I Still Can’t Believe This Oscar-Nominated Actor Appeared In Star Trek: Picard (And Never Returned)

Academy Award nominee David Paymer appeared as Dr. Moritz Benayoun in Star Trek: Picard season 1 and, amazingly, was never seen again. Under showrunner Michael Chabon, Star Trek: Picard season 1 brought back Patrick Stewart as Admiral Jean-Luc Picard. However, as a producer. Stewart decided that Star Trek: Picard would not be a retread of Star Trek: The Next Generation with its original cast. Instead, Jean-Luc would find a new motley crew to aid him in saving the galaxy.

Admiral Jean-Luc Picard learned he was dying of Irumodic Syndrome in Star Trek: Picard season 1. Or, at least, that is what he (and audiences) believed at the time. When he witnesses the murder of Dahj (Isa Briones) and uncovers a Romulan plot targeting her twin sister, Soji (Isa Briones), the retired Picard attempts to return to active Starfleet duty. However, Picard had to be medically certified for deep space service, and his condition prompted the return of his old friend, Dr. Moritz Benayoun.

David Paymer’s Surprise Appearance In Star Trek: Picard Explained

Paymer Plays Dr. Moritz Benayoun

David Paymer appeared as Dr. Moritz Benayoun in Star Trek: Picard season 1, episode 2, "Maps and Legends." Dr. Benayoun came to Chateau Picard to tell Jean-Luc his Irumodic Syndrome was terminal. Jean-Luc's dialogue with Moritz soon filled in the blanks that Dr. Benayoun was Chief Medical Officer of the USS Starzager, Captain Picard's command before the USS Enterprise-D. It was a brief but charming scene between Picard and Dr. Benayoun in David Paymer's lone Star Trek appearance.

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Star Trek Picard Cast & Character Guide: All 3 Seasons

Star Trek: Picard season 3's cast includes several new characters and the return of some of the biggest names and iconic characters in Star Trek.

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Academy Award-nominated for his role in Mr. Saturday Night, David Paymer boasts an impressive, decades-long career as an actor and a director. Paymer's memorable films include City Slickers, Searching for Bobby Fischer, Get Shorty, The American President, and Ocean's Thirteen. On TV, Paymer appeared in The Good Wife, Perception, and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, among numerous other TV series. Paymer also directed episodes of Everwood, Brothers & Sisters, and Hart of Dixie.

What Happened To Dr. Moritz Benayoun & Why He Failed To Detect Picard's True Illness

Star Trek: Picard Season 3 Retconned Jean-Luc's Irumodic Syndrome

Dr. Moritz Benayoun didn't return after Star Trek: Picard season 1. The elderly physician was called upon by Admiral Picard to certify him for deep space travel after Starfleet Medical denied him. Picard leaned on his past friendship with Dr. Benayoun to grant him what he required. Ultimately, Jean-Luc traveled to outer space on his personal crusade anyway.

Picard died from his illness before being resurrected in a synthetic body at the end of Star Trek: Picard season 1.

Dr. Benayoun didn't detect in Picard's medical examination that Jean-Luc's terminal brain disease was not Irumodic Syndrome. Star Trek: Picard season 3 retconned Jean-Luc's illness to be organic Borg DNA left over from his assimilation into Locutus. Moritz, of course, couldn't have known this since the retcon happened two seasons after his lone appearance.

In Star Trek: Picard season 3, Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden) determines organic Borg implants, not Irumodic Syndome, caused Jean-Luc's death in Star Trek: Picard season 1.

Presumably, Dr. Moritz Benayoun continued practicing medicine on Earth. Perhaps Dr. Benayoun retired after his appearance in Star Trek: Picard season 1. As a character invented for Star Trek: Picard, Dr. Benayoun was a clever bridge to Jean-Luc Picard's pre-Star Trek: The Next Generation past as Captain of the USS Stargazer. Benayoun meant multiple generations of Picard's Starfleet career impacted him inStar Trek: Picard's 3 seasons.

David Paymer Set The Stage For More Surprising Star Trek Castings

Several Oscar-Caliber Actors Have Joined Star Trek

David Paymer, an Oscar-caliber actor, appearing in Star Trek helped spark the impressive roster of Academy Award-level talent cast in Star Trek on Paramount+. 3 years before Star Trek: Picard debuted in 2020, Star Trek: Discovery season 1's marquee names were Golden Globes-nominated Jason Isaacs and Michelle Yeoh, who won the Best Actress Oscar for Everything Everywhere All At Once. Paymer's unexpected Picard role was a further sign of things to come for Star Trek.

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Every Star Trek Actor Who Won An Oscar

Many award-winning actors have joined the Star Trek franchise, while others have used their Trek roles as a stepping stone to Oscar gold.

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Star Trek: Starfleet Academy now boasts Academy Award-winner Holly Hunter as its series lead, with Academy Award-nominee Paul Giamatti as season 1's recurring villain. Oscar winner Jamie Lee Curtis also made a surprise appearance in Star Trek: Section 31. The quality of actors Star Trek on Paramount+ now attracts grows ever more impressive. But it mustn't be forgotten that Academy Award-nominee David Paymer was one of the acclaimed thespians who paved the way as Dr. Moritz Benayoun in Star Trek: Picard season 1.

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