Frank Langella Frank Langella is the Tony Award - winning American actor who played Jaro Essa in the first three episodes of s second season : , , and . Langella took the role because his children were great fans of the series . He went uncredited in all of his appearances as he did not want to seem to be doing it for the exposure or money , as guest stars can sometimes seem . ( " " ) Langella has won three Tony Awards and an additional two Tony Award nominations over the course of his career , which has thus far spanned four decades . He is recognized for his portrayal of Count Dracula in the 1977 Broadway production of " Dracula " and its subsequent 1979 film adaptation . He is currently known for his Tony Award - winning portrayal of Richard M . Nixon in the 2007 Broadway production of " Frost / Nixon " and for his Academy Award - nominated performance in the same role in the 2008 film based on the play . With his Oscar nomination for " Frost / Nixon " , Langella is one of only three " Star Trek " performers to receive an Academy Award nomination as Best Actor in a Leading Role . F . Murray Abraham and Paul Winfield were the others . Thus far , Abraham is the only one to win the award . Personal life . Langella was born in Bayonne , New Jersey . He graduated from New York ' s Syracuse University in 1959 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Drama . Langella was married to Ruth Weil from 1977 until their divorce in 1996 . They have two children , including a daughter named Sarah . Langella and actress Whoopi Goldberg , whom he worked with on the 1996 film " Eddie " , lived together as domestic partners from 1996 until they separated in 2001 . Career . Early career . Langella made his television acting debut in a 1965 episode of the CBS series " The Trials of O ' Brien " with Eugene Roche . He then began performing on Broadway , receiving a Drama Desk Award for his performance in the play " A Cry of Players " . One of his co - stars in this production was " Deep Space Nine " regular Rene Auberjonois . Langella earned a Golden Globe nomination as Most Promising Newcomer ( Male ) for his supporting role in the 1970 film " Diary of a Mad Housewife " . He also starred in Mel Brooks ' second film , " The Twelve Chairs " , that same year . He received an award from the National Board of Review as Best Supporting Actor for his performances in both " Diary of a Mad Housewife " and " The Twelve Chairs " . He later won his first Tony Award and second Drama Desk Award for his performance in the Broadway play " Seascape " . In the 1973 western " The Wrath of God " , Langella worked alongside fellow DS9 guest actors John Colicos and Gregory Sierra . In 1974 , he starred in the unsold TV series pilot " The Mark of Zorro " , in which he played the title role opposite Ricardo Montalban and Louise Sorel ; the show was directed by Don McDougall . The following year , Langella starred in a TV adaptation of Anton Chekov ' s " The Seagull " , which co - starred David Clennon . Langella also worked with " Voyager " s Kate Mulgrew in the 1976 TV movie " The American Woman : Portraits of Courage " . Langella is perhaps best remembered for his portrayal of Count Dracula in the 1977 Broadway stage adaptation of Bram Stoker ' s " Dracula " , a role which earned him a Tony Award nomination and a Drama Desk Award nomination . He reprised the role for the 1979 film based on the play , for which he received a Saturn Award nomination from the Academy of Science Fiction , Fantasy & Horror Films . 1980s . Langella continued to perform on stage , in film , and in television movies throughout the 1980s . He appeared in no less than five Broadway productions during this decade . He was one of several actors to portray Antonio Salieri in the original Broadway production of the Tony Award - winning play " Amadeus " ; others include David Birney and Daniel Davis , while F . Murray Abraham played the role in the 1984 film . Langella portrayed detective Sherlock Holmes in two productions in the 1980s : the 1981 TV movie " Sherlock Holmes " ( in which he worked with Stephen Collins ) and the 1987 Broadway play " Sherlock ' s Last Case " . Langella also worked with Bob Gunton in the play " Passion " in 1983 , and afterward took over the role of Eddie from John Rubinstein in Broadway ' s " Hurlyburly " ; Natalia Nogulich was also a cast member on this production . On film , Langella portrayed the evil in the 1987 fantasy . Meg Foster , Anthony De Longis , and " Voyager " regular Robert Duncan McNeill were among his co - stars in this film . The mask which he wore as Skeletor in the film would later be reused for the Skull faced alien seen in Worf and Jadzia ' s Klingon calisthenics program s in and . His other film credits during the 1980s include " Sphinx " ( 1981 , with John Rhys - Davies ) , " The Men ' s Club " ( 1986 , with Craig Wasson ) , and the 1988 romantic comedy " And God Created Woman " . In addition , Langella was nominated for an Emmy Award for his portrayal of Leonardo in the 1983 TV movie " I , Leonardo : A Journey of the Mind " . He also starred with s LeVar Burton and fellow DS9 guest actor Chris Sarandon in the 1986 TV movie " Liberty " . 