Robert was also vocal about his feelings toward his character and expressed his disdain for how Commander Chakotay was represented. Robert, as well as many fans of the show felt his character was under-utilized and had no meaningful interactions beyond that of his scenes with Kate Mulgrew’ character.

He has said jokingly that Voyager was “punishment for everything in my life up till that point.”

Unfortunately, producers proceeded to give Beltran’s character less screen time, which led Beltran to attempt to get fired from the show by asking for more money.

Still, the show met his demands to keep his character until the show ended. Ultimately, Beltran stayed on until the series went off the air in 2001.

Star Trek Voyager: In retrospect

Although Robert has been vocal about the direction of his character on the show, he said that his experience on the show was largely positive and ‘wonderful’.

When asked about what his favorite epsiodes of Voyager was, Robert mentioned the pilot episode, “Tattoo”, “Unforgettable”, “In the Flesh”, “Maneuvers”, “Scorpion 1 & 2”, “Emanations” and “Nemesis”.

Robert has joking said that his most memorable moment on the show was when he was able to ‘take Jeri Ryan into my arms and give her the kiss of her life and the kiss of my life as well.’

What is Robert Beltran doing now?

Beltran continues to act, often appears in television shows and films, and has over 50 credits to his name. But what are some of his latest credits? Let’s take a closer look.

Big Love – Beltran appeared as Jerry Flute from 2009-2011 in the hit drama series Big Love. The show centered around a fundamentalist Mormon family who practiced polygamy and starred Bill Paxton, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Chloë Sevigny, and Ginnifer Goodwin.
Renegades – Renegades was a sci-fi series that aired in 2017, with Beltran playing the part of Cordero for two episodes. The show revolves around a group of outcasts and rebels who attempt to stop forces from jeopardizing the Confederation.
Butterflies – Beltran appeared in the 2020 short film Butterflies and played the main character, James, who is greeted by a mysterious young woman in his hotel room and forced to accept his former indiscretions.

Star Trek: Prodigy

In 2022, Beltran reprises his role of Chakotay for Star Trek: Prodigy, an animated series targeted toward a younger audience. The actor will have a recurring part on the show, the tenth in the Star Trek series. The show was created for the streaming service Paramount+ and the popular children’s network Nickelodeon.

Star Trek Conventions

Beltran on occasion will attend Star Trek conventions . The last convention he attended was in 2022 for the 56-Year Mission Las Vegas convention and in 2021 he attended the 55-Year Mission Tour.

Robert says he doesn’t attend many conventions because he hates traveling. He says he hates airports and flying and especially flying overseas, where he gets little sleep on those flights. It often takes him 2-3 days to recover from flying overseas.

Charity Work

Robert is an ardent supporter of the National Assosciation For Down Syndrome . His youngest brother has Down Syndrome and Robert mentions it is a near and dear cause for him.

Social Media

Fans of the actor can stay up to date on his happenings by following him on Twitter .

Family Life

Robert Beltran has worked to keep his personal life to himself, however he has mentioned that he is married. The actor has one daughter, Marlena Beltran, who was born in 2011.

About Christopher Covello

Christopher Covello is a professional freelancer and published author. He writes copy, content, and SEO-focused material in various niches including music, entertainment, fitness, video games, business, travel, pet care, and eCommerce. More from Christopher

ALMA Award nominees
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Robert Beltran

View history
1 Early life
2 Acting career
3 Voyager and afterwards
4 Star Trek interviews
5 Additional characters
6 External links

Early life [ ]

Robert Beltran is the son of Mexican-American immigrants and was born in Bakersfield, California. He attended East Bakersfield High School and Bakersfield College. He came from a large family of ten children (two sisters and seven brothers). One of his younger brothers is Latin Jazz musician Louie Cruz Beltran .

During his early life, Beltran held a number of jobs which he later described as "hard", including a cotton picker, tomato plant grower, janitor, and working at a Wienerschnitzel .

Acting career [ ]

He had already gained a certain degree of fame long before coming aboard Voyager . In 1982, in only his second film appearance, he starred as the titular character in the dark comedy Eating Raoul . Written and directed by Paul Bartel and also featuring appearances by future Star Trek: Deep Space Nine guest actor Hamilton Camp and future Voyager guest star Ed Begley, Jr. , the voyeuristic Raoul has become a cult favorite. The film also starred Ralph Brannen . Beltran went on to have several lead roles in other films throughout the rest of the 1980s, no doubt as a result of his role as Raoul.

Beltran made his film debut with a small role in the 1981 film Zoot Suit , also featuring Tony Plana and Kurtwood Smith . In 1983, he went on to co-star opposite action superstars Chuck Norris and David Carradine in Lone Wolf McQuade . By the following year, however, he was being offered lead roles. He starred in the Night of the Comet (1984), which has also reached cult status. In 1985, he starred in Latino , produced by George Lucas, which also featured his fellow Zoot Suit actor Tony Plana.

Beltran also starred in several made-for-TV movies. Among these were 1984's The Mystic River , co-starring Nick Ramus and Ron Soble , and 1986's The Family Martinez , co-starring Denise Crosby .

By 1987, however, Beltran was back to playing supporting roles. That year, he co-starred with fellow Star Trek alumni Rosalind Chao , Herta Ware , and John Fleck in the film Slam Dance . That same year, he had a supporting role in Gaby: A True Story , co-starring Lawrence Monoson .

In 1989, Beltran reteamed with his Eating Raoul director, Paul Bartel, for another dark comedy, Scenes from the Class Struggle in Beverly Hills . Ed Begley, Jr. and Wallace Shawn also had roles in this film. Beltran also co-starred with Cliff DeYoung in Forbidden Sun that same year and then 1990's To Die Standing .

Beltran played the title role of El Diablo (1991, co-starring Deep Space Nine guest star John Glover and Star Trek: Enterprise actor Jim Beaver ). That same year, Beltran again co-starred with Tony Plana in Veronica Clare Also in 1991, Beltran appeared in Bugsy , which also featured Star Trek: The Next Generation guest star Bebe Neuwirth .

Afterward, Beltran appeared primarily in TV movies, including State of Emergency , with Paul Dooley and Richard Beymer , in 1994. Also in that year, Beltran guest starred in an episode of Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman , starring Teri Hatcher ; Star Trek: The Next Generation guest star Chris Demetral guest-starred in the same episode. Just before landing his starring role on Voyager , Beltran played the recurring role of Detective Louis Soto on the Melrose Place spin-off Models Inc. in episodes with Victor Bevine , Randy Oglesby , Cristine Rose , and Margot Rose . Later in 1994 , Beltran was cast as Chakotay in Star Trek: Voyager .

Voyager and afterwards [ ]

Robert Beltran at the 2001 ALMA Awards Ceremony

Since Voyager first aired, Beltran has only appeared in one other major feature film. He played one of the Watergate burglars in Nixon (1995), chronicling the fall of US President Richard M. Nixon . Trek alumni such as Tony Plana, Saul Rubinek , and Paul Sorvino also had roles in this film.

While still filming Voyager in 2000, Beltran co-starred opposite future Star Trek: Enterprise star Scott Bakula in the independent film Luminarias , based on the play of the same name. He also voiced Commander Chakotay in the video game Star Trek: Voyager - Elite Force .

After Voyager ended in 2001 , Beltran worked in the TV movie Manticore , in which he co-stars with DS9 actress Chase Masterson . He was next seen in TV's Fire Serpent for the Sci-Fi Channel , written by Garfield and Judith Reeves-Stevens . In March of 2007, Beltran made an appearance on the NBC series Medium . His upcoming credits include the Sci-Fi Channel TV movie Cry of the Winged Serpent and the comic film Taking Chances .

Beltran, like Enterprise actress Jolene Blalock , was infamous for his outspoken views on how his series was progressing. He once remarked in an interview that he thought Star Trek: Voyager was " punishment for everything in my life up till that point. Thanks, dear Lord for the… uh, Star Trek gig. " [1] His outbursts against the series became so great that executive producer Kenneth Biller said in late 2000 , " I think Robert Beltran should stop whining and do his job… print that if you want! " [2] Despite this, he won a Golden Eagle Award as Outstanding Actor in a Television Series for his role as Chakotay in 1997 and had also been nominated for two ALMA Awards.

