Tom Bergeron’s face is well-known to most Americans, thanks to his long-standing role as a host on wildly popular shows like America’s Funniest Home Videos and Dancing With the Stars. But do you know what his face looked like when he became an alien? Could you recognize one of the most recognizable faces in America if it was hidden behind prosthetics?
You see, Tom Bergeron is a big fan of Star Trek, so it’s not surprising he jumped at the chance to get a full-face alien makeup look on Star Trek: Enterprise. Here’s some throwback appreciation for Bergeron’s iconic appearance on Star Trek, along with some interesting facts you might not have known about this beloved TV personality…including whether he’d be game to return to the long-running sci-fi series.
Tom Bergeron Played D’Marr on ‘Enterprise’
#HappyBirthday to Tom Bergeron, best known to #StarTrek fans as D’Marr in #Enterprise https://t.co/D5doMKZptz pic.twitter.com/1Wc4OgzIKv
— Star Trek (@StarTrek) May 6, 2016
Way back in 2002, Tom Bergeron had a guest appearance on Star Trek: Enterprise, a series that followed the adventures of a Starfleet captain that pre-dated James T. Kirk. Bergeron appeared on the episode “Oasis“, as an “alien trader” named D’Marr.
To date, the exact species that Bergeron was portraying has yet to be revealed. Memory Alpha still lists D’Marr’s race as “unknown”. In the course of the episode, Bergeron’s character trades some valuable information to the crew of the Enterprise for 10 kilograms of coffee. In real life, Bergeron’s coffee order is apparently an iced Venti from Starbucks.
Bergeron’s character is D’Marr, which should not be confused with other Star Trek characters with the similar names, such as DS9‘s Cardassian officer Damar, or the villianous Dammar from Star Trek: Voyager. According to a contemporary report from TrekToday, Bergeron announced his guest spot on Star Trek: Enterprise during an appearance on the radio show Bob & Tom Show, which was hosted by Bob Kevoian and Tom Griswold.
He Made a Second ‘Star Trek’ Appearance That Many People Missed
Going thru old pix and reminded of that time I hit on a Vulcan #startrek50thanniversary pic.twitter.com/jQCmIAaMHl
— Tom Bergeron (@Tom_Bergeron) September 5, 2016
If you missed Bergeron the second time he made an appearance on Star Trek, you can be forgiven. After all, his face wasn’t exactly visible. According to StarTrek.com, Bergeron’s second appearance in the franchise was an uncredited one, making it all the more difficult for fans to have noticed him. In the Enterprise episode “Demons“, Bergeron briefly appears as the Coridan ambassador, in a conference scene, an appearance Bergeron called out in a past tweet.
While it’s not clear how long the look for the Coridan ambassador took to complete, Bergeron has revealed that his look as D’Marr took a whopping 4.5 hours in the makeup chair. For reference, that’s almost as long as it took for the Borg Queen to get into her makeup look, and 90 minutes longer than it typically took Michael Dorn to get into his Worf makeup.
Curious about how Bergeron got a chance to appear on Star Trek? You can thank Hollywood Squares. According to a video interview Bergeron gave for the Archive of American Television, Bergeron and Whoopi Goldberg became friends thanks to their time on Hollywood Squares, which brought Bergeron into the Trek orbit. Bergeron happened to bust out some knowledge of the series during a set visit alongside Goldberg, and a producer offered him a role on the spot.
Tom Bergeron Would Love to Return to ‘Star Trek’
Would love to weasel my way into Season 2 of @StarTrek Picard. After all, I’ve taken a spin on the Enterprise once. If only I knew someone… 😉 @WhoopiGoldberg @BrentSpiner @jonathansfrakes (maybe they could work an intergalactic dance competition into the story?) 🖖🏼😇 pic.twitter.com/eQUGgx4y6s
— Tom Bergeron (@Tom_Bergeron) January 24, 2020
While Bergeron may have joked about his paltry residuals from Star Trek in the past, it is also clear that he’d be interested in returning to the Star Trek universe. In the tweet above, he makes notes of other celebrities he knows who have been involved in Star Trek over the years, and another tweet shows just how many Trek icons he has met over the years.
Given that the former DWTS host left the show last year, it seems likely that Bergeron could free up some time for a visit to the set of Picard‘s second season, if only for a behind-the-scenes visit. That is, assuming he’s not too busy dancing around in a taco costume.
If Picard can’t find a place to use Bergeron, perhaps the Massachusetts-born actor could provide a voiceover appearance, instead? Bergeron could theoretically reprise one of his past roles, or voice an entirely new character. There are two Star Trek animated shows where this could happen, in theory. The first is Lower Decks, which has been renewed for a second season. There is also the upcoming Star Trek: Prodigy, which is set to feature Kate Mulgrew as Captain Janeway. Bergeron’s previous credits include voiceover work for the HBO animated series Animals, so voicing a character in an animated show isn’t outside his wheelhouse as a TV personality.
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