Michael Dorn holds a record for Star Trek appearances, and it’s unlikely to ever be broken. Dorn made his name playing Worf, the Enterprise’s Klingon security chief, setting the standard for Klingons as the species changed from enemies to more complex allies in The Next Generation. He continued his role through multiple Star Trek series and movies, then joined the main cast of Deep Space Nine. Worf’s long and complicated story through multiple series has given Michael Dorn the record for the most appearances in Star Trek, and no other actor would find it easy to catch up.
Over the course of two shows, Michael Dorn has portrayed Worf in 272 episodes, the most appearances by any actor or character in the franchise. With rumors and theories that Worf may return in Picard, that record-breaking number may increase further. Colm Meaney as Miles O’Brien comes in second place, appearing in 211 episodes across The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine, but that still puts Meaney over 60 episodes behind Michael Dorn.
Given that even the second most prolific actor in Star Trek would have to appear in dozens more episodes to catch up to Dorn, Worf’s record will stand for a long time. Following the long hiatus between the cancellation of Enterprise and the franchise’s revival with Star Trek: Discovery, the format has changed to make another actor appearing in 272 episodes almost impossible.
In Star Trek’s heyday in the 80s and 90s, a series tended to run between 20 and 26 episodes a season, and The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, and Voyager all ran seven lengthy seasons. Worf had enough time on-screen to die four different times in Star Trek in various episodic plots. However, the newer series are much shorter and sparer. Seasons of Discovery, Picard, and Lower Decks all run between 10 and 15 episodes, leaving very little time for any actors to rack up episode credits. Even if Colm Meaney returned as O’Brien, he would have to appear in every episode across five or six seasons of a currently running Star Trek series to take the title of most appearances.
Michael Dorn now holds an unbeatable record in Star Trek. With the current structure of the franchise’s streaming series, another actor would have to appear for many years across multiple series to come close to 272 episodes. Although fans hope Star Trek will continue for many decades to come, Dorn is safe in first place.