After Voyager ended, Beltran had a recurring role as Native American casino promoter Jerry Flute on the HBO series Big Love . Charles Esten , Raphael Sbarge and Noa Tishby have also made appearance on Big Love .

In 2009, Beltran released a video on YouTube, saying " I busted my ass off for seven years playing Chakotay… on Voyager . Having to work with Tim Russ and Ethan Phillips , you have no idea how difficult that is. And Bob Picardo walking around going 'I'm signing autographs!' " The video was a joke video made by Robert Beltran and a Star Trek fan, capitalizing on his outspoken views to get Star Trek fans in particular to attend a new performance that was opening that month. [3]

In August 2021 , Beltran announced that he was working on Star Trek: Prodigy . [4]

Star Trek interviews [ ]

E! Inside Star Trek: Voyager ( 1995 )
Star Trek: Voyager - Inside the New Adventure (1995)
VOY Season 1 DVD special feature Cast Reflections: Season One , interviewed on 20 March 2001

Additional characters [ ]

External links [ ]

RobertBeltran.com – official site
Robert Beltran at Wikipedia
Robert Beltran at the Internet Movie Database
2 ISS Enterprise (NCC-1701)

Robert Beltran

Born November 19 , 1953 · Bakersfield, California, USA
Birth name Robert Adame Beltran
Height 5′ 11½″ (1.82 m)
Robert Adame Beltran was born in Bakersfield, California. He is the seventh of ten children, of Mexican-Native American ancestry, though Robert describes his heritage as Latindio. After finishing high school, he attended Fresno State College, where he graduated with a degree in theater arts. Beltran landed his first film role in Luis Valdez 's Zoot Suit (1981) in 1981. One year later, he landed the role of Raoul in Paul Bartel 's Eating Raoul (1982) . Other appearances included Gaby: A True Story (1987) , Nixon (1995) and another Paul Bartel film, Scenes from the Class Struggle in Beverly Hills (1989) among others. In the theater, he has appeared in productions for Luis Valdez 's El Teatro Campesino, the LA Theater Center, the California Shakespeare Festival and others. Robert founded and serves as co-artistic director of the East LA Classic Theater Group, with a staff of professional actors. There, he played Hamlet and served as co-producer as well as director. Robert appeared in A Midsummer Night's Dream; King Henry IV; A Touch of the Poet; and The Price, among others. In 1995, he got the part of Commander Chakotay on Star Trek: Voyager (1995) . At that time, he received a Nosotros Golden Eagle Award as best actor in a television series. Robert supports National Down Syndrome Society and lives in Los Angeles, California. In his political activity, Robert Beltran has engaged over recent years in a series of classical drama workshops mainly on Shakespeare with the LaRouche Youth Movement of the Democratic Party as well as participating in several Schiller Institute conferences speaking on the subject of classical drama, most recently on his 2003 staging of Clifford Odets ' 1948 play "The Big Knife". - IMDb Mini Biography By: Anonymous
Children Marlena Beltran
Parents Louis Perez Beltran Aurelia Olgin
Robert supports the National Down Syndrome Association a cause which is important to him, as his youngest brother has Down Syndrome.
He has two sisters (Dolores and Esther) and 7 brothers (Salvador, Eddie, Tommy, Roy, Frank, Stevie and well-known Latin jazz musician, Louie Cruz Beltran .
Went to Fresno State University and majored in theater arts.
Last name is pronounced bel-TRAHN.
I hate long goodbyes. I don't even let people take me to the airport.
The Classical principle is not that everybody comes away happy; but that everybody comes out thinking, which is a validation of ourselves as human beings, as opposed to the animals that go to a rave or a hip-hop concert, and just dance away in some kind of flagellant hysteria. The Classical principle is that you go and you sit and absorb the events of the play, And you think about it afterwards.
I thought Star Trek: Voyager (1995) was punishment for everything in my life, up till that point. Thanks, dear Lord, for the "Star Trek" gig.

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Robert Beltran portrayed Chakotay for all seven season of Star Trek: Voyager . While on Voyager, Beltran, spoke out publicly about his displeasure of how his character was used. He is considered by many to be one of the Star Trek ‘s most polarizing characters. He aired his complaints so often, many thought he was intentionally trying to get himself kicked off the show.

Beltran, now 58, is set to appear at next month’s Official Star Trek Convention in Las Vegas . Leading up to that rare appearance, StarTrek.com discussed the Chakotay character with him and his thoughts on Voyager, which has now been off the air for over a decade.

Beltran talked about being cast in the role of Chakotay and his initial hopes for the characters evolution.

My agent asked me if I was interested in going in to audition for the role. I read the “Caretaker” script, although I had no idea no idea of Star Trek. I didn’t know Star Trek from anything. But I liked “The Caretaker” script and the role of Chakotay. So I said, “Yes, I will be happy to go in and audition.” I did, and I got the role. When I was telling friends and family what my new gig was going to be, I was amazed by the response that I got. “You’re going to be on Star Trek! You’re the commander! You’re going to be on the bridge! You’re going to run into this! There’s the Borg! You’re going to die and they’re going to bring you back!’ Everyone knew a lot more than I did. I had no idea what I was getting into. All I knew was that I was going to do this pilot, this two-hour pilot. I had no idea if it was going to go to series. Of course, when you do a pilot you’re obligated to sign up for five years in case it goes to series. And, blah, blah, blah. We did the pilot, we got picked up, and we did seven years. I was pleasantly surprised at what it was all about. Some things, I didn’t like, but there are things I don’t like in every gig that I’ve ever done.

He went on to discuss what he thought worked and what didn’t about the Chakotay character.

I think what worked is any time you see some kind of interpersonal relationship, it was interesting. For example, you had Chakotay and the captain, Chakotay and Seska, and, the relationship that was thrown together quickly at the end with Seven of Nine. Other than those relationships, Chakotay was kind of a solitary character, at least from season four to seven. I think the first three seasons there were a lot of interesting storylines, and then I think a shift happened in the series after Jeri Taylor left. I think any time that a character has an interpersonal relationship that shows growth, and you could say that clearly about Chakotay and the captain. But after Seska left, it was only that relationship with the captain that had depth to it. Chakotay and Tuvok didn’t have much. Chakotay and Paris didn’t have much. Chakotay and the other characters, there wasn’t much of a relationship there. I always regretted that because there was a lot to explore.

Beltran’s honesty and candor speaking out against Voyager ‘s writing and how little Chakotay was used on the show is still a hot topic among Star Trek fans today. He went on to talk about the reaction to some of those comments by the show’s writers and producers.

During the Michael Piller-Jeri Taylor years, they listened intently. It was after that… I guess when Brannon Braga took over, when the Seven of Nine character made her entrance, the focus changed. That was fine with me. That was fine with me, but I think writers have an obligation to fill out all the characters if they’re regular characters on a series. I think several of the characters were diminished – Chakotay and Tuvok and Kim and Neelix. I think it was just easier for these new writers that came on to write stories about the captain and about characters that weren’t really human, like Seven of Nine and the Doctor. Those three characters were kind of all-seeing, all-knowing, omnipotent, and I think a lot of the tension and drama that was available was lost because you have to really dig hard to find tension in all-knowing, all-seeing characters. They know everything, right? They have all the answers. Or else you have a redundancy of the same scene written over and over and over again, with slight variations.

Robert Beltran and the cast of Star Trek: Voyager

Speaking out against a show that you’re a part of can potentially cause many complications in a workplace. Beltran discussed how his vocal displeasure affected his relationships with the cast and crew.

I don’t know what the effect was. I’m just kind of a blunt person and, because I have brain, I can see problems and so I’m vocal about them. I think a lot of the actors were feeling the same way, but for me it was like, “OK, you can fire me if you want to. Go ahead, and I’ll leave.” That gave me a certain amount of freedom. I was single at the time. I didn’t have to worry about a family like everybody else on the show, except maybe Garrett [Wang]. I felt like I was telling the truth, and if people can’t take the truth, that’s fine with me, but I’m not going to be stifled by the prospect of being fired.

Read the complete two-part interview at StarTrek.com .

