John Colicos had a face that seemed carved from granite and a voice that could make the phone book sound like a Shakespearean tragedy. He didn’t just play villains. He embodied them. If you grew up watching television in the '60s, '70s, or '80s, you probably saw him lurking in the shadows of a dozen different sets.
He was the guy who betrayed humanity to the Cylons. He was the first person to ever put a face—and a ridge-less forehead—to the Klingon Empire. Honestly, the man was a force of nature.
While many actors of his era were content to play "angry guy #3," Colicos brought a classical, almost operatic weight to his roles. He was a Shakespearian at heart. He once famously said that villains have more fun, and looking at the sheer variety of tv shows with john colicos, it’s clear he was having the time of his life.
The Man Who Defined the Klingons
In 1967, Star Trek was still finding its footing. The show needed a recurring antagonist that felt like a genuine threat to Captain Kirk. Enter John Colicos as Commander Kor in the episode "Errand of Mercy."
Before this, the Klingons were just a name. Colicos gave them a soul—a cruel, disciplined, and strangely honorable one. He actually helped design the look of the character, suggesting the bronze skin and the thin, Fu Manchu-style mustache. He didn't have the bumpy forehead we see in later iterations; that didn't come until the movies. But he had the attitude.
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Kor wasn't just a monster. He was a professional. He respected Kirk. That nuance made him terrifying.
Decades later, he did something almost unheard of in Hollywood. He returned to the role. In the 1990s, a much older Colicos appeared on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Seeing him reprise Kor—now a "Dahar Master" struggling with his own fading glory—was a masterclass in aging a character. He appeared in three episodes: "Blood Oath," "The Sword of Kahless," and "Once More Unto the Breach." That final episode is widely considered one of the best in the entire franchise. It gave Kor a hero's death that felt earned.
Count Baltar and the Destruction of the Colonies
If Kor made him a legend, Count Baltar made him a household name. In the original 1978 Battlestar Galactica, Colicos played the ultimate traitor.
Most people remember the "By your command" robots, but it was Baltar who provided the human face of evil. He was the one who lured the Twelve Colonies into a peace treaty that was actually a death trap.
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Colicos played Baltar with a delicious, sneering arrogance. He spent most of his time sitting in a high-backed chair on a 30-foot pedestal, shouting orders at Cylons. He later joked that he thought he’d go crazy if he had to talk to "bloody robots" for one more day.
What’s interesting about his version of Baltar compared to the 2004 reboot is the lack of hesitation. Modern Baltar is a man of guilt and confusion. Colicos’ Baltar was a man of ambition. He wanted to rule the universe, and if that meant selling out his own species, so be it.
The King of the Guest Appearance
Beyond the big sci-fi hits, Colicos was the ultimate "villain of the week." You can find his name in the credits of almost every major procedural of the era.
- Mannix: He appeared in five different episodes, usually playing a different character each time. He was a favorite of the producers because he could handle the physical demands of an action show while delivering dialogue with gravitas.
- Mission: Impossible: He played high-ranking security chiefs or Eastern Bloc antagonists three times.
- Hawaii Five-O: He brought a certain "international man of mystery" vibe to the islands, appearing as two different characters across the show's run.
- The Six Million Dollar Man: He played General Norbukov, proving he could go toe-to-toe with Lee Majors.
He even conquered the world of daytime soaps. In 1981, he joined General Hospital as Mikkos Cassadine. This was during the peak of the "Luke and Laura" era. Mikkos was a mad scientist who tried to freeze the entire world using a weather machine. It was campy, sure, but Colicos played it with such terrifying conviction that it remains one of the most iconic storylines in soap history.
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The Voice of Apocalypse
In the 1990s, a whole new generation discovered Colicos without even knowing what he looked like. He provided the voice for Apocalypse in X-Men: The Animated Series.
If you re-watch those episodes today, the voice is unmistakable. It’s deep, resonant, and sounds like it’s echoing from the bottom of an ancient tomb. He brought a sense of "cosmic dread" to a Saturday morning cartoon. It wasn't just a paycheck for him; he treated the dialogue like it was Macbeth.
Why We Still Watch Him
John Colicos died in 2000, but his work doesn't feel dated. Part of that is because he leaned into the "hammy" nature of his roles. He wasn't trying to be a "kitchen sink" realist actor. He wanted to be big. He wanted to be memorable.
He owned a theatrical research library with over 4,000 volumes. He was a student of the craft. When you watch tv shows with john colicos, you’re watching someone who understood that television is a visual medium. He knew how to use his eyes, his posture, and the cadence of his voice to dominate a scene.
Even when the scripts were thin—and let’s be honest, 1970s sci-fi scripts could be very thin—he elevated the material. He made you believe that a man in a green velvet jumpsuit could actually be the lord of the universe.
How to dive deeper into his filmography:
- Watch "Once More Unto the Breach" (DS9): Even if you aren't a Trek fan, this is a beautiful look at a legendary actor's final bow with his most famous character.
- Find the "Ice Planet Zero" episodes of Battlestar Galactica: This is peak Baltar. He’s at his most manipulative and dangerous here.
- Check out "Anne of the Thousand Days": Though it's a film and not a TV show, his performance as Thomas Cromwell shows his range outside of science fiction.
- Listen for him in X-Men: Specifically the "Beyond Good and Evil" arc. The voice work is incredible.
Colicos was the bridge between the classical stage and the modern blockbuster. He proved that you could be "big" on a small screen and still be taken seriously. He was the villain we loved to hate, and television hasn't quite been the same since he left the pedestal.