Chase Masterson Preferred Being A Recurring Actor On Star Trek For A Good Reason

"Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" only had eight central cast members listed as its regulars in the opening credits, but by the end of its seventh and final season, it had no fewer than 30 members in its ensemble. Like on "The Simpsons," all of the supporting players on "Deep Space Nine" expanded as the series went on, with many of them getting story arcs of their own. Actors like Andrew J. Robinson, Penny Johnson Jerald, Marc Alaimo, Max Grodénchik, Aron Eisenberg, Louise Fletcher, and Jeffrey Combs may have only technically played recurring characters, but they were just as important to the sweeping narrative of "Deep Space Nine" as the main cast. 

Case in point: Chase Masterson played a character named Leeta, a Bajoran woman who worked in Quark's Bar. Leeta was a dabo girl, hired to spin a Ferengi roulette wheel and look pretty. She was first introduced in the third season episode "Explorers" (May 8, 1995), flirting with the handsome young Dr. Bashir (Alexander Siddig). She and Dr. Bashir would date briefly, before she dumped him in favor of the seemingly half-witted Ferengi Rom (Grodénchik). By the end of the series, Rom would prove that he actually has a great deal of business acumen, and he and Leeta would marry. Overall, Leeta only appeared on 16 episodes on "Deep Space Nine," but she left an impression, becoming a notable part of "Star Trek" lore.

Masterson loved this about Leeta. Not that she was a part of Trek lore, but that she only appeared in 16 episodes. Being a main character on "Deep Space Nine," the actress felt, would have jeopardized her entire work schedule. As a supporting player, she was allowed the time and the leeway to play other kinds of roles and expand her craft. She talked about her concurrent non-Trek roles in a 2011 interview with StarTrek.com, and how happy she was to be able to exit the "Star Trek" set when she needed to.

Masterson said in her interview that one reason she didn't mind being a supporting player on "Deep Space Nine" was because the writing was so darn good. As noted, all the so-called minor characters eventually grew into much larger figures on the series, even if they had less overall screen time than the eight principles (nine, once Michael Dorn joined the cast to reprise his role of Worf). As she put it:

"'DS9' was so well-written that there wasn't really an issue of main characters without much to do; indeed, one of the strengths of the show was that our writers created an entire world in which the audience got to know individuals who weren't always in the spotlight, just as you would if you were living in that world. Completely apart from the fact that I was one of those individuals, I always respected that about the show." 

Indeed, Leeta had a whole arc. She didn't just have separate romantic partners, as mentioned, but also became a good friend to Dax (Terry Farrell), and became one of the more outspoken advocates for unionization in her workplace. Masterson started as a background character who flirted with Dr. Bashir, but swiftly became rich, interesting and nuanced. 

More importantly, though, Masterson got to work on her career, and was able to take a wide variety of jobs. "Deep Space Nine" aired from 1993 to 1999, and that was quite a commitment from its eight principal actors (even though Colm Meaney took breaks a lot, and Farrell exited the show in its final season). Masterson was called only every once in a while, allowing her to turn up on a litany of other programs. 

Masterson continued: 

"There were other reasons that being a recurring character, rather than a series regular, worked well for me. I got a lot of experience playing a wide variety of different roles on other shows during the run of 'DS9' that I wouldn't have had if I were a series regular, including: a grieving mother on the Emmy-winning episode of 'ER,' a recurring role on UPN's 'Live Shot,' co-host of 'NBC Saturday Night at the Movies with Ryan Seacrest,' a guest star on 'Sliders,' 'Showtime: Nighttime,' which I did for a year on Showtime, [and] 'Sci-Fi Entertainment,' which I hosted on the Sci-Fi Channel."

Masterson, as you can see, kept busy. Indeed, the above interview was only from 2011, and she has continued to work, both hosting genre TV shows, and starring in other notable projects. Indeed, she returned to "Star Trek" in 2023 to play Leeta again in an episode of "Star Trek: Lower Decks." At the time, she was happy to announce that she had starred in a film she called  "Frozen," but which was actually the TV movie "Sometimes They Come Back... For More." 

She added that "Being a series regular would have been nice, of course, but I enjoyed the versatility of the other work I was free to do during those years." Masterson is, as of this writing, about to appear in an indie sci-fi comedy called "Je Suis Auto," and two other genre flicks called "Tempest: An Angel's Wrath" and "The Inspector Chronicles." At age 62, she hasn't stopped. Nor should she. Masterson is deeply beloved by the sci-fi community.