September 3, 2012 at 11:02 am

Chakotay being underused is nothing compared to Travis Mayweather.

August 22, 2019 at 8:31 pm

Chakotay was initially an interesting character. He was pretty badass in Caretaker with his courageous kamikaze run on the Kazon ship that was hammering Voyager. He had a raw, angry edge, and he REALLY didn’t like Tom Paris; he potentially had a thing with not only Torres and Seska, but the Captain as well. The writers simply gave up on the characters though. It’s like they thought “we aren’t gonna compete against DS9 with Bermaga hanging around our necks, let’s just pad this out until the Borg turn up”.

April 17, 2021 at 10:27 pm

I loved Voyager but that being said there were some real writing and character development issues. It’s like the writers didn’t really know what to do with some of the characters. Or what to do with the premise. They’re lost in the hostile delta quadrant but (with a few exceptions) the ship and crew mostly look freshly minted and squeaky clean.

June 23, 2021 at 10:06 pm

Maybe he was underused because he was a terrible actor. Wooden, very one note

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Star Trek: Voyager's Robert Beltran Landed Chakotay Without Any Knowledge Of The Franchise

Chakotay, the First Officer of the USS Voyager and eventually captain of his own ship, the Protostar, is one of the most beloved characters in the "Star Trek" canon. But as it turns out, actor Robert Beltran, who portrayed the character on "Star Trek: Voyager" and beyond, didn't know the first thing about "Star Trek" when he was cast.

Speaking in 2012 to Star Trek , the official blog of the science-fiction franchise, Beltran recounted that his agent had suggested he audition for the role. "I didn't know 'Star Trek' from anything," Beltran said. "But I liked the 'Caretaker' script and the role of Chakotay. So I said, 'Yes, I will be happy to go in and audition.' I did, and I got the role."

Of course, Beltran stepped onto the bridge of the Voyager as Chakotay, and the rest is history. "Star Trek: Voyager" ran for seven seasons, making it one of the longest-running in "Star Trek" history, toe-to-toe with the seminal "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and four more seasons than the 1966 "Star Trek: The Original Series," which was canned after three seasons. By that point, Beltran was puzzled by some of the show's choices, particularly surprised by the "Star Trek: Voyager" finale . To be fair, "Voyager" had unresolved plotlines aplenty. But when he was first cast, it wasn't until he told his friends and family about landing the role that he began to understand the scope of what he'd signed up for.

Beltran's loved ones clued him into how big the role of Chakotay was

While Robert Beltran may not have been a "Star Trek" fan at the time of his casting as Chakotay on "Star Trek: Voyager," many of those closest to him were, and they conveyed to him how significant the role would be. For Beltran, it was a lot of in-crowd lingo being tossed his way at once—he didn't know a Ferengi from a hole in the wall—but by the time they were through explaining some of the franchise's universe to him, he understood that he had secured a part in something much larger than himself.

"When I was telling friends and family what my new gig was going to be, I was amazed by the response I got," Beltran told Star Trek. Paraphrasing some of the responses he got from his inner circle, the actor continued, "'You're going to be on 'Star Trek'! You're the commander! You're going to be on the bridge! You're going to run into this! There's the Borg! You're going to die and they're going to bring you back!' Everyone knew a lot more than I did."

Things weren't all smooth on the bridge of "Star Trek: Voyager" for the seven seasons it lasted. Behind the scenes, Beltran felt creatively unfulfilled with much of Chakotay's characterization, noting that he felt as though he were doing the same thing week after week. And he took particular issue with one of the franchise's guiding principles, the Prime Directive, which he saw as "a bunch of fascist crap."

Overall, however, Beltran looks back fondly on his time with "Star Trek." He told the blog, "I was pleasantly surprised at what it was all about. Some things, I didn't like, but there are things I don't like in every gig that I've ever done."

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Exclusive: Robert Beltran Turned Down ‘Star Trek: Picard’ Role Picking Up On Seven/Chakotay Romance

| March 9, 2023 | By: Anthony Pascale 91 comments so far

Star Trek: Picard has seen a number of actors reprise their legacy roles over three seasons, but it turns out there was one actor who chose not to come back, giving up the opportunity for a reunion with his Voyager costar Jeri Ryan.

Beltran said no to ‘Picard’

Season 3 of Picard has ramped up the level of legacy characters on the show in a big way, with more coming. In February, a fan expressed frustration on Twitter that the list of legacy stars in season 3 did not include Star Trek: Voyager’s Robert Beltran, and the actor responded by revealing he’d had an offer, but turned it down:

I was offered an episode (first 2 then1) in Picard but I simply did not like what they had written for Chakotay so I turned them down. I won’t go into detail but I have no animosity toward the Picard producers at all. ST Prodigy offers a Chakotay that I AM enthusiastic about.

Beltran is already part of the ongoing story of the animated series Star Trek: Prodigy and is expected to return in the upcoming second season as the disappearance of Captain Chakotay is investigated by Admiral Janeway and the Prodigy kids.

Janeway and Chakotay at the launch of the USS Protostar from Prodigy episode 11

No Fascist Chakotay

Out of curiosity, TrekMovie turned to Picard season 3 showrunner Terry Matalas to see if there are any details behind the story that could be revealed. The executive producer confirmed that a part was offered to Beltran; however, it was not for season 3. The role the team had in mind for him was in the second episode of season 2 titled “Penance,” co-written by Matalas. In that episode, Jean-Luc Picard and the crew of La Sirena found themselves in an alternate universe where the pluralistic Federation was swapped out for the fascistic Confederation of Earth. Each Picard character found themselves taking over their alt-universe counterparts, which included Seven finding herself as the President of the Confederation.

Pictured: Jeri Ryan as Seven of Nine and Sir Patrick Stewart as Jean-Luc Picard of the Paramount+ original series Star Trek: Picard . Photo Cr: Trae Patton/Paramount+ ©2022 ViacomCBS. All Rights Reserved.

According to Matalas, Beltran was being considered early on in the process, and he told TrekMovie, “We didn’t go too far with it.” The first draft of the script had Chakotay as the Confederation’s “First Magistrate” and husband to President Hansen, which Matalas thought was a “cool idea” based on the character’s history from Star Trek: Voyager . Terry confirms that just as in the final version, this alternate Magistrate was the main villain of the episode, which apparently didn’t sit well with the actor (as noted in his tweet). After Beltran said no, the part was rewritten, with the Magistrate role going to Jon Jon Briones, father of Picard season 1 and 2 star Isa Briones. The Magistrate character also appeared in the third episode, “Assimilation,” where he was killed off.

Jeri Ryan as Seven of Nine and Jon Jon Briones as First Magistrate

Seven/Chakotay began on Voyager

Pairing up Seven of Nine and Chakotay picks up on the romance between the two characters, which was introduced in the final episodes of Voyager’s seventh and final season. The two were planning their fourth date in the series finale (“Endgame”) and future Admiral Janeway revealed they did get married in what became an alternate timeline. In that future, Seven was killed on a mission in 2381 and Chakotay died in 2394. The series finale left the couple’s future open-ended; however, this storyline hasn’t been mentioned in any follow-up iteration of Star Trek, including Picard and Prodigy .

Jeri Ryan as Seven and Robert Beltran as Chakotay in “Endgame”

The Confederation Universe had some similarities to Trek’s familiar Mirror Universe. During the seven seasons of Voyager , the show never did an episode set in the Mirror Universe, so Beltran never had a chance to play Mirror Chakotay. However, he did once play a sort of evil version of Chakotay in the episode “Living Witness,” which featured a false narrative simulation that told the story of a conquering aggressive “Warship Voyager.”

Robert Beltran in “Living Witness”

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Glad he turned it down as I don’t want them together in any timeline lol.

It’s less that I don’t want them together but I’m glad he turned it down because that version of Chakotay doesn’t sound fun or cool at all. Maybe I think like this because I’m Jewish but meh I wouldn’t want to play a fascist version of my character either if I was him.

Very true. I’m also Jewish and wouldn’t want to either.

Well, I’m Jewish, and if the idea behind the part as written was to make a salient point about fascism, I most certainly would do it.

That’s kinda difficult. Because would people understand it the way it was intended. Look at the Empire from Star Wars. There are people convinced that they were right and are actually the good guys.

