Nicole de Boer (born 20 December 1970; age 53) is the Canadian actress who portrayed Ezri Dax during the seventh season of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.
Early career[]
De Boer was born in Toronto, Canada. She performed in commercials and theater throughout her childhood and made her television debut in a Red Skelton TV special called Freddy the Freeloader's Christmas Dinner at age 11.
When de Boer was seventeen, she landed a regular role on 9B, which aired briefly in 1988. She was then given a recurring role as Laura on The Kids in the Hall, on which Star Trek: Voyager guest star Scott Thompson was a regular performer.
In 1990, de Boer was seen in the American TV movie The Kissing Place, which starred Star Trek: The Next Generation guest actor David Ogden Stiers. She also starred in the short-lived Canadian series First Resort during this year.
In 1991, de Boer appeared in an episode of Beyond Reality in which she was directed by Allan Kroeker, who later directed her in three episodes of Deep Space Nine. After this initial appearance, de Boer won a recurring role on Beyond Reality as Celia Powell and again worked with Allan Kroeker in at least one other episode. She was also directed by Kroeker in the first two episodes of Forever Knight in 1992.
She made her film debut with the lead role in Prom Night IV: Deliver Us from Evil (1992). That same year, she became a regular on Catwalk, during which time she again worked with Allan Kroeker. Paul Popowich was also a regular on this series, which aired through 1994.
1995-1999[]
In 1995, de Boer made an appearance on William Shatner's TekWar, with Maria del Mar. She also appeared in Jungleground (1995). This was followed by National Lampoon's Senior Trip (1995, with Matt Frewer). The main antagonist of this film was a mad hardcore Star Trek fan. She then reunited with the Kids in the Hall group for Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy (1996)
De Boer was again directed by Allan Kroeker on an episode of PSI Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal in 1996. She then appeared in an episode of Poltergeist: The Legacy with Brian George. Some of the other television series on which de Boer appeared early in her career are Street Legal, C.B.C.'s Magic Hour, E.N.G., and The Outer Limits.
In 1997, de Boer starred in Cube, co-starring Nicky Guadagni and directed by Vincenzo Natali. That same year, she starred as Yuna in Deepwater Black.
The following year, de Boer appeared in an episode of The Outer Limits directed by Allan Eastman. She then had a supporting role in Family of Cops (1993). She then began starring in Dooley Gardens. It was while working on this series that de Boer got the call to audition for the role of Ezri Dax on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.
Deep Space Nine[]
In 1998, actress Terry Farrell departed the cast of Deep Space Nine and her character, Jadzia Dax, was killed off. The producers decided to create a new female character who would inherit the Dax symbiont. When it was decided that the new character would be someone who was unprepared to be joined with a symbiont, the producers began looking for a young actress who could convey vulnerability.
It was writer and supervising producer Hans Beimler who asked de Boer to audition for the part. Beimler had worked with de Boer on Beyond Reality and TekWar; Beimler was a producer on both shows. According to de Boer, Beimler (who previously worked on The Next Generation) told her he would one day get her on Star Trek, although she "thought he was just being nice." In 1998, however, Beimler made good on his promise. He asked de Boer to send in a videotaped audition, which led to a live audition for the showrunners in Los Angeles.
Just prior to the audition, de Boer endured some minor embarrassment. Before she started, she was offered a drink of water, which she accepted. She took a gulp of the water just as she was about to meet Rick Berman and Ira Steven Behr, at which time the water went down the wrong pipe and she began coughing and gasping. As she caught her breath and her composure, she thought she had blown the audition. Nonetheless, she was ultimately cast in the role of Ezri Dax. (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion, p. ?)
De Boer appeared in all 25 episodes of Deep Space Nine's seventh season, from "Image in the Sand" to the series finale, "What You Leave Behind".
Post-Deep Space Nine[]
After Deep Space Nine came to an end in 1999, de Boer starred in the Showtime movie Rated X, a biography of pornography pioneers Jim and Artie Mitchell (Charlie Sheen). She played Karen, Artie Mitchell's second wife; Terry O'Quinn portrayed J.R. Mitchell, father of the Mitchell brothers and Karen's one-time father-in-law.
From 2002 through 2007, de Boer starred as Sarah Bannerman on the USA Network series The Dead Zone, created by Michael Piller (who also co-created Deep Space Nine and Voyager) and Shawn Piller. David Ogden Stiers, a fellow Trek alum who de Boer previously worked with on the TV movie The Kissing Place, made frequent appearances on this series as Reverend Purdy.
She later portrayed Dr. Alison Porter in the Stargate Atlantis episode, "Whispers", starring Jewel Staite and Paul McGillion.
She appeared in Suck (2010, with Malcolm McDowell and Iggy Pop).
From 2016 to 2021, she had a recurring role on Private Eyes.
Personal life[]
De Boer married musician John Kastner in 1999 but they have since divorced. They have a daughter named Summer.
De Boer cites Star Trek: The Original Series and The Next Generation as two of her favorite TV shows. [1](X)
Star Trek appearances[]
Appearances as Ezri Dax[]
- DS9:
- "Image in the Sand"
- "Shadows and Symbols"
- "Afterimage"
- "Take Me Out to the Holosuite"
- "Chrysalis"
- "Treachery, Faith and the Great River"
- "Once More Unto the Breach"
- "The Siege of AR-558"
- "Covenant"
- "It's Only a Paper Moon"
- "Prodigal Daughter"
- "The Emperor's New Cloak"
- "Field of Fire"
- "Chimera"
- "Badda-Bing, Badda-Bang"
- "Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges"
- "Penumbra"
- "'Til Death Do Us Part"
- "Strange Bedfellows"
- "The Changing Face of Evil"
- "When It Rains..."
- "Tacking Into the Wind"
- "Extreme Measures"
- "The Dogs of War"
- "What You Leave Behind"
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine regular cast |
---|
René Auberjonois • Avery Brooks • Nicole de Boer • Michael Dorn • Terry Farrell • Cirroc Lofton • Colm Meaney • Armin Shimerman • Alexander Siddig • Nana Visitor |
External links[]
- Nicole de Boer at the Internet Movie Database
- Nicole de Boer at Wikipedia
- Nicole de Boer at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works