Summary

• Alexander Siddig played Dr. Julian Bashir, the Chief Medical Officer of Deep Space Nine, and became a vital player in the Star Trek franchise.
• Dr. Bashir appeared in nearly every episode of Deep Space Nine, forming friendships with Chief O'Brien and former Cardassian spy Garak.
• Siddig has expressed interest in returning to the role, speculating on Bashir's potential storyline and the possibility of him ing the Section 31 movie.

Every Star Trek show needs a doctor and Alexander Siddig fills that role as Dr. Julian Bashir on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Dr. Bashir made his Star Trek debut in "Emissary," the pilot of Deep Space Nine, alongside Avery Brooks' Commander Benjamin Sisko. Bashir would go on to appear in nearly every episode of DS9 as the Chief Medical Officer of the titular space station. In addition to his duties as the space station's doctor, Julian often spent time on the holodeck with his best friend and coworker Chief Miles O'Brien (Colm Meaney), who served as the Chief Operations Officer on the station.

In one of his earliest Star Trek appearances, Dr. Bashir also popped up in the Star Trek: The Next Generation season 6 episode entitled "Birthright, Part 1." When Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and the USS Enterprise visit space station Deep Space Nine to assist with repairs, Dr. Bashir takes a particular interest in the android Lt. Commander Data (Brent Spiner). Bashir helps Data and Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton) determine the cause of visions that Data has been experiencing. Dr. Bashir went on to become a vital player in the Star Trek franchise and starred in many of Deep Space Nine's best episodes.

Alexander Siddig Plays Dr. Julian Bashir on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

After graduating first of his class at Starfleet Academy, Dr. Julian Bashir had his choice of postings, and he chose the position of Chief Medical Officer at Deep Space 9. Bashir wanted to experience life on the farthest reaches of Federation space and help those who couldn't help themselves. As a child, Julian's parents had his DNA altered with genetic engineering that made him smarter, stronger, and faster. As the CMO of Deep Space 9, Bashir oversaw all of the medical matters on the space station. Over the course of his time on the station, Bashir became good friends with Chief O'Brien and former Cardassian spy Garak (Andrew Robinson), and he also served during the Dominion War.

After Deep Space Nine, Alexander Siddig appeared in several television shows and made-for-TV movies, including a seven-episode stint on 24. Siddig has also appeared in episodes of Merlin, Waking the Dead, Strike Back, Primeval, and Atlantis. He portrayed Doran Martell in five episodes of Game of Thrones, Ruben Oliver in six episodes of Peaky Blinders, and Al-Rahim in Da Vinci's Demons. Siddig also played Batman villain Ra's al Ghul in Gotham and appeared in the 2019 film 21 Bridges alongside Chadwick Boseman. Most recently, Alexander Siddig has appeared in Foundation and Shantaram for Apple TV+ and as Cardinal Russo in the 2023 film Deliver Us.

Will Dr. Bashir & DS9 Return To Star Trek?

Although some characters from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine have made a return to the Trek franchise, Dr. Bashir has yet to them. In the Star Trek: Lower Decks season 3 episode "Hear All, Trust Nothing," the USS Cerritos visits Deep Space 9 and meets Quark (Armin Shimerman) and Colonel Kira Nerys (Nana Visitor), both voiced by their original actors. At the end of DS9, Dr. Bashir had been recruited by the Starfleet Intelligence organization known as Section 31. Although he was technically working as a double agent for Captain Sisko, it's possible Bashir could have continued working with Section 31 in some capacity. Considering Paramount+ already has the Section 31 movie starring Academy Award-winner Michelle Yeoh, Dr. Bashir could return to Star Trek as a Section 31 agent.

Alexander Siddig has expressed his interest in returning to the role of Dr. Bashir. In a 2021 interview with Trek News, Siddig said that he would "certainly be interested in a good in-depth look at [Bashir] and where he’s at." Siddig also speculated about where Julian Bashir could be at this point in the Star Trek timeline, saying: "Would Section 31 have finally compromised his ethics? Would he have quit the Federation altogether and become a professor? Maybe he wound up in command? Goodness only knows." Whatever is next for Dr. Julian Bashir, the time feels right for a return to the world and characters of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.