I agree with Michael Hall in principle, but in the case of Star Wars that’s a good point. I remember seeing an article a few months back that said something like ‘Andor shows Star Wars taking fascism seriously,’ or words to that effect.

Really, I thought, I don’t know how serious they are beyond that particular series. I mean, if they pulled all stormtrooper toys from shelves and encouraged fans to stop dressing as them, that would be serious. Disney and Lucasfilm will never do that, of course, but still.

Yeah Disney and Lucasfilm would never do that. I think that it needs to stop being up to the interpretation of the audience. They need to stop giving them looks that are cool or that could sell toys. Just flat out say that it’s bad, no beating around the bush.

I never buy mirror universe merchandise, or watch those episodes. I will skip them and have no context of what’s happening in the next episode if I need to. I’m not interested, I’m not touching them. Ever.

Sorry for replying to myself but some media I recommend that does exactly this for the most part:

They’re musicals but you can find them for free on YouTube. That’s team Starkid’s The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals (TGWDLM for short) and its sequel Black Friday.

The primary message of them is anti-capitalism but there is an underlying message in them that fascism is bad no matter what (both), that it can be easy to fall into if you don’t know what it is (TGWDLM but both in places), and that there is no grey area when it comes to it (Black Friday especially.)

Because shopping on Black Friday is right up there with the Holocaust. Gotcha.

This is a textbook example why the electorate trusts the professional left so implicitly.

(ObTrek: on Prime Day I bought an OLED TV for under $1K, evil capitalist that I am. It makes the darkness of PICARD so much better.)

That’s not what I or the musical said. Good job making assumptions instead of looking them up.

Starkid does some truly awesome social commentary wrapped up in the best musicals I have ever seen. They really are something else.

To be fair, that’s exactly how the prequels portrayed them. With the Jedi turning into this rigid cult like group that forbade all emotion and basically turned Jedi to the dark side rather than the dark Jedi leaving for evil reasons.

Bro. No the Jedi did not turn themselves to the dark side. That was the influence of the chancellor. The prequels did not portray them that way at all either. There was always this underlying message that Anakin was wrong to fall.

It was the whole downfall of Anakin. He wanted his mother in his life. He wanted Padame. The Jedi refused both if he was going to esentially live the life of a Monk. Sure of course Palpatine himself was evil and turned Anakin but anakin had his valid reasons. Sith like Dookou are much harder to define as good vs evil as Palpatine is.

If your goal is to prove my original point, you’re doing a darn good job of it. Way to go.

Also I’m not here to debate Star Wars with you. It was just the first example that came to mind of what I was talking about.

LOL, ok, whatever. You do you.

Anyone saying the Empire are the good guys in Star Wars are likely far-right Nazi types themselves, or merely morons.

That’s not my point. My point is that it’s so predominant within the fandom (I left it and stopped watching Star Wars stuff because of how everywhere it is) that it’s hard to tell which ones are actually fascist and which ones are just morons at risk of indoctrination because they never figured out that the Empire are fascists. And Disney/LF does nothing to discourage it.

There are always going to be people who don’t “get it,” intentionally or otherwise. I don’t know that, were I in a similar situation, I would want that to prevent me from taking a particular role.

Well good for you. I think about these things and what I can do to combat them. Fascism is going nowhere and is instead getting stronger again, and at my core, I am someone that they hate (as I’ve said in many different places on this site.) So for those reasons I could never play a role like that, regardless of context.

Some people are going to be morons, either way. In this increasingly hypothetical scenario, it seems like someone who’s willing to play a villain and then specifically condemn them would be useful, but ydy I guess.

Just like there are anti-diversity Star Trek fans.

I’ve seen some remarkable pro-Trump, pro-Brexit, anti-gay and some downright racist comments here over the years — and some have argued that their views are supported by Trek (I remember a Trexit-supporter arguing that there was no freedom of movement within the Federation).

Back to Star Wars. Some folks love villains – I get that. I doubt most of those folks are pro-fascism. (Also, the earlier SW movies keep it abstract). But, yeah, then you see the arguments on how the Empire keeps the trains running on time…

Right. I’m not talking about people who love villains. My biggest Trek crush is Weyoun, but I’m also super critical of the Dominion during the time of the war and before it.

I’m talking about people who bought into the bs, the people who say that the rebellion are the bad guys because they blew up the death star (the death star which was used to destroy planets.) The people who say that the Alderaanians deserved to be destroyed because they rebelled. Do I think those people are fascists? No but if they aren’t, then they’re sure walking down that path and will end up being ones if they’re not careful.

Or are they just trolling? Or is there a difference anymore?

I’m still bothered more by the MAGA Trek fans. I can’t see how you can watch a show like Trek and be against diversity and social justice. It seems to be baked into the show.

I agree though, I’m also very bothered by that.

Well, FWIW, I agree that true “anti-diversity” messages are incompatible with the society we see in Star Trek.

But the modern gloss that critical race theory, and similar academic fads, have put on diversity? Equally incompatible.

In the very first episode of TNG, we learned that the post-WWIII UN banned the practice of holding individuals accountable for the crimes of their ancestors. That principle would rule out policies like reparations for slavery.

It was also key to the (real life) post-WWII settlement in Europe. Today’s social justice warriors would not have liked the European Coal and Steel Community, surely arguing that “it was built on the back of slave labor” or what not. Indeed, even in the 1950s a joint European Defence Community proved a bridge too far for France and Germany.

Versailles-style reparations led to grievance in Germany and paved the way for a second war. There is every reason to think they would produce similar outcomes today, whether in places like Ukraine or Turkey or domestically in the US.

Or take “infinite diversity in infinite combinations.” That’s the antithesis of idiotic stances such as shaming white guys in Portland for opening a taqueria on “cultural appropriation” grounds.

And if you know Beltran’s twitter history this exactly might be the reason why he didn’t take it. The role might hit to hard to his public persona.

To be fair, it can be hard for victims of violence/hate to turn around and portray that violence and hate themselves. Brock Peters famously was uncomfortable with his racist dialogue in Star Trek VI, as someone who’d endured the Jim Crow era.

Did it make a salient point about fascism, though?

What was it saying?

It just seemed much like Discovery/DS9 Mirror Universe fascism, where everyone is just cartoonishly evil.

Andor’s doing a good job at showing how fascism can creep in and how bureaucratic it can be — even with folks within who may believe they’re doing the right thing.

I kind of wish he had taken it since it was an alternate reality. It would have been interesting to see how Seven would have responded to ending up with that version of Chakotay. Maybe Robert wasn’t clear that it was an alternate version of the character for some reason.

One of the worst characters in the star trek universe. Oooocoochiemoyaaaaaa.

It’s particulary galling because he’s a composite Hollywood Indian (seven years and we still don’t know what tribe he’s enrolled with, or even whether he’s from North America or Central America), with a Maori tattoo, portrayed by a non-Native actor. This severely degraded the credibility of VOY.

Unlike Sean Connery and Tom Hanks, this one doesn’t get filed under “missed Trek opportunities.”

I know that he was Human, but wasn’t he supposed to be from one of the Planets colonized by Indians that were given to the Cardassians?

If so that could explain the amalgam.

Well, Robert Beltran is a Mexican-American…

You know who else was a Mexican actor playing some that wasn’t a Mexican?

It’s a problem, and it’s just as much the fault of the franchise and who casted for it as much as the actors.

Surely you are not equating “Hispanic” with “Native American.” Read up on the Pueblo Revolt and Juan de Oñate at Acoma.

Kiwi here. Just FYI, Chakotay does not have a Māori tattoo. (The rest I agree with.)

Very happy he turned the role down.

Ran in to Robert Beltran at the DMV in Burbank once. He was in line behind me. I always liked that he was outspoken about how the character was handled during the Voyager run. I think he was right.

Eh? I think that would have been an interesting place to stick his character and kind of cool to see. (Though I think Jon Jon Briones did a better job than he would have done.)

Yeah, i’m not a huge fan of the character, but that’s a clever way of having him pop up. Wouldn’t add much, but wouldn’t take anything away, either.

