Star Trek: TNG Grounded Michael Dorn for a Surprisingly Simple Reason

Michael Dorn spent seven seasons playing the most stoic guy on the Enterprise, but in real life the man loves speed. And yes, he wanted to bring that part of himself to Star Trek. Paramount had other ideas.

The studio grounded Worf - sort of

Dorn, who became the franchise's first main-cast Klingon as Lieutenant Worf on Star Trek: The Next Generation, is also a licensed pilot. By the time he did a 1997 interview with Peter Anthony Holder, he had been flying for more than eight years and even owned multiple aircraft. He wanted to keep flying while working on Trek. The studio drew a line.

"When I do the film, I can't fly. They won't allow me to fly. But the TV show is different. I can fly during the TV show. It made a few people nervous, but not really. There's a lot of actors and a lot of people that fly in and out of the business. But they just want to make sure they guard their investment during the movie."

Translation: TV schedule, fine. Movie schedule, absolutely not. It was a classic risk-management move. If you are the face of a multimillion-dollar film, the studio really prefers you not zipping around in your own plane that weekend.

Why Worf was never the one at the helm anyway

Even if Dorn had pushed to strap into a shuttle on camera, Worf's gig was not piloting. He was the Enterprise-D's Klingon security and tactical officer. His job was threat assessment, weapons, and battle strategy on the bridge, not steering the ship. If someone was going to punch it to warp, that usually went to the helm and operations folks. Think Wesley Crusher early on, then the usual bridge rotation. Data often handled the heavy lifting. And no, Sulu is a different ship and era.

• Star Trek: The Next Generation basics: it ran from September 28, 1987 to May 23, 1994 across 7 seasons and 178 episodes; created by Gene Roddenberry; later seasons steered by Rick Berman, Michael Piller, and Jeri Taylor; the series collected 18 Emmys along the way

Dorn off set: certified speed nut

Dorn has never been shy about his need for speed. In a chat with CNET, he said he would love a real-world version of a warp drive: "I'm a speed freak. I love jets, and the faster the better." He also talked about buying a Tesla Model S and enjoying the idea of dusting everyone on the freeway. Between that mindset and the insurer's blood pressure, you can see why a studio might keep him far away from any production-related flying.

So was Paramount right to bench the pilot?

From a bean-counting perspective, sure. From a fan perspective, I would have watched the hell out of a Worf shuttle sequence. Either way, Dorn's Klingon warrior remains one of the franchise's most beloved characters, with or without a flight stick.

Star Trek: The Next Generation is streaming on Paramount+.