Bill Blair (born 17 August 1954; age 70) is an actor who played various background aliens on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager and Star Trek: Enterprise and also appeared in Star Trek Into Darkness. His very first role in Star Trek was the part of a Klingon guard for the Deep Space Nine second season episode "Blood Oath", filmed on 7 February 1994, which ended on the cutting room floor. This makes the second season episode "Tribunal" his very first Star Trek on screen appearance. Normally under prosthetics, Blair portrayed various "Westmore aliens" on the second through seventh seasons of Deep Space Nine and the sixth and seventh seasons of Voyager. On Enterprise he portrayed three different Vulcans and a Human. His costume as a Vulcan Syrrannite was later sold on the It's A Wrap! sale and auction on eBay. [1](X)
In 2011, the Guinness Book of World Records recognized Bill Blair as the record holder in the category of "The Most Special Effect Make-Up Characters Portrayed in a Career" with 202 different characters.
Aside from his performances in the Star Trek television and movie productions, he has also made another official franchise appearance as "Borg drone 6 of 9", albeit uncredited, in the movie made for the 2004 Borg Invasion 4D ride at the Las Vegas Star Trek: The Experience attraction. [2] He has stated about this "experience", "That is the hottest makeup and wardrobe I've ever had to put on. It's a full-body suit – rubber, latex, vinyl, you name it. I had to put a latex suit on and essentially be powdered down, [then] two people stretched this onto me. With all the makeup and everything, that is like wearing a sauna suit. After a day of shooting, I'd get out of it and literally turn it upside down to pour the sweat from the feet of it." [3]
Personal and non-acting[]
Blair was born in Kent, Ohio, and graduated from Kent State University in 1977 with a bachelor in science and a degree in speech – telecommunications. Blair was a member of the band Climax, who had the 1972 hit "Precious and Few", and played keyboard on the tour of Classics IV. He also toured with the band Expression in the early 1980s and worked as road manager and disc jockey for the American Hawaii Cruises in 1992. In 1983, he composed the song "The Crowning Glory" for the National Campers and Hikers Association.
In 1986, he wrote the book The Professionals and Talent Handbook: The Guide to Getting Started. Blair also teaches professional courses in industry protocol and professionalism. His resume includes various television commercials and modeling print-ads. In his early acting years, he did a Spock impersonation at a convention. Blair was married to actress Toni Blair and is an often-seen guest at several Star Trek-related conventions. As a writer, he wrote the script for the film Arizona Summer in 2003 and received credit for special assistance on the video production Countess Dracula's Orgy of Blood in 2003.
Acting[]
His acting resume includes films such as New Year's Evil (1989), R.O.T.O.R. (1989), Dinosaur Valley Girls (1996, with Jeff Rector), The Acid House (1998, with Maurice Roëves), Evolution (2001, with Gregory Itzin, Sarah Silverman, John Cho and Morgan Nagler), and the comedy Blades of Glory (2007).
In 1991, Blair appeared as a reporter in the first part of Dynasty: The Reunion. Other Trek actors include Joan Collins, Robin Sachs, Tony Jay, Keone Young, Wendie Malick, Evelyn Guerrero, Jeff O'Haco, Ray Reinhardt, Renna Bogdanowicz, Phil Culotta, Bruce Dobos, Peter Eastman, Michael Echols, Melanie Hathorn, Steve Hershon, Debra Dilley, and Curt Truman.
Probably his best known on-screen work was as a regular "alien actor" on Babylon 5 (1994-1998, starring Andreas Katsulas, Bill Mumy, Patricia Tallman, and Tracy Scoggins and working with fellow background performers Mary Meinel-Newport, Brita Nowak, Jack Nolan, and Rick Ryan), where he appeared in almost every episode and two of the Babylon 5 television films. Like in Star Trek, it's hard to spot him because he is mostly under heavy make-up, playing Minbari, Narn, and other aliens, and this is the reason for his nickname "Alien Actor".
His resume also includes guest appearances and regular background roles on television series such as Arliss, Ally McBeal, Sliders (starring Jerry O'Connell and John Rhys-Davies), The Invisible Man, The X-Files, The Drew Carey Show (2003, episode "Lewis You Can Drive My Car" with Diedrich Bader, Bill Cobbs, and Jeff Ricketts), The Waltons, Curb Your Enthusiasm (2002, with Diane Salinger), Charmed, Savin Grace (2010, with Ryan Wilcox), and Alien Nation (starring Eric Pierpoint and Gary Graham).
Among his later projects was a background part in the Heroes episode "Six Months Ago" (2006, with Greg Grunberg, Zachary Quinto, Cristine Rose, Erick Avari, and Josh Clark) and the role of Commander Blodgett in the Star Trek: New Voyages double episode Blood and Fire (2007), which was written and directed by David Gerrold, starred James Cawley, guest starred Denise Crosby, and stunt coordinated by Leslie Hoffman. For New Voyages, Blair also worked as special effects make-up artist.
Blair was featured as a zombie in Resident Evil: Afterlife (2010, with Pam Blackwell) and appeared in episodes of Mad Men (2010, with Deborah Lacey, Ray Wise, Kevin Rahm, and Mark Colson) and NCIS (2011, with Abby Brammell and Robert Curtis Brown).
Star Trek appearances[]
DS9: "By Inferno's Light", "Doctor Bashir, I Presume", "Ferengi Love Songs"
(uncredited)
Further appearances[]
- DS9: "What You Leave Behind" as four different aliens
- VOY: "Q2"
External links[]
- AlienActor.com – official site
- Bill Blair at the Internet Movie Database
- 2011 Bill Blair interview at StarTrek.com
- Bill Blair at Heroes wiki
- Bill Blair at LACasting.com
- Bill Blair at ActorsAccess.com
- Bill Blair at MySpace.com