Tarik Ergin (born 7 June 1961; age 63) is an actor who was a regular background actor for all seven years of Star Trek: Voyager, playing Lieutenant Ayala. Because of his status as a background actor, he was rarely given lines and was only credited twice: in the episode "Fury" as "Security Guard" and in "Renaissance Man" as "Tactical N.D.", even though he worked at the conn station in that episode.
His first role on Star Trek was in Star Trek Generations, where he played a background medical technician in sickbay aboard the USS Enterprise-D. He wore the Satan's Robot costume from The Adventures of Captain Proton holodeck program in the episodes "Night", "Bride of Chaotica!", and "Shattered" and played a Hirogen in at least one episode of Star Trek: Voyager. Occasionally, he worked as stand-in for guest actors such as for Judson Scott in the fourth season episode "Message in a Bottle". The call sheets for this episode featured the note "(w/HEELS)" which meant Ergin had to wear shoes with heels to stand in for Scott. According to the call sheet for the Star Trek: Enterprise first season episode "Fortunate Son", Ergin had a height of 6'4".
Several costumes worn by Ergin were sold off on the It's A Wrap! sale and auction on eBay, including the Satan's Robot costume, [1] the Hirogen hunter costume, [2] his Maquis vest from "Caretaker", [3] his command division uniform, [4] and a pair of Maquis boots. [5]
Ergin also worked as CGI stand-in for the Xindi-Insectoids in the third season of Star Trek: Enterprise and as stand-in for Jonathan Frakes in the last episode "These Are the Voyages...". He also appeared in several background roles during the run of Star Trek: Enterprise.
In the interactive video game Star Trek: Borg, Ergin played Lieutenant Coris Sprint, a Starfleet officer whose body is inhabited by the player. Notably, Ergin has worn the colors of each department during his time on Star Trek. Blue on Generations and red and yellow on Star Trek: Voyager.
Born in Hingham, Massachusetts, Ergin is a graduate of Cornell University and was a professional lacrosse player. Since 2005, he has been working as lacrosse coach for the Oak Park Lacrosse Varsity team at Oak Park High School in Ventura County. [6] In April 2016, he was inducted into the US Lacrosse L.A. Chapter Hall of Fame. [7]
Prior to his work on Star Trek, Ergin appeared in two episodes of the television series Red Shoe Diaries (1994, with Saxon Trainor and Allan Graf), in the thriller Improper Conduct (1994, with Matt Roe and Eric Chambers), and in the thriller Indecent Behavior II (1994, with Cole McKay). Ergin also worked as dog trainer between 1996 and 2001.
Star Trek appearances[]
Appearances as Ayala[]
- VOY:
- "Caretaker" (Season 1)
- "Parallax"
- "Time and Again"
- "The Cloud"
- "Eye of the Needle"
- "Emanations"
- "Prime Factors"
- "State of Flux"
- "Heroes and Demons"
- "Cathexis"
- "Faces"
- "Jetrel"
- "Learning Curve"
- "Elogium"
- "The 37's"
- "Persistence of Vision" (Season 2)
- "Cold Fire"
- "Maneuvers"
- "Death Wish"
- "Alliances"
- "Threshold"
- "Meld"
- "Dreadnought"
- "Investigations"
- "Lifesigns"
- "Deadlock"
- "Innocence"
- "The Thaw"
- "Tuvix"
- "Resolutions"
- "Basics, Part I"
- "Sacred Ground"
- "False Profits"
- "Flashback"
- "Basics, Part II"
- "The Chute" (Season 3)
- "The Swarm"
- "Future's End"
- "Future's End, Part II"
- "Warlord"
- "Macrocosm"
- "Alter Ego"
- "Blood Fever"
- "Unity"
- "Rise"
- "Darkling"
- "Before and After"
- "Real Life"
- "Distant Origin"
- "Worst Case Scenario"
- "Scorpion"
- "The Gift" (Season 4)
- "The Raven"
- "Scientific Method"
- "Year of Hell"
- "Year of Hell, Part II"
- "Random Thoughts"
- "Waking Moments"
- "Hunters"
- "Prey"
- "Retrospect"
- "The Omega Directive"
- "Unforgettable"
- "Living Witness"
- "Demon"
- "One"
- "Hope and Fear"
- "Night" (Season 5)
- "Extreme Risk"
- "In the Flesh"
- "Once Upon a Time"
- "Nothing Human"
- "Timeless"
- "Latent Image"
- "Bride of Chaotica!"
- "The Fight"
- "Dark Frontier"
- "Think Tank"
- "Juggernaut"
- "Someone to Watch Over Me"
- "11:59"
- "Relativity"
- "Equinox"
- "Equinox, Part II" (Season 6)
- "Survival Instinct"
- "Tinker Tenor Doctor Spy"
- "Dragon's Teeth"
- "Riddles"
- "One Small Step"
- "The Voyager Conspiracy"
- "Pathfinder"
- "Fair Haven"
- "Tsunkatse"
- "Blink of an Eye"
- "Virtuoso"
- "Collective"
- "Memorial"
- "Spirit Folk"
- "Ashes to Ashes"
- "Child's Play"
- "Good Shepherd"
- "Fury"
- "Live Fast and Prosper"
- "Unimatrix Zero"
- "Unimatrix Zero, Part II" (Season 7)
- "Drive"
- "Critical Care"
- "Repression"
- "Flesh and Blood"
- "Body and Soul"
- "Shattered"
- "Lineage"
- "Repentance"
- "Prophecy"
- "The Void"
- "Workforce"
- "Workforce, Part II"
- "Q2"
- "Friendship One"
- "Natural Law"
- "Homestead"
- "Renaissance Man"
- "Endgame"
Stand-in work[]
- VOY:
- "State of Flux" – stand-in for Anthony De Longis
- "Darkling" – stand-in for Christopher Clarke
- "Message in a Bottle" – stand-in for Judson Scott
- "Retrospect" – stand-in for Adrian Sparks
- "The Killing Game" – stand-in for Mark Metcalf and Mark Deakins
- "The Killing Game, Part II" – stand-in for Mark Metcalf and Mark Deakins and utility stand-in
- "Think Tank" – stand-in for Christopher Darga
- "Natural Law" – stand-in for Ivar Brogger
- ENT:
- "Unexpected" – stand-in for Regi Davis
- "The Andorian Incident" – stand-in for Bruce French
- "Civilization" – stand-in for Charlie Brewer
- "Fortunate Son" – stand-in for Vaughn Armstrong, D. Elliot Woods, Danny Goldring, Mark Ginther, Carrick O'Quinn, and Scott Workman
- "The Xindi" – stand-in for Richard Lineback
- "Rajiin" – Utility Xindi-Reptilian stand-in
- "These Are the Voyages..." – stand-in for Jonathan Frakes and Ian Eyre
External links[]
- TarikErgin.com – official site
- Tarik Ergin at Wikipedia
- Tarik Ergin at the Internet Movie Database
- Tarik Ergin at X (formerly Twitter)
- Tarik Ergin at LinkedIn.com