I agree that that was a cool idea. Jon Briones was perfectly fine, but arbitrary. How interesting would it have been to see alternate timeline fascist Chakotay get vaporized. Very weird/in universe and leaves us wondering about the real character. I’m bummed that he’s not a bigger nerd and didn’t go for it. However, from what I’ve read, Star Trek was not the happiest of experiences for him and I’m happy for him that he wasn’t hungry enough for money to do something that didn’t sit well with him.

It would have been interesting to see Seven cut him down. Would be extremely emotional for her. Also, Briones, probably due to height primarily, didn’t seem a match to Seven.

Would’ve loved to see Chakotay but glad he turned this down. I want to see the original version. I’m happy he’s going to be in Prodigy next season again. The season sounds like it will be trying to get him back from the 25th century so can’t wait.

Love Voyager. Definitely was underused. Chakotay is cool

I hated this storyline. Good for Beltran.

He made the right call. Glad he turned it down.

He didn’t miss a thing, and neither did the audience…

All I have to say here is that Beltran was VERY wise to bail out of that train wreck of an episode.

Speaking of Living Witness. I always thought it would be cool if Discovery did an Episode where we saw the version of the Doctor from that EP that finally returned to the Federation.

I don’t blame him, although it would have been great to see. Perhaps if he had played a larger redemptive roll in season 2 it would have been an amazing opportunity to resurrect him. But Beltran is hard to like since he seems chronically miserable.

I disagree. He may be a curmudgeon but that is with reason. Think about it. Voyager became the Seven of Nine show, similar to introducing Urkel to Family Matters. His character was discarded seasons before the end of the show, and he became essentially a filler character with some tremendously lackluster episodes where he was the A Storyline. Pair this with one of TELEVISIONS worse endings of all time. I completely understand why he is pissy about Voyager and Chakotay. It was a complete cluster by the end of that show.

I kind of wish that had happened — but I respect the guy for turning it down because it didn’t work for him. I’d enjoy seeing him pop up someplace else in live action eventually.

Thank God, like who wants to see that?

So it’s perfectly ok to be nasty as long as its towards an actor who played a character you didn’t like. Sad.

Glad he turned down the season 2 idea but even happier that he wasn’t offered season 3. I’m sure we all know he will be ok at the end of Prodigy but it’s too soon to make that a certainty.

Fair play to him, whilst some characters took on a massive paycheck he turned it down on principle.

the 7/chakotay thing was a joke anyway, badly handled in the finale

His decision makes sense. After the backlash of Icheb in season 1, I assume this would have caused an even bigger controversy. Also, Chakotay/Seven was the worst romance on all of Star Trek (which is saying a lot, because Star Trek isn’t really good at romances), so we better try and forget about that unneccessary last minute addition to Voyager’s story.

Good for Beltran! The writing for S2 of Picard was shockingly bad and that resulted in a second season that one could compare to the Enterprise finale, These are the Yoyages or to the movies Star Trek V or X. In other words, disasterously terrible. Fortunately for us fans, he did jump onto the Prodigy train and maybe he will reappear in some future live action role, should a Picard spinoff get greenlit.

Yeah, glad he contributed substantially to Prodigy even if he didn’t take on this role.

I’m glad he said no. He’s just not a strong actor.

I’m not sure it’s necessary to pick on him as an actor…

No one here is picking on him.

Let me rephrase: I don’t think it’s necessary to criticize his acting.

….in your opinion.

I am glad Robert Beltran didn’t accept that role on STP, as President Hansen’s Spouse. It was a lack luster story arch anyways, and would not have promoted the character of Chakotay in a good light.

7 of 9 is with Raffy , that’s the way the show was headed with or without Chakotay. A unknown Spouse for President Hansen works much better than bringing on Chakotay, just to have Hansen Dear Jane letter him…

Chakotay deserves much better than that…

And 7 n Raffy are an item now so STP story moves on.

We’d have gotten closure on how that relationship ended from Seven’s own lips. That’s really the only benefit besides getting to see Beltran again. After so many years though, having an actor come back just to be a thinly-written evil twin propping up a supporting character… Good on him for turning it down on principle.

As much as I don’t care for either Chakotay or Beltran, I’m pleased Beltran made the right decision here. It would have made Season 2 slightly worse than it already is.

Seven and Raffi were an item for all of 10 minutes. They held hands for two seconds in season one, then spent all of season two bickering awkwardly like people who didn’t like each other, then were already broken up by the time season three began. Their romance was basically a non-starter, a momentary blip soon forgotten. And that’s a good thing since the actors and the characters had no onscreen couple chemistry whatsoever. They were even less interesting and less long-lived than Seven and Chakotay,

It just seemed like the romance happened because the writers didn’t know what else to do with the characters.

Well, something of their relationship will happen, since Seven and Raffie will cross paths when Worf and Picard do.

Ha! I knew it!!

As in, I already had my suspicions, that the Magistrate could just as well have been Alternate Chakotay!

(Of course, that’s easy to claim now , when the cat is out of the back, so I suppose you just have to take my word for it…)

I’m just picturing the scene in my head where they’re on La Sirena…

Seven: We’re on a classified mission. Chakotay: OH really? What’s my name? Seven: Chakotay. Chakotay: Well that checks out. Good luck on your mission.

Yeah, that was pretty much the only point in the plot where using Chakotay wouldn’t have worked. (So, it was probably written in after Robert Beltran already turned down the role.)

That was a smart move.

Honestly that would have been such fun for an alternate universe! Definitely not for the original tho. Seven is better with Raffi imo. Kinda sad Beltran didn’t see the bigger picture on that one…

Chakotay is one of my favorite characters, so I rather see him in a better role then in a evil mirror verse role. Thank god he turned it down.

I am from Bakersfield. I believe Robert is as well. I acted in high school and college. Saw the impact Hollywood had on a few friends that acted there. Mr. Beltran is a fabulous actor. I hope his pursuits are always a good fit.

I thought the first episode story line of a rebellious crew on a trapped federation ship had great potential. That’s what sold the series and the character of Chakotay. But once the show was greenlit, that all fell out the starships window. It’s not Beltrans fault the writing for the show was weak, and tossed this storyline and his character to the solar winds. Nor was it Beltrans fault he was chosen to play an American Indian. He is an actor. What they do is act, they assume the character of someone they are not. Should Daniel Day Lewis be condemned because he wasn’t a deformed freak, yet played one in The Elephant Man? Should we boycott The Wizard of OZ because Dorthy was not played by an actual Oakie? Grow up. I would like to watch a return to his character in live action Star Trek. Maybe if they did this correctly, he’d play it this time around. Good for him for turning down this terribly ephisode in a bad season of Picard.

Regular Chakotay is a must, not an alternate version. Great choice in turning down.

I wonder if Chakotay is exclusive to Prodigy like Janeway.

Is Janeway exclusive to Prodigy?

According to Kate Mulgrew, she is.

The best thing I saw in Picard season 3 is Seven as captain. A spinoff series with her as captain, and Janeway as some sort of mentor, would be great to see. I’m sure there is also much more to explore between Seven’s human self and her connection to the Borg. She is a standout character in the whole of Star Trek and surely deserves her own show.

Good to see that he turned it down. As I recall, Nimoy turned down Generations as well.

Given the nonsense he had to put up with for seven years, I don’t blame him one bit for turning down another chance to look stupid.

I think he made the right call on this one.

Considering this is the last outing for most of these legacy characters, I can understand why he wouldn’t want Chakotay to have come back and died as a fascist. Even the alternative future in the Voyager finale where Chakotay is a gravestone is better than that.

Sure he did

“Hey, you are one of the most poorly written characters in all of Star Trek! Want to appear in one of the most poorly written tv seasons in all of Star Trek?”

Why didn’t he say yes??

Star Trek's Robert Beltran: The Prime Directive is 'fascist crap'

The "Star Trek: Voyager" star had plenty of misgivings about the futuristic ideals his show portrayed. Still, he had a great time playing Chakotay.

As part of our coverage of Star Trek's 50th anniversary , I talked with a dozen cast members from across the franchise about everything from Star Trek's inclusive message to how they really felt about their characters.

Robert Beltran is known for two things in the Star Trek universe: playing Commander Chakotay in " Star Trek: Voyager " from 1995-2001, and complaining about it to the press.

