page_title: Kazon
section_title: Design and casting
hierarchical_section_title: Kazon / Background / Design and casting
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context_page_description: The Kazon are a fictional alien race in the Star Trek franchise. Developed by Star Trek: Voyager series' co-creators Rick Berman, Michael Piller, and Jeri Taylor, the Kazon serve as the primary antagonists during the show's first two seasons. They are represented as a nomadic species divided into eighteen separate sects, and characterized by their reliance on violence. A patriarchal society, the Kazon have a low opinion of women, and place pride in men becoming warriors and proving themselves in battle. The Kazon storylines frequently revolve around the attempts of Jal Culluh and his Kazon sect to steal technology from the USS Voyager, with the assistance of former Voyager ensign Seska. During the second season, the Voyager crew uncover more about the alien species' history and culture through a temporary truce. In their final major appearance, the Kazon successfully commandeer Voyager, but are eventually forced to surrender and retreat. The alien species have minor cameo appearances and references in the show's subsequent seasons, and have also been included in Star Trek Online and novels set in the Star Trek universe.
context_section_description: The Kazon's design was formulated around the beginning of June 1994. The series' make-up supervisor Michael Westmore was heavily involved in the creation of the look for the Kazon. While describing the species' facial features, Westmore said he constructed a skin protrusion along the nose and front of the face to simulate "a soft cockscomb, a rooster comb" rather than "the dinosaur bone-type of ridges". He said that there were very small visual differences between Kazon males and females, with the distinguishing characteristic being women having a more delicate physicality than the men. According to Westmore, the prosthetic make-up for the forehead was structured in a shape reminiscent of the Devil, while the ridges on the nose were inspired by a vulture's neck. The nose designs were modified throughout the first two seasons with the addition of a nose tip and spikes protruding from the nostrils. The Kazon's design was the subject of fan criticism following the series premiere, with one fan commenting: "They look like they're all having a bad hair day." When Anthony De Longis first saw the headdress worn as a part of Culluh's costume, he joked that: "Culluh must be the leader because he has the biggest head of hair."
  Westmore said that he faced several challenges involving the make-up and masks during the filming of "Caretaker". Because of the large number of Kazon present in the first episode, he hired additional make-up artists and mold makers to assist with getting all the actors into costume. According to supervising producer David Livingston, the process of applying the Kazon make-up took multiple hours. Since a majority of the scenes involving the Kazon were filmed at the El Mirage Lake, Livingston and the filming crew were assigned to help the actors feel comfortable in the heavy make-up and prosthetics despite the high temperatures.
  Piller originally envisioned only casting actors between the ages of eighteen and twenty-five to simulate the connection between the Kazon and contemporary street gangs. He said that he wanted the casting choices to convey the alien species as "young, angry people who never lived old enough to have the kind of experience and perspective on the world that, say, the Klingons and Romulans might have". He wanted to emphasize that the Kazon were "much more emotional, short fused, and therefore had fewer expectations" through the actors' performances. The roles, however, were filled by actors outside this age range, with Piller explaining that the decision was reached on the grounds that the "older actors gave more polished performances". He later regretted the choice of more mature actors, as he felt this conflicted with the writers' concept of the species, making them appear too much like Klingons. The Kazon also received comparisons to the Cardassians and Wood Elves by Uproxx's Donna Dickens.
caption: Michael Westmore was the principal make-up supervisor behind the Kazon's design  (pictured).
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