Actor Tony Todd, a film and television veteran who appeared in three different Star Trek series playing multiple roles, has passed away at age 69. He died on Wednesday at his home in Marina Del Rey, California according to his wife Fatima in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter on Friday, when the news of his passing was first reported.
Born in Washington, D.C. in 1954, Tony Todd grew up in Connecticut, eventually training as an actor at the Artists Collective before beginning a storied career on screen and stage, including Broadway. His credits includes hundreds of film and television roles dating back to the 1980s, with early standouts including a part in the 1986 Best Picture Oscar-winning Vietnam War movie Platoon. Todd appeared in several other high-profile films including 1996’s’ The Rock. He was particularly well-known for genre roles, especially horror, including playing the villain in the 1992 classic Candyman, earning him a nomination from Critics Choice Awards. He also appeared in several entries from the Final Destination series of films, including the upcoming Final Destination: Bloodlines.
Todd’s television credits are even more extensive with dozens of roles in a variety of series including a guest spot on the sitcom Night Court, a regular role in the soap The Young and the Restless, co-starring in the western mini-series Black Fox with Christopher Reeve, and recurring roles in the police drama Homicide: Life on the Street and the spy show Chuck. His TV credits also leaned towards genre with guest and recurring roles in The Flash, Stargate SG-1, Xena: Warrior Princess, Smallville, and more. He also also lent his distinctive voice to several animated series and video games, including 2023’s Spider-Man 2 as Venom.
Star Trek fans are familiar with Todd for appearing in six episodes from the franchise, include three episodes of The Next Generation and one episode of Deep Space Nine as Kurn, Klingon brother of Worf, beginning with the episode “Sins of The Father” in 1990. Todd appeared without makeup in the acclaimed 1995 Deep Space Nine episode “The Visitor,” playing an older Jake Sisko. His final TV appearance in the franchise was in 1998, as a Hirogen Alpha in the Voyager episode “Prey.” In 2019 Todd appeared as a Moclan Delegate in Seth MacFarlane’s TNG-homage show The Orville.
Todd reprised his role as Kurn for the 1998 video game Star Trek: The Next Generation: Klingon Honor Guard. He also was part of 2003’s Star Trek: Elite Force II and in 2017 he voiced Kurn (General Rodek) for Star Trek: Online.
In a 1998 interview with Woosh, Todd said “The Visitor” was his favorite Star Trek appearance. In the same interview he credited Trek for giving him “access to the fan world.” In a 2014 interview (via The Burnettwork, seen below) Todd talked about how his “personal growth” as an actor was “solidified” by Star Trek.
Todd has continued to work consistently, including appearing in four films and voicing for two animated television shows and a video game in the last couple of years. He will also be heard in the upcoming Indiana Jones video game. He can be seen below at San Diego Comic-Con 2023 on Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 panel.
Toddy Todd is survived by his wife and two children. TrekMovie offers our condolences to the friends and family of Tony Todd.