Get Beltran going, and he'll grumble about just about anything related to Star Trek. He didn't like the monotony of shooting. ("I often say it's like working in a factory.") And he's not a fan of its predictable format. ("I kept telling the writers, 'If you can just take three minutes off a bridge scene and write another scene with human beings talking, the show is going to be much better.'")

He even rails against the show's "Prime Directive," a guiding principle that prohibits Starfleet characters from interfering with the development of alien civilizations.

Robert Beltran as Chakotay in "Star Trek: Voyager."

"The idea of leaving any species to die in its own filth when you have the ability to help them, just because you wanna let them get through their normal evolutionary processes is bunk -- it's a bunch of fascist crap," he said. "I much prefer the Cub Scout motto." ( The Cub Scout motto , by the way, is about doing your best and helping others.)

So, it's safe to say Beltran's not much of a Trekkie. He barely watches TV anyway. He prefers the arts, music and stage work. He writes poetry and composes music.

Though initially he hoped the Chakotay character could present opportunities to explore culture and identity, Beltran, a child of Mexican immigrants, ultimately realized that wouldn't happen much. But he's made peace with it, and come to appreciate aspects of his life as a pseudo nerd-celebrity. Like many Star Trek cast members, he appreciates the fan enthusiasm that's helped keep the franchise alive.

"I also knew I was going to work with a bunch of great actors and a great crew," he said, adding that the seven years he spent on the series were well worth it. "I wouldn't trade them for anything."

Beltran, 62, is currently turning toward more theater work and focusing on his music. Here are edited excerpts of his answers to my warp-speed round of questions.

If you could have played another character, who would it have been? Well, I liked playing a human so I would prefer that it was a human being instead of, you know... Honestly, I think I would have stuck with the Chakotay character because I think they found some good stuff in it and there were some challenging things about it. Almost every episode I could find something challenging to work on. But I think (ensign) Paris is a very good character.

You don't want to get caught in some kind of strict thing where the writers say, "No, he doesn't joke. No, he doesn't laugh that often." That would be deadly.

Like Tim Russ (Lt. Commander Tuvok) who had to be an emotionless alien the whole time. Tim was amazing...what he was allowed to bring out of that character. Emotionally, intellectually, how he was able to express what needed to be expressed within the bible of what a Vulcan is was really damn good.

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Do you have a favorite episode? I liked episodes where we weren't on the bridge a lot and pretending we might die: "Captain, the shields are down to 12 percent." And the audience is going, "What, where is the drama in that?" You know it's all manufactured. We're going to get through it, right? So why ask the audience to sit through it?

I like the one Virginia Madsen and I did that was a love story (" Unforgettable "). And I like the one with Kate Vernon and I called " In the Flesh " and she was Species 90210 or whatever the name was. (It was actually Species 8472 .) She was pretending to be a human, and that was nice. I thought she was really clever, and it was fun to do.

How did Star Trek influence not just your career, but you as a person? The most important thing is not the episode you're acting in. It becomes who you're acting with, who's your crew.

You've got human beings working there with you. And everybody is striving to make this the best they possibly can. That was always much more interesting to me. And that changes you as a human being. More so than any Chakotay episode.

How are you working with the crew? How are you dealing with them every day when you really don't feel like being there? When you really don't feel like talking to anybody? When you don't feel good and you're dealing with a cold or you're dealing with an allergy, or somebody's pissed off at you or you're pissed off at somebody, and how are you gonna get over it?

That's much more valuable than anything Chakotay is going through. So in that sense, it's like being in a large family. And I'm from a large family, so I can say that it's very, very much like it.

Zip me up, Scotty: 50 years of Star Trek uniforms

Kurtwood Smith's 4 Star Trek Roles Explained

Best known for his roles in RoboCop and That '70s Show , Kurtwood Smith has played four different characters in Star Trek movies and TV shows. Smith's breakthrough movie role was Clarence Boddicker opposite Star Trek into Darkness ' Peter Weller as Alex Murphy/RoboCop in Paul Verhoeven's brutal sci-fi satire. After RoboCop , Kurtwood Smith went on to star in an eclectic collection of movies from Rambo III to Dead Poet's Society . In tandem with his movie career, Kurtwood Smith made many guest appearances on popular shows such as The X-Files , 3rd Rock from the Sun , and two Star Trek TV shows .

In 1998, Kurtwood Smith was cast as Red Forman in That '70s Show , starring in 200 episodes of the nostalgic sitcom. One of Kurtwood Smith's That '70s Show co-stars was Don Stark, who is best known to Star Trek fans as the actor who played Nicky the Nose in 1996's Star Trek: First Contact . Kurtwood Smith starred in another of the best Star Trek movies , Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country , after working with the movie's director, Nicholas Meyer on the espionage thriller, Company Business . Kurtwood Smith's casting in Star Trek 6 began a connection between the actor and the franchise that continued into the 2020s.

12 Star Trek Actors Who Appeared On The X-Files

Federation president in star trek vi: the undiscovered country.

Kurtwood Smith's first Star Trek role was as the Federation President in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country . The Federation President's species was given as Efrosian in some publicity materials for Star Trek 6 , but was never confirmed on-screen . With his cranial ridges, long white hair and whiskery beard, Kurtwood Smith cuts quite a figure as the head of the United Federation of Planets. Smith discussed his role as the Federation President in The Official Star Trek: Voyager Magazine issue 18 , way back in 1998:

"It wasn't really an acting role. I had to achieve a quick sense of presence and then be shot at. I also had that scene in the office with all the boys [....] I was pleased to be a part of it. "

The President was targeted for assassination as part of Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country 's vast Khitomer conspiracy to derail peace talks with the Klingon Empire. Thankfully, the crews of the USS Enterprise and USS Excelsior discover the truth about the conspiracy in time to stop the attempt on the President's life. Captain Montgomery Scott (James Doohan) killed the assassin, restoring order to the peace conference. It may have been a small role for Kurtwood Smith, but despite his lack of screentime, the President who oversaw the Klingon peace process is a hugely important character in Star Trek 's fictional history .

The small black glasses the Federation President wears during the rescue operation scene in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country were supposed to denote that the character was blind, but the fact was never mentioned in dialog.

Thrax in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Season 5, Episode 8, "Things Past"

Kurtwood Smith played Thrax, the Cardassian predecessor of Constable Odo (Rene Auberjonois) from when Deep Space Nine was Terok Nor . Thrax appears in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 5, episode 8, "Things Past", in which a freak runabout accident created a telepathic link between Odo, Captain Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks), Lt. Commander Jadzia Dax (Terry Farrell) and Elim Garak (Andrew Robinson). The link takes them back to a dark moment from Odo's past, during which Thrax ordered the execution of three innocent Bajorans who had been accused of attempting to murder Gul Dukat (Marc Alaimo).

"Things Past" was the second time that Kurtwood Smith had worked with Rene Auberjonois on Star Trek , after they shared a scene together as the Federation President and Colonel West in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country .

At the end of "Things Past", it was revealed that it wasn't Thrax who ordered the execution, but Odo. Kurtwood Smith was, therefore, playing quite a complicated character in the episode. Thrax was essentially an amalgam of the original Cardassian security officer, and Odo's own guilt. In a 2017 interview with the official Star Trek website , Kurtwood Smith reflected on the duality of his Star Trek: Deep Space Nine role, saying:

"[Thrax] was a character within a character, and he was also a mirror of Rene's character from a different time. I loved the depth of it. I always liked the size of the characters on Star Trek . It reminds me of when I used to do a lot of Shakespeare, back when I was first coming up. It has that feel about it, you know, because you've got all this stuff on, and you're dealing with enhanced language. They’re just very fun, complicated characters."

10 Star Trek Actors Who Appeared In Shakespeare

Annorax in star trek: voyager, season 4, episodes 8 & 9, "year of hell".

Annorax is Kurtwood Smith's biggest Star Trek role to date, appearing in the epic Star Trek: Voyager two-parter, "Year of Hell". Annorax was a temporal scientist who had built a devastating weapon that could remove elements from the space-time continuum. Using his weapon, Annorax set about restoring the glory of the Krenim Imperium, which had been devastated by a war with the Rilnar. Star Trek: Voyager 's Krenim villains were so powerful that, in multiple alternate timelines, they destroyed Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) and the majority of the USS Voyager crew.

