Kenneth Mitchell's Star Trek Roles Explained

Actor Kenneth Mitchell was probably best known for playing the role of Eric Green in the 2006 TV series "Jericho," appearing in 26 episodes. But Mitchell was a prolific TV actor, having appeared as a semi-regular on shows like the Showtime series "Leap Years" and the Canadian sci-fi show "Odyssey 5." He also played the role of Sam Lucas on 15 episodes of "The Ghost Whisperer," and was a regular presence on "Switched at Birth," "The Astronaut's Wives Club," and the TV version of "Frequency." In movies, he played Joseph Danvers in the Marvel movie "Captain Marvel," and he was in early 2000s hits like "The Recruit" and "Miracle." 

The bulk of Mitchell's career, however, was securing one-off guest spots on single episodes of the day's hottest TV shows. He was in "Lie to Me," "Hawaii Five-0," "Criminal Minds," "Castle," "Grimm," "Bones," "NCIS," and a heaping fistful more. The TV industry could not exist without hard-working, prolific character actors like Kenneth Mitchell, as they form the backbone of the industry. Most significant for this article, Michell played four different roles on "Star Trek: Discovery," three of them Klingons, as well as four voice roles on "Star Trek: Lower Decks." 

According to his obituary, Mitchell was diagnosed with ALS in 2018. Although requiring the use of a wheelchair after 2019, Mitchell still appeared, without alien makeup, in later "Discovery" episodes as a human character who also used a wheelchair. In a 2020 interview with People Magazine, Mitchell revealed his diagnosis. His final acting credit was for three episodes of "The Old Man" in 2022. Mitchell passed away in 2024 at the age of 49. 

The first time Trekkies saw Kenneth Mitchell, he was buried under Klingon makeup to play the role of Kol in the "Star Trek: Discovery" episode "Battle at the Binary Stars." The entire first season of "Discovery" (which got off to a rocky start) focuses heavily on a war between the Federation and the Klingons, so Klingon characters played a big role. Kol is a Klingon upstart who resented the weaknesses and bad command decisions made by fellow Klingon T'Kuvma (Chris Obi). Kol makes a play for power, eventually taking on a central antagonistic role for the season. Things don't end well for the character. 

Mitchell returned in the following season of "Discovery" to play a second Klingon, this time an elder character named Kol-Sha, Kol's father. Kol-Sha sits on the Klingon High Council, and he objects to the power wielded by L'Rell (Mary Chieffo), a follower of T'Kuvma. Kol-Sha also had some trickery up his sleeve (or more correctly, on his face; spy tech was hidden in his facial makeup), and he is rightly punished for his treachery. 

Mitchell's third role was Tenavik, the Klingon son of L'Rell and Voq (Shazad Latif), a warrior who was brainwashed and surgically altered in order to infiltrate Starfleet. Tenavik is a monk who oversaw a magical mineral called "time crystals," which could reveal one's future. 

One could finally see Mitchell's face in his fourth "Discovery" role, playing a character named Aurellio in the third season's final two episodes. Aurellio, who makes use of a hover chair, is a beleaguered scientist in the employ of the Emerald Chain, a vicious criminal syndicate. The character eventually leaves his life of crime and indentured servitude and joins the Federation.

Kenneth Mitchell managed to sneak three additional characters onto his "Star Trek" resume in the single "Star Trek: Lower Decks" episode "Veritas." "Lower Decks" wasn't just a great comedy, but great "Star Trek." They were only supporting roles, but he nonetheless squeezed them in. He played a background Black Ops officer, a Romulan guard, and, most visibly, a bug-like creature belonging to the Clicket species. His character was the captain of a Clicket vessel called the Tweerk. The captain provided a map of Romulan space to Captain Freeman (Dawnn Lewis), and she expresses gratitude. Because of cultural differences and general miscommunication, though, the captain of the Tweerk becomes annoyed. 

The "Black Ops" officers were gun-toting, hard-fighting badasses, which are anathema to the pacifist nature of "Star Trek." As such, they are depicted as being comedically efficient. The Romulan guard was just a guard. The episode "Veritas" aired in 2020, 

As a tribute to all his hard work, the makers of "Star Trek: Discovery" created a ship, the USS Mitchell, in Kenneth Mitchell's honor. Mitchell was able to see the USS Mitchell in action, and commented on it on his Twitter account. Its call letters were NCC-325027, and it was featured in seasons 4 and 5 of "Discovery." The ship was a Merian-class vessel, according to hardworking fan websites like Memory Alpha. It appeared on "Discovery" even after Mitchell's death in February of 2024.

Kenneth Mitchell was a dear part of the "Star Trek" family, and continued to work despite his ALS diagnosis. He will be missed.