RENE AUBERJONOIS

RENE AUBERJONOIS

Rene Auberjonois portrays Security Chief Odo, a male Changeling. In his natural shape he is a gelatinous liquid, however he can take any form he desires. To assimilate and function on the space station, he takes on a humanoid shape. "Odo is a curmudgeon of sorts," Rene explains. "He is very rigid and uptight, yet there is a wonderful humor about him."

Auberjonois was born in New York City and raised in nearby Rockland County. At 16, Rene took to the stage under the tutelage of family friend and noted director John Houseman. The son of a news correspondent, Auberjonois moved with his family to London, England, where he continued his theatre training while completing high school. Returning to the United States to attend college, he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Drama from Carnegie-Mellon University in Pennsylvania.

Immediately following college, Auberjonois began his career in theatre at the prestigious Arena Stage in Washington, D.C., and from there he traveled between Los Angeles and New York starring in numerous theatre productions. He helped found the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco, the Mark Taper Repertory in Los Angeles and the Brooklyn Academy of Music Repertory Company in New York. Additionally, Auberjonois has starred in such productions as Shakespeare's "Richard III" and "Twelfth Night".

Auberjonois' first appearance on Broadway was in the musical "Coco" with Katherine Hepburn, for which he won a Tony Award. He was also honored with Tony Award nominations for his performances in the Broadway productions of "Big River", "The Good Doctor" and for his role as movie mogul Buddie Fidler in the musical "City of Angels". As a member of the Second Drama Quartet, Auberjonois toured with fellow thespians Ed Asner, Dianne Wiest and Harris Yulin during Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's third season hiatus. He appeared with the Quartet in a theatrical production of "Don Juan In Hell". The company's tour included performances in New York, Stanford, Santa Barbara, Los Angeles and London (with Mira Furlan replacing Diane Wiest).

While his theatre credits are impressive, Auberjonois has also made his mark on the silver screen, beginning with his debut in Robert Altman's ground-breaking black comedy "M*A*S*H". Since then he has appeared in feature films such as "Eyes of Laura Mars", "Brewster McCloud", "The Hindenberg" co-starring George C. Scott, and the remake of "King Kong". Auberjonois also portrayed the character of Straight Hollander in the 1993 Miramax feature film, "The Ballad of Little Jo". In addition, he appeared in the blockbuster "Batman Forever" as the insane psychiatrist Dr. Burton. In 2000, Rene could be seen in the Mel Gibson blockbuster "The Patriot" as the Reverend Oliver.

Auberjonois' voice is instantly recognizable. Auberjonois was the voice of Chef Louis in Disney's animated feature "Little Mermaid," and provided a voice-over for Turner Broadcasting's first feature film, "Cats Don't Dance". The actor has also recorded many novels, including "Shadow Moon," based on George Lucas' feature film "Willow", "Batman Forever" and two Star Trek novels.

On television, Auberjonois is well-known to audiences for his six-year portrayal of Chief of Staff Clayton Endicott III on the hit series "Benson" (where he co-starred with Star Trek: Voyager's Ethan Phillips). He has been nominated twice for an Emmy Award, once for Benson and also for his performance in ABC's "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow." Auberjonois is also known for his work on Showtime's Faerie Tale Theatre in "The Frog Prince" with Robin Williams, as well as "Sleeping Beauty". He has guest-starred on countless television shows, including "Matlock", "Civil Wars" and "L.A. Law". Also, along with Brent Spiner, Auberjonois starred as Professor Buonragazzo in Disney's TV musical adaptation of the Pinocchio story, "Geppetto". Rene also appeared in the 1991 Star Trek feature-film, "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country", playing the assassin Colonel West, for an uncredited role.