# Ricardo Montalban miscast in ST2:TWOK **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies, star-trek-paramount\ **Created:** [August 19, 2024, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ricardo-montalban-miscast-in-st2-twok/1005911 "2024-08-19T18:40:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2024, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ricardo-montalban-miscast-in-st2-twok/1005911/1 "2024-08-19T18:40:01Z")
I remember reading a review of _Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan_, where the critic said that Ricardo Montalban had been miscast in the movie. Apparently the critic had never seen _Space Seed_. My Google Fu is not mighty today. Can anyone find that review? ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2024, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ricardo-montalban-miscast-in-st2-twok/1005911/2 "2024-08-19T18:43:52Z")
Did he say why he thought Montalban was “miscast”? Because he was the world’s only Sikh who spoke with a Mexican accent? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2024, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ricardo-montalban-miscast-in-st2-twok/1005911/3 "2024-08-19T18:44:51Z")
I don’t remember his reason(s). But it was hilarious how clueless he was, given the original actor in the TV series. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2024, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ricardo-montalban-miscast-in-st2-twok/1005911/4 "2024-08-19T18:45:47Z")
Yeah, obviously not a Trekkie. ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2024, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ricardo-montalban-miscast-in-st2-twok/1005911/5 "2024-08-19T18:52:15Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Did he say why he thought Montalban was “miscast”? Because he was the world’s only Sikh who spoke with a Mexican accent? My first reaction to the thread title was, “Seriously? Somebody said that? Montalban was perfect in that role.” But then this comment made me laugh and realize I had never thought of it that way. The _Space Seed_ Trek episode was made at a time when white actors were routinely playing Native Americans in movies and TV. I suppose I felt Montalban’s performance was compelling enough that I never thought carefully that the character was meant to be Asian. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2024, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ricardo-montalban-miscast-in-st2-twok/1005911/6 "2024-08-19T18:57:24Z")
Montalbahn as Khan being Asian was never in my mind either. I read several reviews that are easily found. There were nit picky bad points they brought up but mostly the film was nicely reviewed and so much better than the first Star Trek movie. Hey, one guy says Montalbahns pecks were real. I had always thought it fake. I couldn’t find any saying he was mis-cast as Khan. I’ll keep looking… ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2024, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ricardo-montalban-miscast-in-st2-twok/1005911/7 "2024-08-19T19:00:35Z")
Maybe Khan Noonien Singh’s grandfather was of Asian descent, but he grew up in Mexico. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2024, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ricardo-montalban-miscast-in-st2-twok/1005911/8 "2024-08-19T19:01:55Z")
Honestly, Mike Ansara could have filled the role just as well. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2024, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ricardo-montalban-miscast-in-st2-twok/1005911/9 "2024-08-19T19:04:29Z")
Didn’t he also play a Klingon in the TV shows? ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2024, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ricardo-montalban-miscast-in-st2-twok/1005911/10 "2024-08-19T19:04:55Z")
I’ve always liked “Space Seed” and Montalban’s portrayal of Khan. When I first saw the episode at the age of 14, I didn’t recognize his accent, and I probably wouldn’t have cared if I did. Now that I’m older and wiser I can help but notice it. It doesn’t change my feelings toward either the TV episode or the movie, though. Khan is one of the best villains ever to appear on _ **Star Trek** _. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2024, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ricardo-montalban-miscast-in-st2-twok/1005911/11 "2024-08-19T19:07:25Z")
Yes, he was Kang in “Day of the Dove.” His wife Mara was played by Susan Howard of _ **Dallas** _ fame. In real life, he was married to Barbara “I Dream of Jeannie” Eden. He played a Jinn in several episodes of her series too. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2024, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ricardo-montalban-miscast-in-st2-twok/1005911/12 "2024-08-19T19:08:03Z")
I agree. The best villain ever. That wasn’t a Klingon. I love the movie because it leads to the Search for Spock. My all time favorite Trek movie. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2024, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ricardo-montalban-miscast-in-st2-twok/1005911/13 "2024-08-19T19:08:50Z")
I knew you’d have that info. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2024, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ricardo-montalban-miscast-in-st2-twok/1005911/14 "2024-08-19T19:08:55Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > Didn’t he also play a Klingon in the TV shows? He did (in Day of the Dove, about the entity that feeds off conflict - presaging Reddit), heavily made up. It wouldn’t have been the only time journeyman actors returned for multiple roles. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2024, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ricardo-montalban-miscast-in-st2-twok/1005911/15 "2024-08-19T19:18:25Z")
> [@Llama\_Llogophile](#): > > The _Space Seed_ Trek episode was made at a time when white actors were routinely playing Native Americans in movies and TV. Speaking of Michael Ansara… > [https://youtu.be/exrgYe98Kmg](https://youtu.be/exrgYe98Kmg) ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2024, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ricardo-montalban-miscast-in-st2-twok/1005911/16 "2024-08-19T19:31:46Z")
Looking at imdb, and guessing on some of his roles, I think Michael Ansara has played every ethnicity except his own (Syrian) - various Mexican and Hispanic, Native American, Egyptian, Sikh, Chinese, Babylonian, Hawaiian, Samoan, Albanian, Italian, generic Arabian, plus generic Caucasian. And, of course, Klingon (boney and non-boney)… And as for the casting of Montalban, "All Sikhs are Sings, but not all Sings are played by turban wearing Sikhs.” ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2024, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ricardo-montalban-miscast-in-st2-twok/1005911/17 "2024-08-19T19:40:54Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Did he say why he thought Montalban was “miscast”? Because he was the world’s only Sikh who spoke with a Mexican accent? Not true: > **[Babaji Singh](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babaji_Singh)** > > Babaji Singh Khalsa (Punjabi: ਬਾਬਾਜੀ ਸਿੰਘ ਖਾਲਸਾ) (August 15, 1947 – November 19, 2006) was a Mexican Sikh who is credited for translating Guru Granth Sahib, the holy text of the Sikhs into Spanish. > > He was born in Mexico City; raised in a Catholic family, he finished his studies in a Jesuit University in Mexico, Universidad Iberoamericana. After finishing college, he left for Alaska and then United States of America. Soon, after converting to Sikhism, he returned to Mexico City, Mexico and be... Stranger ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2024, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ricardo-montalban-miscast-in-st2-twok/1005911/18 "2024-08-19T19:59:31Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > Didn’t he also play a Klingon in the TV shows? Michael Ansara was TV’s “go-to exotic”, the thing that Yul Brynner was for the movies. He was of Syrian ancestry, but first came to prominence playing Cochise, an American Indian, on the TV show _Broken Arrow_. he played Arabic characters in movies in the 1940s and 1950s, then an Apache in _Only the Valiant_. He contin ued playing Indians and Middle eastern types for years (including The Mummy in _abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy_). He moved on to Hispanic roles, then to aliens/SF roles in _Star Trek_ and _The Outer Limits_ (He was Qarlo Clobregny in “Soldier”), _Lost in Space_, _The Time Tunnel_, and a jinn in _I Dream of Jeannie_. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2024, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ricardo-montalban-miscast-in-st2-twok/1005911/19 "2024-08-19T20:01:07Z")
This is all very fascinating, but did he speak with a Mexican accent? 🤨 ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2024, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ricardo-montalban-miscast-in-st2-twok/1005911/20 "2024-08-19T20:06:51Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > his is all very fascinating, but did he speak with a Mexican accent? And how did he lose out on the part to Montalban? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ricardo-montalban-miscast-in-st2-twok/1005911.md?page=2)