Memory Alpha
Register
Advertisement
Memory Alpha
Real world article
(written from a Production point of view)

Saul Rubinek (born 2 July 1948; age 75) is the German-born Canadian actor who played Kivas Fajo in the Star Trek: The Next Generation third season episode "The Most Toys".

Rubinek was born in the Föhrenwald displaced persons camp in Wolfratshausen, Allied-occupied Germany, the son of Polish-born Jewish parents. The family immigrated to Canada the year Rubinek was born. He is married to producer Elinor Reid, with whom he has had two children.

Television work[]

Episodic[]

Regular and recurring roles[]

Rubinek had a recurring role on the NBC television sitcom Frasier as Daphne Moon's fiancé, Donny Douglas, from 1999 through 2002. That series starred fellow TNG guest actor Kelsey Grammer. Rubinek also had a recurring role as reporter Lon Cohen in the 2001-2002 A&E TV series A Nero Wolfe Mystery (with Bill Smitrovich), after initially playing detective Saul Panzer in the 2000 series pilot, The Golden Spiders: A Nero Wolfe Mystery.

In addition, Rubinek made recurring appearances on the CBS drama The Equalizer (starring Robert Lansing and Keith Szarabajka) and Steven Bochco's crime drama Blind Justice. He also had two-episode recurring roles in the third season (1998-99) of The Practice (working with Paul Dooley, Stephen Macht, Lawrence Pressman, and David Ogden Stiers), in the final season (2001-02) of Once And Again (with Billy Campbell), and in the fourth season (2004) of Curb Your Enthusiasm (with Boris Krutonog, James B. Sikking, and Don Stark).

Rubinek's first regular series role was that of neurotic financial reporter Alan Mesnick in the short-lived (1996-97) CBS comedy series Ink. He more recently starred on the Syfy original series Warehouse 13 as Warehouse guru Artie Nielsen. This series was co-created by Jane Espenson (writer, DS9: "Accession"), and also starred Star Trek regulars Brent Spiner, Kate Mulgrew, Jeri Ryan, René Auberjonois and Armin Shimerman as well as Trek guest actors Faran Tahir, Mark A. Sheppard, Erick Avari, Joel Grey and Todd Stashwick. In a five-minute behind-the-scenes interview in 2012, [1] Rubinek and Brent Spiner, who has guest starred in several episodes of the series, revealed their long history of friendship since their stage acting days, with fond references to Rubinek's antagonistic portrayals opposite Spiner in "The Most Toys".

Science fiction shows[]

Since appearing on TNG, Rubinek has made a few return trips to the realm of science fiction television. He appeared in two episodes of the 1990s revival of The Outer Limits, one in 1995 ("Caught in the Act") and another in 1999 ("Tribunal"). In 2004, he was seen on Sci-Fi Channel's Stargate SG-1 in the two-part episode "Heroes".

In 2005, Rubinek made an appearance on Lost, co-created by J.J. Abrams and Damon Lindelof and starring Daniel Dae Kim and Terry O'Quinn. The following year, Rubinek guest-starred on Eureka, working with Salli Elise Richardson, Matt Frewer, and director Michael Grossman. His association with science fiction currently continues with his regular role on the aforementioned Warehouse 13.

Guest spots[]

In addition to the above, Rubinek has guest-starred on such drama series as Hill Street Blues (starring James B. Sikking and Barbara Bosson), L.A. Law, Psych (both also featuring Corbin Bernsen), Law & Order, NYPD Blue, and Leverage. In 2008, he was seen on ABC's Boston Legal, where he played the client of an attorney portrayed by Alan Ruck. Also appearing in Rubinek's episode ("Kill, Baby, Kill") were series regulars John Larroquette and William Shatner and fellow guest star Bill Smitrovich.

TV movies[]

Rubinek was nominated for a Genie Award by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television for his performance in The Wordsmith (1979). In 1983, both he and Rosalind Chao appeared in The Terry Fox Story. Rubinek was later featured in And the Band Played On (1993, with Reg E. Cathey, David Clennon, Richard Fancy, Thomas Kopache, Clyde Kusatsu, Dakin Matthews, Lawrence Monoson, Jeffrey Nordling, and Sierra Pecheur).

In 1998, The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television nominated Rubinek for a Gemini Award for his performance in the 1995 TV movie Hiroshima, in which Ken Jenkins and Kenneth Welsh also appeared. Rubinek's subsequent made-for-TV movie credits include 2002's Gleason (starring Terry Farrell), 2003's And Starring Pancho Villa as Himself (with Michael McKean), and 2004's Call Me: The Rise and Fall of Heidi Fleiss (with Corbin Bernsen). He also appeared as Hastings "Hasty" Hathaway in three Jesse Stone movies, 2006's Night Passage, 2007's Sea Change, and 2010's No Remorse. Stephen McHattie appeared in all of these movies; William Sadler had a role in the latter two.

Film work[]

Rubinek has received Genie Award nominations for his performances in five feature films: Agency (1980), Ticket to Heaven (1981), By Design (1982), The Outside Chance of Maximilian Glick (1988), and Pale Saints (1997). He won for Ticket to Heaven, a drama in which he co-starred with Kim Cattrall and Meg Foster. Rubinek has since worked with Cattrall on Brian de Palma's 1990 film The Bonfire of the Vanities (along with F. Murray Abraham, Kirsten Dunst, Richard Libertini, and the aforementioned Terry Farrell) and in the 1999 Turner Network Television movie 36 Hours to Die.

Rubinek had supporting roles in Wall Street (1987, with Lauren Tom, Paul Guilfoyle, Chris Nelson Norris, and Jerry Rector), Unforgiven (1992, with John Pyper-Ferguson and Anthony James), and True Romance (1993, with Christian Slater}}. Rubinek and Slater again worked together in The Contender (2000) and Pursued (2004). Rubinek, Slater, and their co-stars from The Contender won the Alan J. Pakula Award from the Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards for their work on that film.

In addition, Rubinek had roles in two movies revolving around former United States President Richard M. Nixon and featuring other Star Trek alumni: 1995's Nixon, with Robert Beltran, Paul Sorvino, Bill Bolender, Tony Plana, and Victor Rivers; and 1999's Dick, with Kirsten Dunst and Terri Garr. In the former, he portrayed Nixon aide Herb Klein; in the latter, he played Henry Kissinger, the role Paul Sorvino played in Nixon. Henry Kissinger has also been portrayed by fellow TNG guest star Theodore Bikel (in the 1989 TV movie The Final Days).

Rubinek's other feature film credits during the 1980s and 1990s include Nothing Personal (1980, with Derek McGrath), Young Doctors in Love (1982, with Hamilton Camp and Deborah Lacey), Against All Odds (1984, with costumes designed by Michael Kaplan), Man Trouble (1992, with David Clennon and Michael McKean), Death Wish V: The Face of Death (1995, with Robert Joy), Getting Even With Dad (1994, with Ron Canada), and Memory Run (1996, with Matt McCoy). More recently, Rubinek has been seen in such films as The Family Man (2000, with Ruth Williamson), {{wt|Rush Hour 2 (2001, with Harris Yulin), The Singing Detective (2003, with Alfre Woodard), Baadasssss! (2003, with Vincent Schiavelli), The Express (2008, with Clancy Brown), and Julia (2009, with Jude Ciccolella). In 2010, he had a supporting role in the drama Barney's Version, as did Bruce Greenwood.

External links[]

Advertisement