

(written from a Production point of view Real World article

Max Grodénchik (born 12 November 1952; age 67),[1] also credited as Michael Grodénchik, is an actor best known for his portrayal of Rom on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. 

Grodénchik was born in Queens, New York.  Before getting the role of Rom, he auditioned for the role of Rom's brother, Quark.  He was at one time romantically involved with production staff associate Lolita Fatjo. 

He wrote and performed Rom's Song and performed the song "The Lady is a Tramp" in the Deep Space Nine episode "The Siege of AR-558".  He also appeared in Star Trek: Insurrection as a Trill ensign who made a joke with Jonathan Frakes' character; that scene was deleted from the released version but included in the Star Trek: Insurrection (Special Edition) DVD "deleted scenes" feature, where it can be found as scene #40 "Flirting".  His name, however, remained in the end credits of the film and the scene was retained in the novelization.  Grodénchik filmed his scenes for the Star Trek: The Next Generation fifth season episode "The Perfect Mate" between Tuesday 18 February 1992 and Thursday 20 February 1992 on Paramount Stage 8 and 9. 

Grodénchik made his first on-screen appearances as Michael Grodénchik in the '80s.  He played a small role in the 1981 comedy Chu Chu and the Philly Flash, alongside the late Vincent Schiavelli, as well as in the drama Out (1982) and in the Night Court episode "The Cop and the Lady" (1989, with cast member John Larroquette). 

In the '90s, he made guest appearances in the television series Civil Wars (1992, episode "His Honor's Offer", with John Cothran, Jr., Ronny Cox, Juliana Donald, Robin Gammell, Anne Haney, and John Vickery), Tales from the Crypt (1994, episode "The Bribe", written by Scott Nimerfro and alongside Terry O'Quinn, Wayne Grace, and John Kassir), Sliders (1996, episode "Dragonslide", directed by David Livingston, with series regular John Rhys-Davies, and with Francis Guinan and Saxon Trainor), and The Drew Carey Show (1996, episode "What the Zoning Inspector Saw", with Diedrich Bader). 

Grodénchik appeared in the three time Academy Award nominated Barton Fink (1991), the comic adaptation The Rocketeer (1991, with Paul Sorvino, William O. Campbell, Clint Howard, Ed Lauter, Tiny Ron, and Terry O'Quinn), the comedy Sister Act (1992, starring Whoopi Goldberg and with Ellen Albertini Dow), Ron Howard's two-time Academy Award winning Apollo 13 (1995, with Brett Cullen and Clint Howard), and in the leading role in the horror film Rumpelstiltskin (1996, alongside Sherman Augustus, Valerie Wildman, Mark Holton, Ousaun Elam, and Patrick Massett). 

In 2000, he acted again with Whoopi Goldberg in The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle (also with Jason Alexander) and played small parts in the comedy Bruce Almighty (2003, with Mark Kiely), and King of California (2007).  Among the television series he guest-starred in are ER (2003, episode "Finders Keepers", with Jamie McShane, Jennifer Tung, and Michelle Bonilla), Crossing Jordan (2004, episode "He Said, She Said", with Miguel Ferrer), Six Feet Under (2004, episode "Parallel Play", alongside James Cromwell, James Black, Erica Mer, and Mark L. Taylor), and Hustle (2007, with William Lucking). 

Contents show]

Star Trek appearances

Appearances as Rom

Related voice acting credits

References