Avery Brooks Avery Franklin Brooks is an accomplished stage , television , and film actor best known for his role as Benjamin Sisko in . He is the only actor to appear in all 173 episodes of the series , and has also directed several episodes . In addition , he played Benny Russell in the episodes and . He also voiced Sisko in the games " " and " " . Background information . Hailing from Evansville , Indiana , Brooks attended Theodore Roosevelt High School in Gary , Indiana . After graduating , he attended Oberlin College in Ohio as well as Indiana University . In 1973 , he became the first African - American to receive an MFA in acting and directing from in New Jersey . He is currently a tenured professor of theater arts at Rutgers ' Mason Gross School of the Arts , and in 1993 , he was inducted into the Rutgers University Hall of Distinguished Alumni . That same year , he became the Artistic Director of the National Black Arts Festival , a biannual , ten - day festival celebrating the art and culture of the African Diaspora held in Atlanta , Georgia . He was the Artistic Director during the 1994 and 1996 festivals . Raised in a musical family , Brooks has a passion for playing jazz piano as well as acting . In March 2006 , he played the piano at the funeral for , who gave Brooks his first television acting experience when Parks directed him in " Solomon Northrup ' s Odyssey " in 1984 . Brooks also sang the theme from , a film that Parks wrote and directed . Brooks was also present at ' funeral on , at the end of which he read the epilogue from the 1961 play " Purlie Victorious , " which Davis wrote . Brooks has been married to Vicki Bowen since 1976 . The couple have three children : Ayana , Asante , and Cabral . Although he continues serving as a tenured professor at Rutgers , Brooks had left his teaching job to play Benjamin Sisko on " Deep Space Nine " and has yet to return to full - time academic work . David Carson commented on Brooks : " " I think that Avery Brooks is a phenomenal actor . I ' ve rarely come across an actor with a combination of his technical skill in front of the camera and an amazing strength of performing with the lens . He ' s a real joy to work with . And he ' s extraordinarily deft and constantly interesting , and I think the character gives him much more ability to have these differences in his psychological makeup than Picard , who ' s a much more straightforward who you can probably predict will react a certain way in different situations . It ' s very difficult to do that with Sisko , and Avery plays with delight , those opportunities " " . ( " Captains ' Logs Supplemental - The Unauthorized Guide to the New Trek Voyages " , p 25 ) Dennis Madalone was impressed by Brooks ' s stunt work throughout " Star Trek : Deep Space Nine " . Madalone commented : " " Of all the stars that I ' ve worked with on all the " Star Treks " , and all the other shows that I ' ve been on other than " Star Trek " , I ' ve never seen an actor so physically capable of just doing everything . That ' s Avery Brooks . He ' s the best . I worked with in the late 1970s . He ' s a heck of a walking stunt actor . Avery is equal to Robert Conrad in fight scenes and physical action . And a gentleman too ! He ' s a great person and giver . Every time I ' d bring in a stunt double , he ' d be angry , sitting on a bench , because Avery was doing so great " " . ( " Flashback : The Way of the Warrior " , ) On , Brooks was arrested by the police for driving under the influence in Wilton , Connecticut . Career . Stage . Brooks has received high acclaim for his portrayal of in the long - running one - man show of the same name . Brooks has starred in this play since 1982 , including two performances on Broadway ( in 1988 and again in 1995 ) . He actually first played Robeson in the 1978 off - Broadway show " Are You Now or Have You Ever Been " , which ended up on Broadway in early 1979 . Brooks ' s stage credits also include many Shakespeare characters , including , , and . In addition , he originated the role of in ' s opera " X : The Life and Times of Malcolm X " , in 1985 . He went on to perform in another Anthony Davis opera , " Tania " . In 2001 , he portrayed Oedipus in the Shakespeare Theatre ' s production of the Oedipus cycle with an all - black cast . Television . While best known for playing Ben Sisko , Brooks had his first episodic television starring role in as the lead character ' s partner , Hawk . Brooks went on to reprise the role of Hawk in the short - lived spinoff , " A Man Called Hawk " . Prior to this , he made his television acting debut playing the title role in the 1984 TV adaptation of " Solomon Northup ' s Odyssey " . In 1987 , he again played the title role in a TV adaptation of a famous novel , this time " Uncle Tom ' s Cabin " , which co - starred fellow " Star Trek " performers Bill Bolender and Albert Hall . Aside from these , he made an appearance in 1985 ' s " Finnegan Begin Again " ( starring Bob Gunton and David Huddleston ) and played the role of Cletus Moyer in 1988 ' s " Roots : The Gift " . The latter also starred actor LeVar Burton in his famous role of Kunte Kinte and also featured future stars Kate Mulgrew and Tim Russ . In 1993 he appeared in the TV movie " The Ernest Green Story " . Brooks was cast as Benjamin Sisko , commander of space station Deep Space 9 , in . For his performance in this role , Brooks received two Image Award nominations as Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series , one in 1996 and another in 1997 . Also in 1997 , he received a Saturn Award nomination from the Academy of Science Fiction , Fantasy & Horror Films for his portrayal of Sisko . Brooks was initially required by Paramount to keep his head unshaved for the role , as it was thought that if he had a bald head , he might look too much like his previous role as Hawk in " Spenser : For Hire " . ( " " , p . 