Walter Marvin Koenig (born September 14, 1936 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American actor of Russian-Jewish descent who originated the roles of Pavel Chekov on Star Trek and Alfred Bester on Babylon 5.
He's also done some screenwriting, including one episode each of Star Trek: The Animated Series and Land of the Lost (1974).
His late wife Judy Levitt and their late son Andrew were actors in her own right, as is their daughter Danielle.
TV Tropes filmography:
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Film roles
- Star Trek
- Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) as Lt. Pavel Chekov
- Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982) as Cmdr. Pavel Chekov
- Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984) as Cmdr. Pavel Chekov
- Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986) as Cmdr. Pavel Chekov
- Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989) as Cmdr. Pavel Chekov
- Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991) as Cmdr. Pavel Chekov
- Star Trek: Generations (1994) as Cmdr. Pavel Chekov
- Moontrap (1988) as Col. Jason Grant
Television roles
- Combat! (1 episode, 1962) as Sentry (uncredited)
- The Untouchables (1 episode, 1963) as Student (uncredited)
- General Hospital (2 episodes, 1963) as Charlie Turner
- The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (1 episode, 1964) as Tiger
- I Spy (1 episode, 1966) as Bobby Seville
- Jericho (1 episode, 1966) as Paul
- Star Trek
- Star Trek: The Original Series (36 episodes, 1967–69) as Ens. Pavel Chekov
- Star Trek: New Voyages (1 episode, 2006) as Lt. Pavel Chekov
- Star Trek: Renegades (pilot, 2015) as Adm. Pavel Chekov
- Star Trek: Picard (1 episode, 2023) as President Anton Chekov (voice)
- Mannix (1 episode, 1968) as Harry
- The Virginian (1 episode, 1970) as Paul Erlich
- Ironside (1 episode, 1971) as Leo
- The Starlost (2 episodes, 1973) as Oro
- Columbo (1 episode, 1976) as Sgt. Johnson
- Bring 'Em Back Alive (1 episode, 1982) as Toder
- Antony and Cleopatra (TV movie, 1984) as Pompey
- The Real Ghostbusters (1 episode, 1990) as Vladimir Maximov (voice)
- Babylon 5 (12 episodes, 1994–98) as Alfred Bester
- Diagnosis: Murder (1 episode, 1998) as Quinn Trask
- Son of the Beach (1 episode, 2001) as Gen. Dimitri Sukitov
- Futurama (1 episode, 2002) as Himself (voice)
- Bone Eater (TV movie, 2008) as Coogan
- Stretch Armstrong and the Flex Fighters (11 episodes, 2017–18) as Mr. Savic/Old Man/Biomass (voice)
Audio play roles
- Star Trek: Excelsior (1 episode, 2016) as Capt. Pavel Chekhov
Video game roles
- Star Trek
- Star Trek: 25th Anniversary (1992) as Ens. Pavel Chekov (voice)
- Star Trek Judgment Rites (1993) as Ens. Pavel Chekov (voice)
- Star Trek: Generations (1997) as Cmdr. Pavel Chekov (voice)
- Star Trek: Starfleet Academy (1997) as Cmdr. Pavel Chekov (voice)
- Star Trek Online (2010) as Capt. Pavel Chekov (voice)
Writer
- Star Trek: The Animated Series (1 episode, 1973)
- Land of the Lost (1 episode, 1974)
- Family (1 episode, 1978)
- The Powers of Matthew Star (1 episode, 1982)
This actor's roles provide examples of:
- Deadpan Snarker: This was put to maximum effect on Futurama and Babylon Five.
- Older Than He Looks: He was 30 when he joined the cast of Star Trek, playing 22 year old Chekov. Throughout the movies he still maintained much of his youthful looks, even as Chekov himself approached middle age.
- Playing Against Type: One will frequently need to remind himself that this is the same actor who played Chekov when watching him as Bester. Koenig eventually invoked this and stated that, partly for this reason, Bester is the role that he's most fond of.
