Clint Howard's Star Trek Character Was Written For A Punk Rock Legend

Clint Howard has played several characters in the "Star Trek" franchise, but "Deep Space Nine" fans know him as Grady. The character, who appears in "Past Tense, Part II" (Season 3, Episode 12), is a homeless guy from San Francisco who thinks he's invisible and believes aliens are real. Howard brings some comic relief to the episode, but did you know that his part was originally written for Iggy Pop?

In an interview for Terry J. Erdmann, writer Ira Steven Behr shared some details on the original plan. "I'd been trying to cast Iggy for years, twice when I was working on 'Fame,' and then on 'DS9.' Pop was touring in Spain or someplace, so he was unavailable. It's always something. I was crushed when he couldn't do it."

Still, when one door closes, another one opens. Howard's small role on "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" allowed him to join Charles Napier, Charlie Brill, and William Schallert among the class of actors who have guest starred on both "Star Trek: The Original Series" and "Deep Space Nine." Don't worry, though, Iggy Pop still got his chance to join the "Deep Space Nine" cast for a later episode, so everyone got to shine in the end.

"Star Trek" redefined the way sci-fi treats aliens and non-human characters. Gene Roddenberry's franchise is all about preaching egalitarianism, and the final frontier is populated by complex beings, as opposed to monsters who want to kill everyone. Sometimes, they can also be very funny, as evidenced by Yelgrun, the Vorta clone Iggy Pop played in the Season 6, Episode 10 of "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine."

Pop appears in "The Magnificent Ferengi" episode, where his character is tasked with negotiating a prisoner exchange on behalf of The Dominion. It doesn't take long for bickering to ensue, and Pop gets to showcase some deadpan humor while disguised in the special effects the "Star Trek" franchise is known for. Of course, some folks might not recognize The Stooges frontman as Yelgrun. The Vorta clone is fully clothed, and Pop is known for dancing around with his shirt off. Still, his performance shows that there's more to Pop than rock 'n' roll, and it was well worth the wait after he missed out on the original planned episode.