Best known for his work as Nog on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, character actor Aron Eisenberg has died at the age of 50 of yet-unreleased causes following a brief hospitalization. For those reading this who may be unfamiliar with DS9, it is, in this writer’s opinion, the greatest of all Star Trek series due to its deeply complex characters and serialized storytelling that was decades ahead of its time. (As the recent documentary What We Left Behind explores in-depth, Deep Space Nine was a series that went largely unappreciated during its initial run, only to be recently re-evaluated thanks to our current binge watching culture.
On the series, Eisenberg — who also appeared in films like The Horror Show, was a regular fixture on the convention circuit, and appeared on a podcast with DS9 co-star Cirroc Lofton — portrayed a character who went from being a Ferengi juvenile delinquent to one of Starfleet’s finest officers. His character was a lynchpin of the series’ later seasons, so much so that the episode “It’s Only a Paper Moon” focused on Nog’s attempts to escape from reality after losing a leg in battle. Here’s a scene from the episode, co-starring James Darren as holographic 1950s lounge singer Vic Fontaine. You read that right, Deep Space Nine was awesome:
As you can see from the above clip, Eisenberg was a gifted actor who help provided Star Trek: Deep Space Nine with so much of its heart and soul. He leaves behind his wife Malissa, two sons, and a galaxy of fans who are grateful for the deeply human performances that he leaves behind.