Worf Returns! Michael Dorn on the Klingon’s ‘Star Trek: Picard’ Homecoming

The man who has appeared more times in the Star Trek universe than any other is finally back!

…Okay, technically, Michael Dorn, who has portrayed Starfleet Klingon Worf on Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, five movies, multiple video games, and even fan films and an episode of The Family Guy, returned towards the end of last week’s episode of Star Trek: Picard. He was revealed to be the mysterious contact Raffi (Michelle Hurd) has been working with to try and stop — unsuccessfully, we might add — a massive terrorist threat. And on this week’s episode, we see the duo team up to try to find out who is behind these attacks, ultimately revealing — spoilers past this point — an old enemy from Worf’s Deep Space Nine days, The Changelings.

(Fun Easter egg note: the Changeling in this episode is played by Thomas Dekker, who has appeared twice previously in Star Trek, including in the movie Generations as Picard’s son — a major plot point of Picard Season 3.)

But before that, we meet a surprisingly peaceful Worf who prefers chamomile tea to violence; even though he still knows that beheadings are on Wednesdays, as the stoic spy quips later in the episode. To chart Worf’s journey from the Next Gen movies and Deep Space Nine to now, we talked to Dorn about developing the character, his spec script for a Captain Worf spinoff, and more.

Decider: Worf has appeared on screen more than any other character in Star Trek history. So was joining Picard a way of locking down that record?

Michael Dorn: [Laughs] Good question. Well, you know, I wasn’t really aware of it until a few years ago, it really didn’t enter into my head. In terms of taking this job, I’ve been fortunate that I’m at a position where I can take work that I want to do, and so that didn’t enter into it. But once again, I’m always shocked when people tell me, “Oh, Michael, that’s another seven to your record.” So it’s, I think it’s locked. 

Given what you’re saying that you can pick and choose at this stage in your career, what keeps drawing you back to this specific character?

It’s really a discussion that I had with the producers, Akiva Goldsman and Terry Matalas. They assured me that Worf wouldn’t be standing around scowling at everybody, that he would have something… I mean, it’s a big cast. And so I never thought, “Oh, I’m going to have the lead of everything.” But I just wanted to make sure that whatever I did, it kind of fit in with what I pictured the character has done in the last few years. And I think that they did that very well. He progressed. He’s not the same guy. There’s a lot of stuff that is the same. But basically, he’s on a journey. He’s he’s gone from one place to another, which is good. 

As you mentioned, we do pick up with him in a very different place in this episode. Given that there has been so much time, what was involved for you in the real world in getting back to the character? And what did you need to fill in in terms of the story gaps in your mind, so you could connect the previous version of Worf to the one that we see here in Picard?

I actually wrote a pilot for a spinoff for the character and, and it was basically he has been on a journey. It could be a spiritual journey, you call it, but it’s a journey of discovery; about who he is, and what is: the real truth. And they were very good about picking that up in our discussions, and transferring that to the screen. That’s what I wanted. I mean, this is something they wrote for the character, I didn’t necessarily have to go in there and scream and yell, not in this iteration. But though,Deep Space Nine and Next Generation, they kind of wrote that. He’s a guy that is discovering everything about who he is, and who his comrades are and who the Klingons are, and who aliens are. And I’m on that journey myself. And so it was very easy to slip into that. 

So just to clarify, I believe you’re talking about the Captain Worf pilot that you wrote… Did they use pieces of that for Picard? Or was that just you mentally being able to connect those threads from one version to the other?

That was just me mentally connecting that. The Worf during in this show came out of the immediate discussions, and not anything that they read or I wrote or anything like that. I mean, I did say, “Oh, I’d like him to be on a journey.” I like him to be on a quest, as they say. But I don’t think they read it any of that stuff that I wrote. [Laughs] I liked that, too, that it was really out of our own three heads put together and saying, “okay, you know, this is what they believe and this is what I believe.” Out of the conglomeration came this character, which I think is a brilliant character. 

There’s been a lot of back and forth, because I believe somebody came out and said, “Worf is a pacifist now, in Picard.” I think you can clearly see in this episode: he fights Raffi; he slams a dude out on the table. So what what portion of this Worf is a pacifist?

If a person knows anything about martial arts, every martial artist will tell you that the first thing you do is in a fight is you run away. You try to get away as fast as you can. Your feet, I’ve heard this from martial artists, not just people that think they’re martial [artists], these are real guys. And they never want to fight unless they have to. And I think that’s where, that’s his journey, is discovering when and where he has to fight and where he doesn’t have to; or where he has to kill and where he doesn’t have to kill. But he’s a Klingon. Even as human beings, there are guys who are the most gentle, but when they’re pushed into a corner, or when they feel they have to, they will fight. Part of his journey, too, is he wants to get to the point where he doesn’t have to fight. I actually think there’s a point where, like, in, The Matrix where Neo doesn’t even have to dodge bullets, you know? I don’t have to even do that. I can just twist a guy’s mind or, or put up an illusion. I think that that is where he’s going to.

I really love the relationship that you have with Raffi not just in this episode, but going further. I love how it develops. What was it like working with Michelle Hurd, and in particular, in this episode, almost having this Bad Cop/Worf Cop thing going on?

Well, I think that the producers and the writers said, “this will be interesting,” but I don’t think they realized the real potential. Maybe they did. But from what I’ve heard, and listened to what they’ve said, they wanted to give Raffi something to do. Not just, once again, standing around, trying to get back to her to her family; they wanted to give her something meaningful to do. And I think they were they were pleasantly surprised that Michelle and I really latched on to this and gave it even more than I think that they thought it was going to be. And as writers — as great writers — they took off on that. She and I admire each other as actors and as people. So that comes through. I didn’t want it to be like a mentor. Not necessarily, because she’s a fully formed warrior. And I tell her, she’s a warrior. So she has all of that. But maybe I’m there just to focus her attention. And in the process, she becomes even even a greater warrior.

I wanted to ask you about a specific plot the big reveal here, that the bad guys are the Changelings. What, if anything, can you tease about that? And what was it like returning to this threat after Deep Space Nine.

To tell the truth, I’ve seen as many episodes as you and I don’t know. I am sorry, you know, it really is sort of a mystery to me. Maybe I’m just dense, but from what I’ve seen, it’s really one of those things where they’re not going to give you any information that’s going to help you on your journey until the very end. I guess I’m just dense, I just kind of look at it and go, “Okay, what’s going on?” And I think that’s good, because there’s a lot more intelligent people out there than I am. And maybe they’re thinking the same thing, where they can’t figure it out. And so that leads them to want to watch more.

Clearly, everybody in Star Trek is getting together all the time in the real world for conventions, but I imagine we’re heading towards a full Next Generation reunion down the road, assuming everybody survives. If so, what was that moment like on set?

I don’t want to spoil it. I’ll just say that… Nice try!

Ha! To get back to it, I’m curious with the Captain Worf pilot. Is that something you’re looking to pitch again, now with Picard finishing up? Would you still be interested in a Worf spin off?

I’m very happy with with my interactions with the producers and writers. There’s a certain kind of business sense, in terms of how the hierarchy works in this whole thing. So I don’t know. But I gotta say, I’ve always felt that there was a place on a show for Worf. I’m always a little bit shocked that it hasn’t happened, because this guy is… If you want action, if you want the constant sort of discovery and the things that made First Contact a great movie, it seems like Worf is the perfect decision with people at a higher pay grade than I am.

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

Star Trek: Picard streams Thursdays on Paramount+.