Why Andrea Martin didn’t return as Quark’s mother after one episode on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Why Andrea Martin didn't return as Quark's mother after one episode on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

As a long-time fan of Andrea Martin, I’ve always admired her versatility and dedication to her craft. From Sister Andrea on Evil to Ishka in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, she never fails to deliver captivating performances that keep us on the edge of our seats. However, it’s fascinating to learn about the challenges she faced during her brief stint as Ishka.


Andrea Martin has spent the past four years playing Sister Andrea, a nun on the horror drama, Evil. She takes care of business by dealing with the demons in whatever manner is required to rid the world of their presence. Her job isn’t an easy one, but she makes it look like fun. It’s all part of acting. In an interview with CBR, Martin said the same thing about her short time on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine as Ishka, Quark and Rom’s mother.

To Star Trek enthusiasts, it seemed like Martin enjoyed playing Ishka, but in truth, it wasn’t enjoyable for him. Interestingly, that particular episode was the reason behind Martin’s decision not to rejoin the series. The main challenge lies in the make-up and prosthetics, as Martin confessed that he found them overwhelming due to his claustrophobia with all the makeup.

Despite her delight in collaborating with the Star Trek crew and creating the first female Ferengi character, she admits that the role wasn’t quite suited to her. Her makeup call began as early as 4:00 a.m., yet filming didn’t start until 9:00 a.m. This meant a lengthy wait in character as the Ferengi before the cameras even started filming.

Martin expresses his joy about participating in a project related to Star Trek, stating to CBR, “I genuinely enjoyed working with the actors who portrayed my sons. I appreciated being on set and having the opportunity to mention that I was part of something associated with Star Trek.” However, a return to Star Trek for her in the future is not planned.

In a simple rephrasing, Martin, who portrayed Aunt Voula across all three movies in the My Big Fat Greek Wedding series, has refused further opportunities, stating that she doesn’t consider herself suitable and expressing her fear of confined spaces.

It wasn’t likely an easy task for Armin Shimerman, Max Grodénchik, and Aron Eisenberg to be constantly in those prosthetics, but their dedication to the series was truly commendable. Although Martin may never rejoin Star Trek, we are grateful that she introduced us to Ishka, a role which was later taken up by Cecily Adams.

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2024-11-24 05:23

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