Summary

• The Vorta were genetically engineered by the Changelings to serve as s and loyal servants in the Dominion.
• Weyoun, played by Jeffrey Combs, was a notable Vorta character who oversaw Dominion operations.
• Some actors, like Combs and Christopher Shea, played multiple clones or different Vorta characters throughout the series.

The Vorta played a vital role within the Dominion during Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. First introduced in DS9 season 2, episode 26, "The Jem'Hadar", the Vorta encountered by Commander Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) and Quark (Armin Shimerman) was the devious Eris (Molly Hagan) who masqueraded as a fellow prisoner to gain information about Starfleet and the Federation. After this first encounter, the Vorta would feature heavily in DS9, with various of their species making life difficult for Sisko and the crew.

Weyoun (Jeffrey Combs) was the loyal aide to the Female Changeling (Salome Jens) and played an integral role in overseeing the Dominion's military efforts. The Vorta were a species made up of military strategists, diplomats and scientists that were genetically engineered by the Changelings. As a result, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's Vorta looked to the Dominion Founders as gods.

Star Trek: DS9’s Vorta & What Was Their Role In The Dominion

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 7, episode 6, "Treachery, Faith and the Great River" revealed the origins of the Vorta. According to Weyoun, his species used to be tree-dwelling forest apes until a family of Vorta protected a fleeing Changeling from a violent mob of "solids." As thanks for their kindness, the Changeling promised that the Vorta would ascend to become powerful beings at the head of a vast galactic empire - the Dominion. However, given the lack of Vorta families seen in DS9 and the fact that the Changelings have a tendency for deception, this may have been a clever lie to keep the Gamma Quadrant species in their thrall.

The Changelings genetically engineered the ape-like species into the more humanoid Vorta seen during Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Rather than leading the Dominion as some suspected, the Vorta were actually s for Star Trek's Changelings. Roles that the Vorta assumed as loyal servants of the Founders included commanding Jem'Hadar battleships, and working on a cure for the Morphogenic virus engineered by Section 31. Interestingly, when one Vorta was killed, they were replaced by a clone who retained their predecessor's memories. DS9 was vague on exactly how this process occurred, leaving at least one unanswered question behind when it came to the Dominion and the Vorta.

Who Played Vorta In Star Trek: DS9?

Due to the fact that the Vorta were a clone species, there were some actors who played multiple versions of their character. For example, Star Trek regular Jeffrey Combs played five different clones of the Female Changeling's loyal servant, Weyoun. Combs' Weyoun is the most notorious Vorta in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, due to his role in overseeing Dominion operations. The most high-profile Vorta in DS9 from a real-world perspective was Yelgrun, played by punk rock icon Iggy Pop in the episode "The Magnificent Ferengi." Iggy Pop's Star Trek character was negotiating a prisoner exchange with Quark for the release of Keevan, played by Christopher Shea.

Like fellow Vorta actor Jeffrey Combs, Christopher Shea played multiple other characters, including the Suliban, Sajen in Star Trek: Enterprise and Saowin in the Star Trek: Voyager episode "Think Tank." Christopher Shea wasn't the last Vorta actor to also appear in Star Trek: Voyager, either. Kaitlin Hopkins played Kilana in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "The Ship", and played Dala, the con artist who impersonated Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) in Voyager's "Live Fast and Prosper." All of which proves that, like the aliens they portrayed, Star Trek's Vorta actors were multi-faceted and adaptable.

All episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine are streaming on Paramount+.