(written from a Production point of view)
Kenneth Mitchell (25 November 1974 – 24 February 2024; age 49) was the actor who played the Klingons Kol, Kol-Sha, and Tenavik, as well as Aurellio, in Star Trek: Discovery. Mitchell also performed voices in the Star Trek: Lower Decks first season episode "Veritas".
Originally Shazad Latif was announced as playing the role of Kol, but he eventually portrayed Voq, another Klingon, instead.
Life and career[]
Mitchell was born in Toronto, Canada to a contractor father and a nurse mother. He graduated from the University of Guelph with a BA degree in Landscape Architecture. During his five year program he played for the university soccer team, Guelph Gryphons. He graduated with top honors, recieving the Canadian Society of Landscape Architecture Silver Medal award. He married actress Susan May Pratt in 2006, the couple had two children.
Mitchell began his acting career in the early 2000s. In 2001, he had a recurring role on the short-lived drama series Leap Years, which starred Michelle Hurd. In 2002, he had a recurring role on Odyssey 5, which was created by Manny Coto and starred Peter Weller and Leslie Silva, and featured Lindy Booth in another recurring part.
From 2006 to 2008, Mitchell co-starred in Jericho, alongside Alicia Coppola. In 2008-09, he played the notable recurring role of Sam Lucas in Ghost Whisperer, with Joanna Cassidy, Todd Stashwick, and Lycia Naff guesting.
His television guest appearances from this period include episodes of series such as Grey's Anatomy (directed by David Paymer), CSI: Miami (with Leslie Silva), Without a Trace (starring Enrique Murciano), Lie to Me, Hawaii Five-0 (starring Daniel Dae Kim, developed by Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman), Law & Order: Los Angeles (with Conor O'Farrell and Clyde Kusatsu), Criminal Minds (with Rachel Nichols), Castle (with Penny Johnson and Jamie McShane, produced by Rob Bowman), The Mentalist (with Robert Buckingham), and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (starring Wallace Langham and Paul Guilfoyle, with Mark Moses).
In 2014, Mitchell had a recurring role in the third season of the family drama series Switched at Birth. The following year, he played astronaut Deke Slayton in the miniseries The Astronaut Wives Club. In 2016-17, he had a recurring role in Frequency, which starred Peyton List. In 2018-19, after his tenure on Discovery, Mitchell played the recurring role of Joshua Dodd on the mystery series Nancy Drew.
Further television guest appearances include NCIS: Los Angeles (with Scott Grimes and Miguel Ferrer), Bones, Body of Proof (starring Jeri Ryan, with Alan Dale and Tracy Middendorf), NCIS, CSI: Cyber (with Antal Kalik), Major Crimes (starring Raymond Cruz and Jonathan Del Arco, with Erich Anderson), and The Detectives.
Mitchell only made a very few feature film appearances throughout his career. These include the 2003 action thriller The Recruit and the 2004 sports drama Miracle (with Kenneth Welsh and David Benjamin Tomlinson). In 2017, he co-starred in the horror film Blood Honey. In 2019, Mitchell appeared in two flashback scenes as the father of protagonist Carol Danvers in the Marvel Cinematic Universe superhero film Captain Marvel. The film was executive produced by the late Stan Lee who also appeared in a cameo role and featured stunt performers Bethany Levy and Anthony Molinari.
Illness and death[]
Mitchell was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, also known as "Lou Gehrig's disease") in August 2018, and had been using a wheelchair since October 2019. He publicly revealed the diagnosis in February 2020. [1] In an interview on StarTrek.com in March 2020, Mitchell revealed that the first person he told about his diagnosis was his Discovery co-star Mary Chieffo, who helped him reveal the news to the rest of the Discovery cast.[2]
The role of Aurellio was subsequently written for him as a hoverchair user, to retain his talent for the show and incorporate his wheelchair use.[3]
Cryptic Studios, the makers of Star Trek Online, had hoped to have Mitchell reprise his role as Tenavik for the game's 11th anniversary event, but he was unable due to the progression of his illness; Mitchell hand-picked Sam Witwer to voice the role instead, and guided him during the voice recording sessions.[4][5]
Mitchell passed away on 24 February 2024. [6]
The USS Mitchell, which featured in Discovery season 4, is named for him. [7]
Star Trek appearances[]