To prepare for the role of Annorax, Kurtwood Smith watched Star Trek: Voyager episodes to see what was expected of the show's guest performers.

Annorax was a tyrant, but he was also a tragic figure, as his temporal weapon had accidentally destroyed a Krenim colony, killing his wife. However, having nothing left drove Annorax to more and more extreme measures as he struggled to reorganize the flow of history in his favor. It's a compelling performance from Kurtwood Smith and his scenes with his former Zoot Suit co-star Robert Beltran as Commander Chakotay are some of the standout moments from the Star Trek: Voyager two-parter . Kurtwood Smith discussed how Thrax in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine influenced his portrayal of Thrax in The Official Star Trek: Voyager Magazine , saying that:

" I guess the producers liked what I did on Deep Space Nine , and asked me to come back, which was fine with me. [...] Because Thrax was actually in the imagination of another character […] he wasn't quite as interesting to play as Annorax. He didn't have nearly as much to do. "

Imperium Magistrate Clar in Star Trek: Lower Decks, Season 1, Episode 8, "Veritas"

Imperium Magistrate Clar was a much lighter Star Trek role for Kurtwood Smith, as the character featured in the animated comedy series Star Trek: Lower Decks . In "Veritas", the Lower Deckers are seemingly put on trial by Imperium Magistrate Clar as he interrogates them about the USS Cerritos' senior staff. However, Clar isn't putting the crew of the USS Cerritos on trial, he's instead honoring them according to his planet's traditions . However, Jack Quaid's Boimler and his fellow Lower Deckers torpedo the whole ceremony by misunderstanding Clar's line of questioning, which is designed to show them all as infallible heroes.

The design of the alien courtroom is reminiscent of the Klingon court in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country , a nod to Kurtwood Smith's first Star Trek appearance.

While it's a voice performance, Kurtwood Smith is clearly having fun in the role of Imperium Magistrate Clar, perhaps delighting in sending up his previous villain roles. Just as Annorax in Star Trek: Voyager was Kurtwood Smith's last Star Trek role before That '70s Show , Clar was his last role before That '90s Show . Hopefully, Kurtwood Smith can return to Star Trek once That '90s Show season 2 drops on Netflix later in the year.

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country is streaming on Max.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, also known as DS9, is the fourth series in the long-running Sci-Fi franchise, Star Trek. DS9 was created by Rick Berman and Michael Piller, and stars Avery Brooks, René Auberjonois, Terry Farrell, and Cirroc Lofton. This particular series follows a group of individuals in a space station near a planet called Bajor.

Star Trek Voyager

The fifth entry in the Star Trek franchise, Star Trek: Voyager, is a sci-fi series that sees the crew of the USS Voyager on a long journey back to their home after finding themselves stranded at the far ends of the Milky Way Galaxy. Led by Captain Kathryn Janeway, the series follows the crew as they embark through truly uncharted areas of space, with new species, friends, foes, and mysteries to solve as they wrestle with the politics of a crew in a situation they've never faced before.

Star Trek Lower Decks

The animated comedy series Star Trek: Lower Decks follows the support crew on one of Starfleet’s least significant ships, the U.S.S. Cerritos, in 2380. Ensigns Mariner (Tawny Newsome), Boimler (Jack Quaid), Rutherford (Eugene Cordero), and Tendi (Noël Wells) have to keep up with their duties and their social lives often. At the same time, the ship is being rocked by a multitude of sci-fi anomalies.

Kurtwood Smith's 4 Star Trek Roles Explained

Screen Rant

Star trek solves the mystery of what happened to chakotay.

Star Trek: Prodigy episode 16 finally solved the mystery of what happened to Captain Chakotay and the USS Protostar, and his ties to the Vau'Nakat!

Warning: SPOILERS for Star Trek: Prodigy Season 1, Episode 16 - "Preludes" The answer to what happened to Captain Chakotay (Robert Beltran) in Star Trek: Prodigy has finally been revealed, and it sets up the diabolical endgame the Diviner (John Noble) and Asencia (Jameela Jamil) intend for Starfleet. Star Trek: Prodigy episode 16 contained a huge download of backstory and information as Ascencia and the Diviner fully explained Chakotay and the Protostar's arrival on Solum. Captain Chakotay and the USS Protostar accidentally traveled through a temporal anomaly in the Delta Quadrant, and they ended up on Solum about 50 years in the future.

Chakotay launched the Protostar in 2383, which landed him and his starship in the 25th century, about 30 years after the events o f Star Trek: Picard . Chakotay found Solum devastated by decades of civil war after Starfleet made First Contact with Solum in the late 24th century. But the Protostar's arrival immediately set forth the Vau'Nakat's plan to get revenge on Starfleet, which they blamed for the ruin of their civilization. The Vau'Nakat immediately captured Chakotay and his crew, and they installed their Starfleet-destroying doomsday weapon, the Living Construct, on the Protostar. But Chakotay was able to send the Protostar back in time to the mid-2260s, temporarily keeping it safe from the Vau'Nakat, who also went back in time to find the Protostar before Star Trek: Prodigy begins.

Related: Star Trek Shows The Start Of Picard's Romulan Supernova Tragedy

Chakotay Remains A Prisoner In The 25th Century

Captain Chakotay remains a prisoner on Solum, and complicating matters is he's currently fifty years in the future from Vice Admiral Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew), who is desperately searching for him. It's not clear if all of Chakotay's Protostar crew are also prisoner or if any were killed when the Vau'Nakat's Drednoks took over the Protostar. But now there's a chance Chakotay can be rescued, although at this point in Star Trek: Prodigy season 1, Janeway hasn't made contact with the Protostar's teenage crew yet, much less realized Chakotay is trapped in the future .

The Diviner And Asencia Time Traveled To Find The Protostar

The Vau'Nakat's desperate response to Chakotay sending the Protostar back in time was to send 100 of their own blindly through the temporal anomaly to find the incredibly fast Starfleet ship. Each Vau'Nakat who went on this one-way, suicide mission, including the Diviner and Asencia, who is also known as the Vindicator, took a Drednok with them. The Diviner arrived in the Delta Quadrant at roughly the same time the Protostar did, but he didn't know it, and it took another 17 years until Dal R'El (Brett Gray) found the Protostar on Tars Lamora. Asencia arrived in 2381 and infiltrated Starfleet disguised as a Trill Ensign , joining Janeway's mission to find the Protostar.

Chakotay's Original Mission Was To Fix Voyager's Mess

In an interview with TrekCore , Star Trek: Prodigy co-executive producer Aaron Waltke revealed that Captain Chakotay's original mission aboard the USS Protostar was to return to the Delta Quadrant and "basically clean up the roughshod voyage that was like a bowling ball in a China shop Voyager kind of shot through." Captain Janeway and her starship's 7-year voyage home to Earth did cause massive ripple effects throughout the Delta Quadrant, and the USS Voyager's crew made as many enemies as allies. Waltke also notes that Vice Admiral Janeway "wasn’t thrilled to have her first officer suddenly have to go off by himself," but Chakotay wanted to take responsibility for Voyager's actions during those seven years.

Star Trek: Prodigy' s fundamental ties to Star Trek: Voyager are compelling and deepen the series, which is honoring Star Trek canon on the whole, including many welcome nods to Star Trek: Enterprise and Star Trek: The Original Series. With only 4 episodes left in Star Trek: Prodigy season 1, it remains to be seen if Admiral Janeway will learn the truth of where (and when) Chakotay really is. Of course, complicating matters further is the Diviner knocking Janeway out on the Dauntless, which creates another obstacle in between the Admiral finding Captain Chakotay.

Next: Star Trek Confirms Voyager's Role In Janeway's New Ship

Star Trek: Prodigy Season 1 streams Thursdays on Paramount+.

