He moved to San Francisco in 1973, then back to Los Angeles in 1976, making his living during that time playing and singing in several rock bands. Then in 1977, Michael landed a small part on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and thought his moment had arrived. Actually, his moment was still a few years away, but it was certainly a start.
Michael Dorn received much of his on-the-job training as a semi-regular on the daytime drama, Days of Our Lives. In the prime time hours, Dorn was seen as Officer Turner during the final two seasons (1980-1982) of the weekly cop series, CHiPs, and guest starred on many more prime time series, including Knots Landing and Falcon Crest. He went on to a flurry of supporting-cast activity in such theatrical features as The Jagged Edge (1985). Then, in 1987, Michael Dorn donned mounds of facial makeup for what was to be his signature role: the U.S.S. Enterprise's Klingon officer Lt. Worf on Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-1994). Michael reprised his role of "Worf" on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1995-1999). He also contributed behind the scenes, directing several episodes of DS9.
Since the end of DS9, Dorn has continued to act in a variety of projects and is quite in demand for his voice work; he's provided voices for a plethora of animated series, including Spider-Man, Kim Possible, and Gargoyles (with fellow Trek thespian, Marina Sirtis). He also wrote, directed, and starred in a TV sitcom pilot, Through the Fire, and directed an episode of Star Trek: Enterprise, "Two Days and Two Nights."
Besides the Star Trek films, Dorn has been seen in theaters in such independent features as Timemaster in 1995 and Shadow Hours in 2000. He played the "Sandman" in Disney's The Santa Clause 2 and The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause. On the smaller screen, he starred in the 1995 Showtime tele-film, Amanda and the Alien, and also did a star turn in the Showtime series, The Outer Limits, and acted as host of the Discovery Channel's popular series, The World of Wonder.
In what free time he has, Dorn enjoys flying in his single-seat military training jet, an F-86. He flies to air shows around the country and uses his plane as the ultimate private getaway.
