Though her time on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine only lasted one season, Nicole de Boer’s performance was enough to solidify herself in the fandom.
Playing a character that replaced one that’s been adored for seasons on a show like Star Trek isn’t an easy task, but de Boer rose to the occasion playing Ezri Dax.
But what has Nicole been up to since she last played one of the Trill? Let’s see what other corners of space de Boer has been getting into.
Nicole de Boer was born on December 20th, 1970, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Nicole found her love of the stage after grabbing the lead in her school’s production of The Wizard of Oz.
This shocked her family a bit, as she was a shy child up until that point. But Nicole loved it, and her family helped to find an agent so she could get her career started.
Acting Career
Nicole technically made her screen debut in 1981, though she went uncredited for her role in a Christmas special.
Her first time as a credited character was as Erin Jones for five episodes on the Canadian drama series 9B in 1988.
She followed that up with a short run on the comedy sketch show The Kids in the Hall, where de Boer played Laura for three episodes.
In the early 1990s, she also made film appearances, such as the TV movie The Kissing Place in 1990 and Prom Night IV: Deliver Us from Evil in 1992.\
The fourth entry in the Prom Night series was part of a larger Canadian horror franchise that featured many young Canadian actors’ earliest appearances.
Various TV show appearances led to de Boer finding a home for 13 episodes on the sci-fi series Beyond Reality from 1991 until 1993.
Another dozen appearances on various other shows landed Nicole on the series Deepwater Black, a sci-fi show based on the 1992 novel.
On the movie side of things, Nicole appeared in films like National Lampoon’s Senior Trip alongside a debuting Jeremy Renner in 1995, and she returned for Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy in 1996.
Cube
It was her role in the 1997 sci-fi horror flick Cube where Nicole played Joan Leaven that brought her recognition.
Cube was directed and co-written by an early in his career Vincenzo Natali. The film follows several individuals trapped in a deadly labyrinth of automated cubes with traps.
Nicole de Boer was the top-billed performer in the movie. The film was a commercial failure in Canada but has gone on to become a cult favorite, that constantly gains de Boer an ever-evolving fanbase.
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
As every sci-fi-loving actor hopes to be, Nicole was beamed to the gig of a lifetime when she joined the cast of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine from 1998 until the end in 1999 as Lieutenant Ezri Tigan Dax.
The death of character Jadzia Dax, played by actress Terry Farrell, during the season six finale left room for Nicole to step in to be the new Trill symbiont host.
For the final seventh season, for 23 out of the 25 episodes, Nicole’s Ezri became the new Dax on board the ship.
Normally fans don’t like when a fandom kills off a beloved character, or when it then also tries to replace them.
But de Boer did such a great job as this new, confused, almost bumbling version of the Dax that fans were quick to take the character in with open arms.
Not only did Nicole make it hard for fans to pick their favorite Dax, but the LGBTQ+ community responded deeply to certain aspects of de Boer’s version.
And not only did her Ezri not know what gendered pronouns to use and struggled with their identity, but the whole transition from one Dax to the other was something the community could resonate with.
And how do the women who played the two Daxes feel about each other?
A meeting at a comic con brought the two together as friends. Like the fans, de Boer thought Farrell had just left the show for greener pastures.
After bonding across multiple appearances at conventions, de Boer learned how Farrell was forced off the show by one of the producers.
But there’s no bad blood between the Daxes, and they love doing the conventions together to give fans both versions so they don’t have to choose between them.
What did she do after Star Trek?
Nicole’s next big role came on the TV series The Dead Zone from 2002 until 2007.
For 72 episodes she portrayed Sarah Bracknell Bannerman on the Stephen King-based sci-fi drama alongside Anthony Michael Hall.
As far as feature films went after her Star Trek days, Nicole mostly starred in Canadian TV movies that were a bit more low-budget.
But someone has to star in those, and someone has to get paid for those, and Nicole wanted both.
She appeared in the Emilio Estevez and Charlie Sheen movie Rated X as Karen Mitchell in 2000 and as Madame Madame in the 2004 comedy Phil the Alien.
In 2011 she popped up in sci-fi movies Iron Invader and Metal Tornado.
What is Nicole de Boer doing now?
Nicole de Boer is still acting, recently wrapping multiple appearances on the series Private Eyes, which ran from 2016 to 2021.
She played Suzanne in the 2021 film Range Roads which won a Rosie Award for Best Director and Best Feature.
Nicole has one project in the works, a series titled First Resort, which will also star Tre Smith and Hadley Kay.
When you make it into a fandom, part of the job includes convention appearances. Thankfully for fans, it’s a part of life that Nicole embraces and really loves.
She thinks the fans are adorable and truly appreciates every convention she gets to do. She thinks of them as a gift and loves to be able to hang out with her co-stars and fans in that way.
If you want to catch this Dax at a convention near you, she has two appearances scheduled so far for 2023.
She’s doing Star Trek: The Cruise along with Terry Farrell, Doug Jones, and Michelle Hurd, and she’ll be at the 57-Year Mission in Las Vegas with greats Brent Spiner, George Takei, Levar Burton, Jonathan Frakes, and Mr. William Shatner himself.
Other ventures
If you are looking to buy or sell a home, Nicole can help you with that as well. She’s listed as a certified realtor with Sotheby’s in Sherman Oaks, California. She probably knows where all the best places are.
But if it’s a personalized message you’d like, then find de Boer on Cameo. You can get anything from a text message to a live video call from the Star Trek star.
Personal life
Nicole gave love a try in 1999 when she married Jean-Guy “John” Kastner. He’s a Canadian musician for punk and alternative bands like Asexuals, Doughboys, All Systems Go!, and Men Without Hats.
The pair share a daughter, Summer Lee Kastner, who was born in January of 2007. The couple later separated and then divorced in 2012.
It seems Nicole’s career is getting a much-deserved upswing, and we are ready to see what projects she takes on next.
In the meantime, we are going to look into that Star Trek convention in Las Vegas because that line up is amazing.
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