What Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's Morn Looks Like In Real Life

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The character of Morn first appeared in the "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" pilot episode, "Emissary." At first, he was just a silent barfly (he only ever spoke once), always seated at Quark's, drowning his troubles in ineffable alien spirits. He was primarily in the background, but started to become involved in the conversation pretty quickly. Soon, audiences not only learned his name, but that he had a lot of personality. Morn was said to be a chatterbox, a charming ladies man, and once sported a luxurious head of hair. In the 1998 episode "Who Mourns for Morn?", he was even said to have had a criminal past, as well as a secret stash of cash hidden somewhere on the station. Hilariously, Morn never spoken through any of this. 

It's probably not a coincidence that "Morn" is an anagram of "Norm," invoking the barfly character played by George Wendt on the hit sitcom "Cheers." Morn ultimately appeared in 93 episodes of "Deep Space Nine," and a few other episodes besides. 

Morn was played by artist Mark Allen Shepherd, his face completely covered by a mask. In Garfield and Judith Reeves-Stevens' book "The Making of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine," it was stated that Morn was initially just a background alien nicknamed the Grinch because of his mask. Shepherd even noted in that book that he was cast as Morn, but was accidentally left off the call sheet on the first day of shooting. Luckily, he wandered to the set to see what was going on, and was put in the Morn makeup anyway. 

Shepherd is a professional artist and hasn't had many acting credits, but to answer the question of what he actually looks like, he did appear more recognizably on camera once on "Deep Space Nine."

In the episode "Who Mourns for Morn?," it seems as if Morn had died, and Quark (Armin Shimerman), the bar owner, threw a gala wake in honor of his best customer. There is a scene wherein Quark ushers a new person into Morn's seat, claiming it to be a throne of honor. The person Quark grabs is a Bajoran ... also played by Mark Allen Shepherd. It was likely one of the first times that Trekkies noticed Shepherd's face. 

Shepherd has been very keen to celebrate his own association with Morn, and he has constructed his own personal website around the role. He also has a YouTube channel wherein he talks about Morn, but also posts his own personal comedy videos and shows off his art. Shepherd was an artist first and foremost, and he painted and made mixed-media mosaics that he once showed off to the "Deep Space Nine" production designers. In an interview with StarTrek.com, he explained that he had to bring it up himself: 

"I remember the week after Morn appeared on the cover of Entertainment Weekly magazine that at lunchtime the production crew opened the big doors to the stage and in walked Mickey Michaels and Penny Juday of the DS9 art department. And they both at some point noticed me and said something about the magazine cover, and my reply was, 'Thank you and, if you like, I'm also an artist and would love to show you some of my work.'" 

He brought in a photo book of his paintings, and Michaels and Juday loved them, thinking they were exactly the sorts of paintings that a sci-fi series like "Deep Space Nine" needed. If you see a painting in a DS9 character's quarters, it was likely by Shepherd.

Mark Allen Shepherd can be seen quite clearly on his YouTube page. He had a series of videos called "Morn Speaks," wherein he would talk extensively about his time on "Deep Space Nine," as well as anything "Star Trek"-related, like "Lower Decks." In his StarTrek.com interview, he noted he's acting in projects called "Knights of St. Albans" and "Gatekeeper," although those films don't appear on Shepherd's IMDb page. Indeed, his only post "Deep Space Nine" credit appears to be a 2001 feature film called "Babylon Vista." 

In a 2017 interview with StarTrek.com, it was revealed that Shepherd is also apparently related to British royalty. It seems Shepherd's 11th great-grandfather was a man named Stephen Hopkins, who came to the New World on the Mayflower back in 1620. His daughter, Constance, married a man named Nicholas Snow III. By coincidence, Snow III's father, Snow II, is also an ancestor of "Star Trek" actor DeForest Kelley, making him a distant, distant cousin. Kelley, Shepherd found, was also descended from Queen Elizabeth Stuart of Bohemia (1596-1662). When one starts extrapolating out, Shepherd claims to have found a connection between himself, Queen Elizabeth II, George Washington, "Star Trek" actress Denise Crosby, and a dozen other celebrities. I'll take his word for it, as the family tree is extensive and difficult to directly trace.

Shepherd doesn't appear on screen much, but his time as Morn on "Deep Space Nine" was certainly memorable, and the writers loved the character enough to give him his own episode. I recommend you watch it, as Morn has way more secrets than anyone might have expected. It's astonishing how much drama and character went into a figure who never spoke and essentially wore a mask.