The actor who played Garak in DS9 was Andrew Robinson. When he got the acting role, he wrote 200 pages of Garak's backstory. His use of this as a guide for his acting is probably a big reason why Garak's character has so much depth.
Most of that backstory was officially canonised by the head Trek writers. Robinson used it to write a novel, A Stitch in Time, in which Garak writes an autobiographical letter to Julian Bashir.
@vergil Totally. My favourite characters are always those who make me feel like there's much more to them than you're seeing. It's what makes Garak in particular so compelling, I think. Even when the series finished, I still felt like there was much more I never got to find out.
Turns out, I was right about that!
@InvaderXan @vergil I highly recommend reading “A stitch in time” it fills that gap somewhat and is easily one of the best ST novels.
@nblr @InvaderXan @vergil for anyone who hasn’t seen it yet, Andrew Robinson, Alexander Siddig and others are reprising their characters in a continuing online series which you can watch on youtube!!!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M44QMKWMxuQ&feature=share
@nyankat @InvaderXan @vergil Whoaaa! Thanks for sharing.
@nblr Thanks for the recommendation, ordering the book now. Somebody told me about it years ago but I pretty much forgot about it. 😅 Guess I'm getting the German version so my Trekkie family can enjoy it too! @InvaderXan @vergil
Re-tooting this here for the Deep Space Nerds 💚
@InvaderXan Jesus, most real people couldn't fill 200 pages.
@InvaderXan huh ... I never knew that. His backstory was never truly revealed in DS9. There was that one episode where he just made up story after story .. I think he was ill or something?
I might have to read that .. although the mystery is kinda fun in and of itself.
@InvaderXan Just FYI that "was" usually implies the actor has died.
Andrew Robinson is alive.
@InvaderXan Garak’s “I’d call that a bargain” speech from “In the Pale Moonlight” might be my top moment in the entire series. Such a great character.
he also played the serial killer Scorpio in "Dirty Harry", and Larry Cotton in "Hellraiser".
@InvaderXan That rules
@InvaderXan
http://www.chakoteya.net/DS9/404.htm
"Ladies, ladies, please. Everything is negotiable. I am no more than what I seem to be, a merchant trying to make the best transaction. So, let us haggle."
The gif is on the word "Haggle"
🌩️💝
@InvaderXan Andrew Robinson is also the dad in the movie "Hellraiser" and suggested the now-iconic coup de grace line "Jesus wept" on set that day because he didn't like what was in the script.
@xenotrope Yeah, I was reading about him and he sounds like a pretty cool guy. He's done a lot of stuff!
@InvaderXan PLUS they were super queer positive and would attend cons devoted to their slash fans in the 90s. A trans friend of mine has a pic of him sitting in Andrews lap from back then
@flippthebunny Honestly, the more I hear about things like this, the more I love them all!
@InvaderXan OMG was there a lost "Garak visits planet Ork" crossover episode or something
@InvaderXan I can't believe there's no audio-book version of this.
A book that takes the form of a letter written by a well-loved character with a distinctive voice?
Publishers should automatically make audiobooks in that scenario.
@InvaderXan Oh. Looks like there's a Change Dot Org petition asking the publisher to make Garak's book an audiobook.
So I guess it'll never happen.
https://www.change.org/p/simon-and-schuster-publishing-company-a-stitch-in-time-audiobook
@InvaderXan oh hell yeah. He is my favorite Star Trek character of any series before Discovery, and he's only tied now with Tilly.
That kind of dedication to a role is amazing, and the staff buying in on the backstory is awesome too.