Andreas Katsulas

Missouri-born actor Andreas Katsulas is best known to Star Trek fans for playing the recurring character of Romulan Commander Tomalak on Star Trek: The Next Generation. He also played Vissian Captain Drennik in the Star Trek: Enterprise episode.

Out of his four appearances as Tomalak, he appeared on a viewscreen in three of them. He once commented: "I felt much more comfortable when he was an incredible giant on a screen, just a face. Suddenly when I had to account for everything else, I didn't feel support and nothing was supporting what I was doing. I was happy not to recur unless it would have gone back to a screen character". (Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages)

Katsulas is best known for his role on another popular science fiction television series, that of Ambassador G'Kar on Babylon 5. Fellow Star Trek guest performers Bill Mumy, Patricia Tallman, Caitlin Brown, and Mary Kay Adams also starred in the series, which ran from 1994 through 1998. Walter Koenig had a recurring role on the series.

Katsulas' most recognized film role is that of the murderous one-armed man in the 1993 thriller The Fugitive, based on the classic series of the same name. Fellow Next Generation guest star Daniel Roebuck also had a role in the film, as did Richard Riehle and Danny Goldring.

One of his earliest film appearances came in 1981's Ragtime, a drama which also featured the likes of Brad Dourif, Robert Joy, and Ethan Phillips. The following year, he appeared in the made-for-TV movies A Midsummer Night's Dream, based on William Shakespeare's play and co-starring Steve Vinovich, and A Very Delicate Matter, with Zach Galligan. Katsulas would again appear with Galligan (as well as Erick Avari and Lawrence Tierney) in the 1984 film Nothing Lasts Forever. This was followed with roles in such films as Someone to Watch Over Me (1987, with Daniel Hugh Kelly, Mark Moses, and John Rubinstein), Sunset (1988, playing the chauffeur for Malcolm McDowell's character), Next of Kin (1989, with Michael J. Pollard), True Identity (1991, co-starring Frank Langella and Michael McKean), and ''Hot Shots! Part Deux'' (1993, with Miguel Ferrer and Gregory Sierra). He also played the villain in 1996's Executive Decision, directed by Stuart Baird (who would go on to direct ) and also featuring Brad Blaisdell, Tim Kelleher, Warren Munson, Richard Riehle, and Dey Young in the cast.

Outside of his appearances on Trek, Katsulas has guest-starred on numerous other TV series. One of his earliest was a 1982 episode of the soap opera General Hospital, along with Deborah May. He followed this with two appearances on Max Headroom along with series regulars Matt Frewer, W. Morgan Sheppard, and Concetta Tomei and fellow guest-star Charles Rocket. He also appeared in episodes of The Equalizer (with Daniel Davis, Robert Lansing, and Keith Szarabajka), Alien Nation (starring Gary Graham and Eric Pierpoint), Murder, She Wrote (with Bruce Gray, Stephen Macht, David Soul, and William Windom), Millennium (starring Terry O'Quinn), and NYPD Blue (with Daniel Benzali, Gordon Clapp, William Dennis Hunt, and Don Stark). Among the made-for-TV movies in which he has appeared include The Neon Empire (1989, with Natalia Nogulich) and The Death of the Incredible Hulk (1990, with Barbara Tarbuck).

Katsulas, a heavy smoker, was diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer in early 2005. He lost his battle with the disease on February 13, 2006, at the age of 59. His appearance on Enterprise was among his last television appearances.

Star Trek appearances

 * as Tomalak
 * as Tomalak
 * as hologram of Tomalak
 * as Tomalak
 * as Drennik
 * as Drennik