(written from a Production point of view)
Roy Brocksmith (15 September 1945 – 16 December 2001; age 56) was the actor who portrayed Sirna Kolrami in the Star Trek: The Next Generation second season episode "Peak Performance" and Razka Karn in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine fourth season episode "Indiscretion".
Graduating from Illinois' Quincy University in 1970, Brocksmith began his career on the stage, directing for community theater and various playhouses before ultimately moving on to perform on and off-Broadway. He broke into films in 1978, beginning with the dramas King of the Gypsies and The Squeeze.
In 1980 he had a supporting role in Stardust Memories, in which his Deep Space Nine co-star Armin Shimerman and Next Generation co-star Brent Spiner made brief appearances. Three years later, Brocksmith co-starred with Spiner in Rent Control.
He also had small roles in such films as Wolfen (1981), Who's That Girl (1987, with Bibi Besch), Scrooged (1988, with John Glover, Carol Kane, Wendie Malick, Michael J. Pollard, and Alfre Woodard), and Relentless (1989, with Meg Foster and Ron Taylor). In 1989, he co-starred with Deep Space Nine recurring guest actor Marc Alaimo in Tango & Cash, also featuring Teri Hatcher, Michael J. Pollard, Clint Howard, Glenn Morshower, and Richard Hale. The following year he and Alaimo were among the many Star Trek performers to appear in Total Recall (1990), with Ronny Cox, Mel Johnson, Jr., Lycia Naff, Frank Kopyc, Michael Champion, and the voice of Robert Picardo. Brocksmith also co-starred with Ronny Cox (along with Bruce French, Gerrit Graham, and Lee Arenberg) in Martians Go Home that same year.
In 1991, Brocksmith had a brief cameo in Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey, which co-starred William Sadler and Hal Landon, Jr.. That same year, he had a guest appearance on The Golden Girls (with Don Stark). He also had a supporting role in Nickel & Dime (1992, with Wallace Shawn), and small roles in Lightning Jack (1994), with Richard Riehle, and The Hudsucker Proxy, with Bill Cobbs, Christopher Darga, Noble Willingham, and Mike Starr. Also in 1994, Brocksmith co-starred with fellow Next Generation and Deep Space Nine actor Colm Meaney in The Road to Wellville.
In 1998, he had a small but important role in Psycho (1998), assuming the non-speaking role of the bystander outside the real-estate office where Marion Crane works. The film also featured Ken Jenkins and the late Anne Haney. It proved to be Brocksmith's final feature film appearance.
Brocksmith began appearing on television in the 1980s. One of his earliest guest appearances was the second regular episode of L.A. Law, in which he co-starred with fellow Next Generation guest actor Corbin Bernsen. He also appeared in the first episode of Tales from the Crypt, as did Patti Yasutake, Gerrit Graham, and Brocksmith's fellow Deep Space Nine guest star and future Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey co-star William Sadler. Brocksmith appeared in two more episodes of the series (including one with Ian Abercrombie and J. Patrick McNamara).
Other TV shows on which he appeared include Night Court (with John Larroquette and Bruce French), The Wonder Years (with Olivia d'Abo), Seinfeld (with Jason Alexander and Susan Diol), Murder One (with Daniel Benzali, John Fleck, Shelly Desai, Deborah May, Juliana Donald, John Carroll Lynch, and John de Lancie), Babylon 5 (with Andreas Katsulas, Bill Mumy, and Eric Pierpoint), and Ally McBeal (with Steven Culp).
Besides his guest appearances, Brocksmith was also a regular on Picket Fences, on which he played Michael Oslo, a role he played for four years from 1992 through 1996. Among his co-stars on this series were Ray Walston and Leigh Taylor-Young. Brocksmith also co-starred with Paul Winfield and Neal McDonough in White Dwarf (1995).
Brocksmith died on December 16, 2001 from kidney failure due to diabetes. He was 56 years old.