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Whatever Happened to Robert Beltran, Chakotay From 'Star Trek: Voyager
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The Star Trek Gallery: Voyager
Star Trek Voyager's Chakotay to appear in Star Trek Prodigy

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Неудобный Чаадаев: самый эффективный троллинг в истории русской мысли
Janeway On the Prowl
Chakotay
Chakotay, Tuvok, and Paris Board A Hirogen Vessel
Chakotay and Kim fill in The Doctor on what has happened
One Little Mistake

COMMENTS

Robert Beltran
Relatives. Louie Cruz Beltran (brother) Robert Adame Beltran (born November 19, 1953) is an American actor known for his role as Commander Chakotay on the 1990s television series Star Trek: Voyager. He is also known for stage acting in California, and for playing Raoul Mendoza in the 1982 black comedy film Eating Raoul .
Chakotay
Chakotay / tʃ ə ˈ k oʊ t eɪ / is a fictional character who appears in each of the seven seasons of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Voyager.Portrayed by Robert Beltran, he was First Officer aboard the Starfleet starship USS Voyager, and later promoted to Captain in command of the USS Protostar in Star Trek: Prodigy.The character was suggested at an early stage of ...
Chakotay
Captain Chakotay was a 24th century Human male of Native American descent who served as a Starfleet officer before joining the Maquis. After his ship, the Val Jean, was transported and subsequently destroyed in the Delta Quadrant, he joined the crew of the starship USS Voyager as its first officer under Captain Kathryn Janeway during their seven-year journey back to Earth. (VOY: "Caretaker ...
Robert Beltran
Know About Robert Beltran, Mexican-American Actor, Chakotay in 'Star Trek: Voyager,' Know About His Age, Ethnicity, Siblings, TV Shows & Movies, Wife & Bio. ... In 1995, Beltran got his career-defining part of Commander Chakotay on Star Trek: Voyager. He also received a 'Nosotros Golden Eagle Award' as the best actor in a television series ...
Robert Beltran
Robert Beltran. Actor: Star Trek: Voyager. Robert Adame Beltran was born in Bakersfield, California. He is the seventh of ten children, of Mexican-Native American ancestry, though Robert describes his heritage as Latindio. After finishing high school, he attended Fresno State College, where he graduated with a degree in theater arts. Beltran landed his first film role in Luis Valdez's Zoot ...
Whatever Happened to Robert Beltran, Chakotay From 'Star Trek: Voyager
Star Trek: Prodigy. In 2022, Beltran reprises his role of Chakotay for Star Trek: Prodigy, an animated series targeted toward a younger audience. The actor will have a recurring part on the show, the tenth in the Star Trek series. The show was created for the streaming service Paramount+ and the popular children's network Nickelodeon.
Robert Beltran
Robert Adame Beltran (born 19 November 1953; age 70) is the actor most famous for his role as Commander Chakotay on Star Trek: Voyager. He reprised the role in Star Trek: Prodigy. Robert Beltran is the son of Mexican-American immigrants and was born in Bakersfield, California. He attended East Bakersfield High School and Bakersfield College. He came from a large family of ten children (two ...
Star Trek: What Happened To Chakotay After Voyager
Played by actor Robert Beltran, Chakotay was the first Native American character to be featured as a lead on a Star Trek series and served as Janeway's steady right-hand man for all seven seasons of Voyager. Chakotay was a loyal first officer, and over the years fans have particularly praised his and Janeway's dynamic.
Star Trek's Chakotay Voyager & Prodigy History Explained
RELATED: It's Good Chakotay's Actor Turned Down A Star Trek Picard Return. Chakotay In Star Trek: Prodigy Explained Officially reassigned to Starfleet after his field commission on Voyager, the newly promoted Captain Chakotay was given command of the USS Protostar. The prototype starship was powered by a proto-drive which enabled the Protostar ...
Robert Beltran
Robert Beltran. Actor: Star Trek: Voyager. Robert Adame Beltran was born in Bakersfield, California. He is the seventh of ten children, of Mexican-Native American ancestry, though Robert describes his heritage as Latindio. After finishing high school, he attended Fresno State College, where he graduated with a degree in theater arts. Beltran landed his first film role in Luis Valdez's Zoot ...
Chakotay
Chakotay is a fictional character who appears in each of the seven seasons of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Voyager. Portrayed by Robert Beltran, he was First Officer aboard the Starfleet starship USS Voyager, and later promoted to Captain in command of the USS Protostar in Star Trek: Prodigy. The character was suggested at an early stage of the development of the ...
TREKNEWS.NET
Robert Beltran portrayed Chakotay for all seven season of Star Trek: Voyager. While on Voyager, Beltran, spoke out publicly about his displeasure of how his character was used. He is considered by ...
It's Official
After two months of speculation — fueled by the actor himself at August's Las Vegas Star Trek convention — CBS has finally announced that yes, Captain Janeway's right-hand man is back! Robert Beltran is returning to the Star Trek universe this year as Captain Chakotay in the upcoming animated series Star Trek: Prodigy, following his Voyager co-star Kate Mulgrew's participation as a ...
Voyager's Chakotay & What Happened To Starfleet Hero In Star Trek: Prodigy
Star Trek: Prodigy season 1 has revealed details about the life of Commander Chakotay (Robert Beltran) after the end of Star Trek: Voyager.The animated Star Trek series is a stealth sequel to Voyager, focusing on a group of young misfits who find themselves in command of an experimental starship, the USS Protostar.In Prodigy's season 1 opener, Dal R'El (Brett Gray) and his fellow slaves find ...
Star Trek: Voyager's First Officer
Sweet deal! Chakotay, as a former Starfleet officer, rides his own Maquis hard to get them to follow Starfleet regulations. And while he and Janeway do not always (or even often) agree at first, Chakotay keeps the possibility of mutiny at bay as Voyager's combined crew slowly learns to trust one another.
Chakotay
Chakotay /tʃəˈkoʊteɪ/ is a fictional character who appears in each of the seven seasons of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Voyager. Portrayed by Robert Beltran, he was First Officer aboard the Starfleet starship USS Voyager, and later promoted to Captain in command of the USS Protostar in Star Trek: Prodigy. The character was suggested at an early stage of the ...
Star Trek: Voyager's Robert Beltran Landed Chakotay Without Any
Chakotay, the First Officer of the USS Voyager and eventually captain of his own ship, the Protostar, is one of the most beloved characters in the "Star Trek" canon. But as it turns out, actor ...
Seven Of Nine's Worst Voyager Relationship Explained By Star Trek Actors
The controversial romantic relationship between Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) and Commander Chakotay (Robert Beltran) has been explained by the two Star Trek: Voyager actors. Seven and Chakotay were romantically paired together in Voyager season 7, which felt like a rehash of the hasty pairing of Lt. Worf (Michael Dorn) and Counselor Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis) in Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Exclusive: Robert Beltran Turned Down 'Star Trek: Picard' Role Picking
Star Trek: Picard has seen a number of actors reprise their legacy roles over three seasons, ... Also, Chakotay/Seven was the worst romance on all of Star Trek (which is saying a lot, because Star ...
Star Trek's Robert Beltran: The Prime Directive is 'fascist crap'
Robert Beltran as Chakotay in "Star Trek: Voyager." CBS. "The idea of leaving any species to die in its own filth when you have the ability to help them, just because you wanna let them get ...
It's Good Chakotay's Actor Turned Down A Star Trek Picard Return
Published Mar 14, 2023. Actor Robert Beltran turned down a Star Trek: Picard season 2 Chakotay cameo that would remind audiences how odd his romance with Seven of Nine was. Robert Beltran was right to turn down the opportunity to reprise his role as Star Trek: Voyager 's Chakotay in Star Trek: Picard season 2, as it was the best decision for ...
Kurtwood Smith's 4 Star Trek Roles Explained
12 Star Trek Actors Who Appeared On The X-Files ... It's a compelling performance from Kurtwood Smith and his scenes with his former Zoot Suit co-star Robert Beltran as Commander Chakotay are some ...
Star Trek Solves The Mystery Of What Happened To Chakotay
Warning: SPOILERS for Star Trek: Prodigy Season 1, Episode 16 - "Preludes" The answer to what happened to Captain Chakotay (Robert Beltran) in Star Trek: Prodigy has finally been revealed, and it sets up the diabolical endgame the Diviner (John Noble) and Asencia (Jameela Jamil) intend for Starfleet. Star Trek: Prodigy episode 16 contained a huge download of backstory and information as ...

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