102 ) Brooks felt more comfortable acting with a shaved head , and between the third and fourth seasons , he approached Rick Berman and Ira Behr . According to Behr , the two producers were expecting resistance at Paramount , but the studio had no problem with the request . From the start of the fourth season , Sisko was portrayed with a shaved head . Director James L . Conway remarked , " " It was a terrific idea . I was shooting the episode and I happened to look at some of the reruns of the earlier shows and I said to Avery , ' It ' s like a different actor . ' And Avery said , ' I " feel " like a different guy . ' And you can see it in his performance . With his head shaved , I think he feels much freer , much more himself . " " ( " " , p . 257 ) . Robert Hewitt Wolfe noted , " " He ' s actually a little scarier looking but the point is : That ' s what Avery looks like , so why shouldn ' t you let the guy look like himself ? I think it lets him identify a little more with the character . " " ( " " , p . 102 ) " " Brooks remained with the series through all seven seasons , appearing in every single episode , while at the same time continuing his professorship in theater arts at Rutgers University – occasionally instructing classes in his character ' s costume via prerecorded VHS tapes made on the set . Several costumes and uniforms worn by Brooks were sold off on the It ' s A Wrap ! sale and auction on eBay , including a command uniform lot from the episode . In , Brooks revealed that he had initially planned to leave " Deep Space Nine " during the early seasons , due to the strain of television production . However , while having a conversation with his son about the importance of giving and keeping his word , he decided to stay and endured the entire seven year run of the series . ( DS9 Season 7 DVD ) While " Deep Space Nine " was still in production , Brooks continued to star in a number of " Spenser " telefilms . He also became one of many " Star Trek " performers to voice a character in the animated series " Gargoyles " ; others who have done so include LeVar Burton , Michael Dorn , Jonathan Frakes , Kate Mulgrew , Nichelle Nichols , John Rhys - Davies , Salli Elise Richardson , W . Morgan Sheppard , Marina Sirtis , Brent Spiner , David Warner , Frank Welker , and Paul Winfield . In 1997 he voiced a role in an episode of " Happily Ever After : Fairy Tales for Every Child " ( together with James Avery ) . In 2000 , Brooks was briefly the spokesperson for IBM e - business software . He filmed a few television commercials for the company , in which he stated " " It ' s a different kind of world . You need a different kind of software . " " Films and documentaries . Brooks made his feature film debut in 1998 , playing a mafia kingpin in the action thriller " The Big Hit " . This was followed that same year with the critically - acclaimed drama , which also starred " Star Trek : Voyager " s Jennifer Lien . Also in 1998 , Brooks ' deep , commanding voice was employed to narrate various documentary programs , including " Africans in America : America ' s Journey Through Slavery " , " Africa ' s Elephant Kingdom " , and " The Greatest Places " . After " Deep Space Nine " ended its run in , Brooks continued to act on stage and continued narrating documentaries such as " Jesus : The Complete Story " , " The Ballad of Big Al " , " Land of the Mammoth " , and " Walking with Dinosaurs " . He also hosted the Discovery Channel show " Unsolved History " for a few years . In 2001 , he appeared in the short " God Lives Underwater : Fame " ( with Kelsey Grammer ) and had a supporting role as a police detective in the film " 15 Minutes " , which also featured Grammer , Kim Cattrall , and future star Anton Yelchin . In 2006 , it was announced that Brooks was cast in the fourth film , set for release in 2008 ; Brooks , however , shot down the rumor at a " Star Trek " convention . Brooks has also participated in a number of " Star Trek " documentaries and specials , including " The Science of Star Trek " , " " , and " " . Footage of his performances on " Deep Space Nine " have been used in such documentaries as " " and " How William Shatner Changed the World " . Brooks was filming an interview on the " Star Trek " franchise when the " " auction was being held at Christies . He briefly entered the bidding room and described the experience as bringing back " great feelings of nostalgia " . Brooks was interviewed by William Shatner for the 2011 documentary , " The Captains " and for the extended 2013 version " The Captains Close Up " . Most recently , Brooks has been involved in the production of " What We Left Behind " , viewing footage and supporting the effort . He declined to record a new interview for it , despite repeated requests from Ira Steven Behr , feeling that he had nothing new to add that he has not already said . Recordings . Brooks can be heard on the soundtrack for Anthony Davis ' s opera " Tania " , released in 2001 . He sings the role of Cinque in this production . Brooks recently completed work on a CD containing " " a selection of ballads and love songs " " , in which he praises his father and artists he admires . In 2007 , Brooks narrated an audio recording of Alex Haley ' s " Roots " .