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David Warner passed away on July 24th, 2022 after losing his fight with cancer. A prolific actor, Warner had many memorable roles both in and out of the sci-fi genres.

Trek fans will know Warner from roles such as Chancellor Gorkon in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country and the sadistic Cardassian interrogator Gul Madred in the two-part TNG episode “Chain of Command.” Warner also had classic performances as the villainous Sark/Master Control Program/Ed Dillinger in Tron, Jack the Ripper in the 1979 sci-fi film Time after Time, “Evil” in Time Bandits, and as Lord Downey in the 2007 adaptation of Terry Pratchett’s Hogfather.

Warner’s work outside of the genre was no less memorable. Perhaps best known to American audiences as Spicer Lovejoy in Titanic, Warner appeared in a wide range of films and television shows. These ranged from light-hearted fare such as the 1983 Steve Martin comedy The Man with Two Brains to dark, edgy material such as The Omen and an uncredited (but sublime) appearance as the emotionally challenged Henry Niles in the Sam Peckinpah's harrowing film Straw Dogs.

Along with his on-screen work, Warner had a long career as a voice actor work. Notable roles were as the Batman villain Ra’s al-Ghul and the maddened wizard Irenicus in the popular video game Baldur’s Gate 2.

CNET Obituary

Warner

Warner as Gul Madred from ST:TNG

Warner as Jack the Ripper in Time after Time

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    My first memory of him is in TMNT II: Secret of the Ooze.
    – Matt
    Commented Jul 26, 2022 at 17:48
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    He played St. John Talbot in Star Trek 5: The Final Frontier
    – SpacePhoenix
    Commented Jul 26, 2022 at 18:28
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    They're going to illuminate his gravestone with four lights. Or five, depending on whom you ask. (One of the best TNG episodes, if you didn't catch the reference)
    – Machavity
    Commented Jul 27, 2022 at 13:33
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    His iconic voice performance as Irenicus is one of my favorite video game memories.
    – A_S00
    Commented Jul 27, 2022 at 18:02
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    @A_S00 "I cannot be caged. I cannot be controlled. Understand this as you die, ever pathetic, ever fools!" One of the best RPG villains of all time. Warner was perfect for the role!
    – Helbent IV
    Commented Jul 28, 2022 at 5:55
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    "End of line" - spoken with a quiet menace that really got to me as a young teen watching Tron for the first time. Awesome actor!
    – user90961
    Commented Aug 5, 2022 at 15:56

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To my mind, David Warner's voice was the most memorable aspect of his acting. He could always come across as believable, calm and serious; that's what made him so good in Star Trek VI, playing Gorkon, a Klingon who wasn't a violent psychopath. I saw his obituary in the Guardian yesterday and felt certain I'd seen him in Babylon 5, but with only a picture to go by I had to consult wikipedia. With the voice it's a bit more obvious: Aldus Gajic, a man looking for the Holy Grail in space who is not a raving lunatic. Very few actors could have pulled this off.

Aldus Gajic

Of course, in universe, it's quite possible that Gajic was right. Given what we later discovered about the Vorlons, it's conceivable that they may have removed an item from Earth in the Middle Ages; maybe they put it there in the first place.

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