1990s . Langella appeared on the Showtime series " Monkey House " in 1991 . He won a CableACE Award for his performance on the series . In addition , Langella had supporting roles in many films during the 1990s , including " Dave " ( 1993 ) and " Junior " ( 1994 ) , both from director and both featuring Stefan Gierasch . His other films include " 1492 : Conquest of Paradise " ( 1992 ) , " Bad Company " ( 1995 ; with Daniel Hugh Kelly and David Ogden Stiers ) , " Cutthroat Island " ( 1995 ; with Jimmie F . Skaggs and Harris Yulin ) , the aforementioned " Eddie " with Whoopi Goldberg , the controversial " Lolita " ( 1997 ) , and Roman Polanski ' s " The Ninth Gate " ( 1999 ) . Langella voiced John Wilkes Booth in the 1992 TV movie " Lincoln " , which also featured the voices of Keith Carradine and Laurence Luckinbill . He voiced < nowiki > < / nowiki > " Archer " leader of the Gorgonites , in the film which featured the voice of Michael McKean as " Insaniac " and " Troglokhan " , and featured live performances by Kirsten Dunst , Gregory Itzin , Dick Miller , Robert Picardo , and Wendy Schaal . " " Langella won a third Drama Desk Award ( his fourth nomination ) for his performance in the 1996 Broadway production of " The Father " , in which he acted alongside Ivar Brogger and Gail Strickland . The following year , he received another nomination from the Drama Desk Awards for his performance in " Present Laughter " , in which he worked with Carolyn Seymour . 2000s . Langella played King Aeëtes in the 2000 TV movie version of " Jason and the Argonauts " . star Jolene Blalock played Aeëtes ' daughter , Medea ; Brian Thompson portrayed Hercules . Langella then starred in the short - lived ABC series " The Beast " . In 2002 , Langella won his second Tony Award and fourth Drama Desk Award for his performance in the Broadway comedy " Fortune ' s Fool " . He again received nominations from both the Tony Awards and the Drama Desk Awards for the play " Match " in 2004 . That same year , Langella was seen in the film " House of D " with Anton Yelchin and Mark Margolis . Langella was part of the ensemble cast of the Academy Award - nominated film " Good Night , and Good Luck . " , in which he played CBS founder . JD Cullum , Glenn Morshower , Robert Knepper , and Ray Wise were also part of the film ' s cast ; Robert Elswit was the film ' s Director of Photography . Langella and many of his fellow castmates from this movie , including Wise , were nominated by the Screen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture . In 2003 , Langella guest - starred on NBC ' s " Law & Order : Special Victims Unit " . In 2005 , he played the recurring role of Pino on the short - lived FOX comedy series " Kitchen Confidential " , on which John Cho was a regular . Langella also starred in the improvised HBO series " Unscripted " . Langella played Daily Planet Editor - in - Chief Perry White in the 2006 blockbuster " Superman Returns " , which was directed , co - written , and produced by Bryan Singer . He then starred in the 2007 romantic drama film " Starting Out in the Evening " , for which he won a Boston Society of Film Critics Award in addition to nominations from such organizations as the Independent Spirit Awards and the Chicago Film Critics Association . Jeff McCarthy had a supporting role in this film . In 2007 , Langella starred as former President of the United States Richard Nixon in the Broadway production of Peter Morgan ' s acclaimed play " Frost / Nixon " , which won Langella his third Tony Award and fifth Drama Desk Award ; Rene Auberjonois also appeared in the play . He then played Nixon in the 2008 film adaptation of the play , which also featured Geoffrey Blake , Clint Howard , Andy Milder , and Ned Vaughn . For his performance in the film version of " Frost / Nixon " , Langella earned his first Academy Award nomination in January 2009 . He also received acting nominations from the Golden Globes , the BAFTA Awards , the Chicago Film Critics Association Awards , the Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards , the Satellite Awards , the London Critics Circle Film Awards , and the Screen Actors Guild Awards . Langella voiced the mayor in the 2008 animated film " The Tale of Despereaux " , which also featured the voice of ' s Christopher Lloyd . He was most recently seen in the horror / thriller " The Box " , which also featured Holmes Osborne . His upcoming films include the mystery " All Good Things " , in which he works with Kirsten Dunst and Jeffrey Dean Morgan , and " Wall Street 2 : Money Never Sleeps " with Michael Cumpsty , Oliver Stone ' s sequel to his acclaimed 1987 film . For his role as Arlington Steward in the 2009 mystery drama " The Box " received Langella a Saturn Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor in 2010 .