‘I Will Forever Be A Part of This’: Remembering DS9’s Aron Eisenberg Five Years Later
Late actor brought the recurring Nog to the forefront of the series
I'll always carry that love for the show with me, wherever I go. And when I get to go to Star Trek conventions and meet the fans, and they say how much they love the the show, and then I see their kids, that are ten going ‘Oh, Nog’s great, I love Nog,’ I'm like man, look at this. I'm part of this. I will forever be a part of this. And no one can take that away from me.
So, when you ask me what I've left behind, I can't think I've left anything behind, because it's still here with me. Every day.
— Aron Eisenberg, “What We Left Behind: DS9 Documentary”
If you boiled it down to a single character arc, most fans probably would say that Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is the story of Captain Benjamin Lafayette Sisko (Avery Brooks).
I say it’s really the story of Nog.
I would argue that no other character has more evolution or development than the young Ferengi.
Just consider Nog’s personal trajectory over the course of DS9’s seven seasons. When we first meet him in the series’ pilot episode, who would have guessed that juvenile delinquent and thief would eventually become not only a respected Starfleet officer — but one of the heroes of the Dominion War?
Yet that is precisely who Not was, and who he became.
The actor who inhabited the role, Aron Eisenberg, was enthusiastic about bringing this character to life.
The actor, who passed away five years ago Saturday at the age of 50, loved working on Deep Space Nine.
Having had a life-saving kidney transplant earlier, Eisenberg had thrown caution to the wind in order to pursue a career as an actor.
“And every time you called me, I’m like, ‘Ah! I’m working! My dream is coming true!” he told the DS9 producers who made the 2019 documentary about the series, What We Left Behind. “And not only was I working, but you guys were giving me great stuff!”
More than that, Eisenberg saw that he and Nog had much in common.
“Nog went through the same path! He went through the same path. He was in something, he had to change. He said, ‘I want to go for that.’ He went for it; people gave him that chance. People gave me a chance!” he said.
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Even in a series full of supporting and recurring characters — as Deep Space Nine was — Eisenberg stood out.
He appeared as Nog in an astounding 44 of the series’ 176 episodes.
That might not seem like a lot, but it was actually more than several other fan favorites.
Marc Alaimo appeared as the Cardassian Gul Dukat in 35 episodes and Louise Fletcher guest-starred in just 14 episodes as the corrupt Bajoran spiritual leader, Winn Adami.
Even Andrew Robinson, who portrayed the seemingly ubiquitous Elim Garak, only actually featured in 37 episodes.
So Eisenberg’s 44 really was something.
But more than quantity was quality.
Eisenberg was beloved by the series regulars and producers alike, both as an actor and a human being.
“Aron …” showrunner Ira Steven Behr began wistfully, during a Zoom call Paramount organized in 2020 that year to remember Eisenberg and fellow series alum Rene Auberjonois. “Aron, I just wish I could have told him. I mean, I just thought he knew, which was my mistake. I thought that the actors knew how much we loved them because we kept trying to give ’em great things to do all the time.”
(See the entire memorial call in this week’s Moment for Trek, below.)
Behr added that later on, he got the opportunity to spend time with Eisenberg at some conventions.
“I know that it’s a cliche but, in some ways, Aron was too good for this planet we live on, which is why I think he was taken so young,” Behr added. “He was just a good, decent human being, and … we miss him. It’s easy to miss him.”
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Star Trek Day 2020 | Deep Space Nine Cast Honor Aron Eisenberg And Rene Auberjonois | Paramount+
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