Armin Shimerman is an American actor, voice actor and author. Shimerman is
known for playing the Ferengi bartender Quark in the television series Star
Trek: Deep Space Nine, Principal Snyder in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Kramer's
caddy Stan on Seinfeld, voicing Dr. Nefarious in the Ratchet & Clank series,
and Andrew Ryan, one of the antagonists of BioShock. He played Dr. Potter in the
2011 movie adaptation of Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged. He also voiced the Agori
leader Raanu in Bionicle: The Legend Reborn. He is known for voicing General
Skarr in The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy and Evil Con Carne.
Early life Shimerman was born in Lakewood, New
Jersey, the son of Susan, an accountant, and Herbert Shimerman, a house painter.
When Shimerman was 15, his family moved to Los Angeles, where his mother
enrolled him in a drama group in an effort to expand his social circle. He
played trumpet in the Santa Monica High School Band. He graduated from the
University of California, Los Angeles, then was selected to apprentice at the
Old Globe Theater in San Diego. He pursued a dramatic career in theater,
eventually moving to New York. Returning to Los Angeles he received roles in two
CBS series, launching his television acting career.
Career = Television=
Shimerman is best known for his role as the Ferengi bar owner Quark in the
long-running television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, though his
involvement with the Star Trek franchise began with appearances as other Ferengi
characters in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episodes "The Last Outpost"
and "Peak Performance". As the character Quark, Shimerman became one of Star
Trek's most widely known characters, and he appeared several times on the cover
of TV Guide, either with other actors or alone as part of a collector's series.
He says that his favorite episode of Deep Space Nine was "Little Green Men"
as it was the only episode where he is shown captaining a ship.
Along with Marina Sirtis, Jonathan Frakes, John de Lancie, Michael Ansara,
and Richard Poe, he is one of only a few actors to play the same character on
three different Star Trek series. He played Quark in Star Trek: The Next
Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and Star Trek: Voyager.
In addition to Star Trek, Shimerman has had roles as Pascal on Beauty and the
Beast and as Principal Snyder in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. He also has starred
in Stargate SG-1 as one of the Nox, an evil wizard in Charmed, appeared as Stan
the caddy in an episode of Seinfeld, and as Dr. Patemkin on Leverage.
Shimerman has appeared as judge Brian Hooper in the third season of Boston
Legal, joining fellow Star Trek actors William Shatner, Rene Auberjonois, and
Ethan Phillips; Shatner played Captain Kirk on Star Trek, Auberjonois played
Odo on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and Phillips played Neelix on Star Trek:
Voyager. His character even shared a scene with Auberjonois, with the strife
between the two characters reminiscent of the conflict between Shimerman's
Quark and Auberjonois's Odo. Shimerman made an appearance as "The
Terror" in The Tick live action series. He appeared in the series Numb3rs
episode 'Provenance' as an art expert. He also appeared in the episode "Posse
Comitatus" of The West Wing as Richard III, and had a cameo role in both What
the Bleep movies. He also appeared in the episode "Buck
the Stud" of Married... with Children. Shimerman also appeared in the episode
"Where and When" of the TV series Warehouse 13. He played the character
Charlie Martin, that episode's version of Artie Nielsen.
He also appeared in the episode "A Little Paranoia Among Friends" as radio
personality Cecil Carr in the short-lived Tremors TV series.
In 2012 he also appeared on Castle in the episode "The Final Frontier".
= Voice work= He has voiced several video game
villains, including Toad in X-Men Legends, Dr. Nefarious in Ratchet &
Clank: Up Your Arsenal, Ratchet: Deadlocked, Ratchet & Clank: Quest for
Booty, Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time, and Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One,
Andrew Ryan in BioShock, a role he received much praise for, and Razputin's
father in Psychonauts. He voiced General Skarr from Evil Con Carne and The Grim
Adventures of Billy and Mandy. He lent his voice talent to BioWare for their
games Jade Empire and Mass Effect. He also voices Emil Narud and Mohandar in
StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty and the expansion StarCraft II: Heart of the
Swarm. In 2008, he voiced the character of
Wilmer in an audio dramatization of The Maltese Falcon that also featured
Michael Madsen, Sandra Oh, and Edward Herrmann. In addition, he also voiced
the character of Mr. Phillips in Focus on the Family Radio Theatre's production
of Anne of Green Gables. He also voiced Raanu in the straight-to-DVD feature
animation Bionicle: The Legend Reborn. He also voices Green Goblin in the video
game Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2. In 2011, he also starred in a voice-over
part for a character on the MMORPG Star Wars: The Old Republic.
In 2012, he starred in a voice-over part for a character on the MMORPG The Secret
World. He also voiced both Dr. Nefarious and Andrew Ryan in the crossover,
PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale. = Writing=
He has written a series of books in which he provides a science fictional
basis for the life of Dr. John Dee. Personal life
Shimerman is married to actress Kitty Swink.
Filmography Bibliography
The 34th Rule, a novel centering on his character Quark
= Merchant Prince series= The Merchant Prince
Outrageous Fortune Capital Offense
References External links
Armin Shimerman at the Internet Movie Database
Armin Shimerman at the Internet Broadway Database
Bio @ Starfleetlibrary.com QUARK'S RENAISSANCE: Armin Shimerman
Pens Novel About Philosopher John Dee