TREKCORE > DEEP SPACE NINE > CAST > General Martok

PLAYED BY: J.G. Hertzler
FULL NAME: Martok
SPECIES: Klingon
POSITION/OCCUPATION: Military commander in the Klingon Defense Force
RANK/TITLE: General (became Chancellor at the end)
BIRTHPLACE: Ketha lowlands on Qo'Nos
PARENTS: father died before Martok became an officer
SPOUSE: Lady Sirella
CHILDREN: son Drex; at least one other child

A Klingon officer who had come from a humble house of soldiers, in the Ketha province, but rose to become a general, a top aide to Gowron, and eventually Chancellor himself.

As a youth, he applied to the Klingon officers' academy, but his admission was denied by the council because Kor, a council member, believed his house was not noble enough. Martok was unable to join the military even as a common soldier. For five years, he was a civilian laborer on General Shivang's flagship, until earning a battlefield commission during a Romulan attack. His father did not live to see this, and Martok hated Kor for years as a result.

In 2371, Martok was hunting saberbear on Kang's Summit when he was taken prisoner by the Dominion and replaced by a Changeling. He was found in a Dominion prison by Worf and Garak (in "In Purgatory's Shadow"/"By Inferno's Light"), having lost his left eye in a fight with Ikat'ika. After he escaped with the other prisoners, Sisko appointed him to command the Klingon military attachment to DS9.

Not long afterwards, in "Soldiers of the Empire", Martok commanded the Rotarran on a mission to locate the B'Moth, but his excessive caution nearly caused a mutiny until Worf challenged him. Martok won, but was reminded of his duty and rescued the crew of the B'Moth, after which he adopted Worf into his house as his brother. He also later adopted Worf's son Alexander ("Sons and Daughters").

During the Federation/Dominion war, Martok proved invaluable to the Alpha Quadrant forces, and after the retaking of DS9, was made Supreme Commander of the 9th Fleet, on Sisko's recommendation ("You Are Cordially Invited"). Finally, though, when Gowron came to the station to give him the Order of Kahless, the Chancellor also assumed direct command of the Klingon forces ("When It Rains..."). He began ordering Martok on one impossible mission after another. This was because Gowron felt politically threatened by Martok, and wanted to undermine him. In the end, when Martok would not challenge Gowron, Worf did so instead, and killed him. He then placed the Chancellor's robe of office on Martok's shoulders, and Martok accepted ("Tacking Into the Wind").

After Chancellor Martok participated in the final victorious offensive against the Dominion, he got Worf assigned as Federation ambassador to Qo'Nos ("What You Leave Behind").

J.G. Hertzler

A native Georgian, J.G. Hertzler was born on an Air Force base in Savannah. He is best-known to Star Trek fans as General Martok, the new Chancellor of the Klingon Empire. Other television credits include Seinfeld, Dr. Quinn, Diagnosis Murder, Quantum Leap, The Highlander, Fortune Hunter, Lois and Clark, General Hospital and One Life to Live, Movin' On, Partners in Crime, Ultraman, and over fifty episodes on the Zorro series as Alcalde Ignacio DeSoto. In the Fall of 1997, he was featured with Jennifer Beals and Christopher Walken in the film Prophecy 2. A co-star on many movies-of-the-week, J.G. can be seen swordfighting his way through Treasure Island and most recently appeared as Ridley Scott in The Pirates of Silicon Valley. He has appeared with Al Pacino in the classic Barry Levinson/Norman Jewison film ...And Justice For All.

In theatre, Mr. Hertzler has played opposite Irene Pappas in the controversial Broadway production of the classic Greek play, The Bacchae, directed by Michael Coccyannis. Other theatre credits include leading roles with the finest Regional Theatres in the country, including the title roles in Richard II and The Admirable Crichton for ACT in San Francisco, appearances at The Guthrie, the Folger Theatre, Arena Stage, the Kennedy Center, Cincinnati Playhouse, San Jose Repertory Theatre, St. Louis Rep., and many others.

As a stage director, Mr. Hertzler has staged works for The Guthrie, ACT, Off-Broadway in New York City, The New Playwrights Theatre of Washington, the Camden Shakespeare Festival, and several productions in the LA area including the much acclaimed American premiere of Kenneth Ross's award-winning play, Breaker Morant. Mr. Hertzler staged Cyrano De Bergerac for the Vita Shakespeare Festival in Northern California in 1982, where he became Artistic Director in 1986 through 1989 when he moved permanently to the Los Angeles area.

Having completed post-graduate work at UCLA in Screenwriting, Mr. Hertzler is currently in negotiations with several producers regarding his script Prometheus and writing a two-part novel based on his character Martok for Simon and Schuster Publishing. Mr. Hertzler has also formed an entertainment production company called Dreamcatcher, and is focusing on the acquisition of properties, self-generated and otherwise, for development as screenplays and teleplays.

Having said all that, J.G. feels his most extraordinary achievement by far, together with his wife, actress Jenna Cole, is the birth of their beautiful baby daughter, Hanna.