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 Quark
 Armin
Shimerman plays Quark, the Ferengi bartender who runs all of the entertainment
concessions on Deep Space Nine including the bar, restaurant, gambling house and
holosuites upstairs. A delightful blend of charm, wittiness, and entrepreneurial greed,
Quark holds the distinction of being the only character to have appeared on all three of
the latter "Star Trek" series -- "Star Trek: The Next Generation,"
"Star Trek Voyager." "Quark's passions are gold and 'hew-man'
(the Ferengi word for human) women...not always in that order," says Armin.
During the show's third season hiatus, Armin
worked with Sally Field and Ed Harris on the Paramount feature film "An Eye for and
Eye," directed by John Schlesinger. He also co-starred with Andrew McCarthy, Patsy
Kensit and "Star Trek: The Next Generation" alumna Denise Crosby in the Republic
Pictures feature film "Dream Man," in which he portrays District Attorney Van
Horne.
Born of immigrant parents and raised in a
small farming town in New Jersey, Armin's family moved to Los Angeles when he was 16 year
old. In an effort to help her son meet new people in L.A., Armin's mother enrolled him in
a drama group and, as they say, the rest is history. Upon graduation from the University
of California at Los Angeles, he was chosen as one of only eight apprentices out of a
field of 900 at the prestigious Old Globe Theater in San Diego. Armin appeared prominently
in many regional theater productions for the Tyrone Guthrie Theatre, the Mark Taper Forum,
the American Shakespeare Festival, the New York Shakespeare Festival, and the Indiana
Repertory Theater. Following a move to New York, Armin landed roles in the Broadway
productions of Richard Rodger's last musical, "I Remember Mama,"
"Broadway" with Chris Sarandon and Teri Garr, "St. Joan" with Lynn
Redgrave and Joe Papp's production of "Three Penny Opera."
Armin then returned to his adopted hometown
of Los Angeles and his success continued as he appeared in recurring roles in two CBS
series. He portrayed Pascal in "Beauty and The Beast," and Cousin Bernard in
"Brooklyn Bridge." His other television credits include more than 65 guest
starring roles on such television series as "L.A. Law," "Married: With
Children," "Civil Wars" and "Seinfeld."
Perhaps Armin's most influential guest
appearance was in "Star Trek: The Next Generation" when he made his debut as the
unaccredited Wedding Box in the first season episode entitled "Haven." Later
that season, Armin returned to the set of "The Next Generation" where he
portrayed Letek, the first Ferengi ever seen in a "Star Trek" series, in the
episode entitled "The Last Outpost."
When Armin is not appearing as Quark on
"Star Trek: Deep Space Nine," he can be found teaching his unique Shakespearean
acting approach to students throughout Los Angeles. A highly sought teacher, Armin has
taught at the High School of the Performing Arts, the Theatrical Botanicum, the Tyron
Guthrie Theatre, the College of Idaho, several workshop companies, as well as his alma
mater, UCLA. He is currently writing two sci-fi novels: One, "The Merchant
Prince," the other Star Trek novel, "Wheels within Wheels." Armin is active
as a National board Member of the Screen Actors Guild.
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