Star Trek: Deep Space Nine‘s Captain Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) receives his own holiday, named The Sisko Day, on May 22. This is all thanks to Cirroc Lofton and his Star Trek podcast, The 7th Rule. Lofton portrayed Captain Sisko’s son Jake in all 7 seasons of DS9, and in 2019, he founded The 7th Rule with Aron Eisenberg, who played Nog on DS9, producer Ryan T. Husk, and Malissa Longo.
Star Trek celebrates several themed holidays throughout the calendar year, including First Contact Day in April, Captain Picard Day in June, and Star Trek Day in September. With their Star Trek roots from DS9, Lofton and The 7th Rule believe that Captain Sisko deserves his own day of recognition, and they created The Sisko Day to celebrate Deep Space Nine‘s Captain and Avery Brooks, who made history as the first African-American to lead a Star Trek series.
Screen Rant had the absolute pleasure to chat with Cirroc Lofton about founding The Sisko Day, his real-life relationship with Avery Brooks, The 7th Rule podcast reviewing every episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: The Next Generation, and whether Lofton will reprise Jake Sisko in Star Trek on Paramount+.
Cirroc Lofton Talks The Sisko Day, DS9 & Star Trek
Screen Rant: We’re here to talk about a very special Star Trek occasion. The first-ever The Sisko Day. You and your podcast, The 7th Rule, declared May 22 The Sisko Day in honor of Captain Benjamin Sisko and Mr. Avery Brooks. How did The Sisko Day come about? What motivated you to create this holiday for Ben Sisko, and actually, for every Sisko?
Cirroc Lofton: Well, the origin of the idea comes from other days that are celebrated for the Captains. You have Captain Picard Day, which has been a huge success, I think that was introduced in 2007 or thereabouts. And it’s been going strong ever since. And Ryan and I, my podcast partner, felt like Sisko deserves his day as well. And the reason we chose May 22nd as The Sisko Day is because that’s the day that Commander Benjamin Sisko was declared to be the Emissary for the Bajoran people.
Our belief is that that is a significant landmark occasion for Starfleet, and for Sisko in general because we get to see somebody really transcend from being a Starfleet personnel, a Captain, to being a religious icon. A centerpiece in the Bajoran faith, and somebody who bridges the gap between their religious Prophets, their gods, and them. And so I think having somebody who was an Emissary, somebody who’s an icon, and having that person as a black man is actually an important monumental occasion that should be permanently celebrated.
What does The Sisko Day consist of, and how are we celebrating the special day?
Cirroc Lofton: The Sisko Day is going to consist of us first declaring that it is The Sisko Day, celebrating his milestones, and talking about what he means to all of us. Everybody’s going to have an opportunity to post their feelings for Sisko, about Sisko, on the website that we’re creating – TheSiskoDay.com – where people will be able to go and really share in the experience of Captain Sisko. There’ll be a wall there that will be available for everybody to read where all the messages of love and support, or maybe criticism, will be able to be viewed by people.
I and millions of other fans love Captain Sisko. He is my absolute favorite Star Trek Captain, and Deep Space Nine is my absolute favorite Star Trek show. We only saw him through our TV screens, but you were on set, you know the man, and you know the character. In your expert opinion, what sets Captain Sisko apart from all the other Star Trek Captains?
Cirroc Lofton: Oh, well, first of all, the fact that he’s a father, that’s going to be one of the main things that separate him. Just the fact that you’re a father means that you have a little bit more on the line than everybody else, you have a vulnerability, and the vulnerability is your child. And that’s something that you always have to make consideration for when you make decisions. As a parent myself, I know that, if I’m going to do anything, I have to consider how that’s going to affect my child. And that’s going to be one of the main separating factors between Sisko and the other Captains. That adds, also, an element of family to his dynamic that other Captains don’t share.
The other thing that separates him and sets him apart, like I was discussing, is the fact that he is this religious icon, and that responsibility wears heavy on him because he has so many people relying on him to be their guidance. That’s the second factor that separates him. The other characteristics that separate Sisko are the ones that we see on camera. His concern for his fellow crew. His fidelity to the job and responsibility as a Starfleet officer. He never strays from that dedication. And the toughness that he approaches the role with, I think separates, himself from everyone.
In my estimation, Sisko is the baddest, toughest Captain there is in the Starfleet personnel. So that’s how I see him. I see him as somebody who’s stern, strict, but yet considerate. And very methodical. Somebody who thinks critically, but also knows how to be playful, and have a smile on his face, and sometimes joke with people when he needed to. And he’s also direct. There’s no euphemism games with Sisko. He tells you straight how he feels and how it is going to be. So those are the things I love about him.
He’s also the only Captain who intimidated Worf.
Cirroc Lofton: (laughs) And that would be one of my favorite things when we rewatched the episodes, is just to see how he didn’t let Worf get away with anything, you know? And he would strike some fear into him. And of course, he started the series by really being a formidable adversary, let’s say, to Captain Picard in the pilot episode. We saw him stand up, strong and tall, really toe to toe and face to face with Picard, and speak his mind with great authority. So I think right off the bat, we saw that Sisko was somebody who was going to take the path of being true to himself and trying to stay on the course on the path of righteousness. I think those were the things that define who Sisko is.
In real life, Avery Brooks treated you like his son. What are some of your favorite memories of him?
Cirroc Lofton: I have too many favorite memories to count. I enjoy every time that we were together. Sometimes we would go out to get lunch together when we were filming. Sometimes we would just walk across the lot to the commissary together and eat. We would do a lot of extracurricular activities outside of the Paramount lot and go to basketball games together or vacation together.
There’s too many for me to even nail down one. Avery Brooks has been instrumental in my life growing up, as a role model, as a father figure. And leading by example. I’ve always seen him be a gentleman, be intelligent, articulate. Those are the things that really stay with me over time. The grace that he handles himself with and the way he speaks, it’s like music to my ears.
You’ve talked about all the amazing attributes Sisko has. His forthrightness, his directness, his compassion. But I think a lot of that also is due to Jake. Jake brought joy, and your performances never failed to bring a smile to his face. Jake was really what balanced out the pressures of Starfleet, the pressures of the Bajorans, the pressures of Kai Winn visiting, the Dominion showing up at his door, and Dukat. I want to give you your props for the important role you played in Deep Space Nine and that relationship.
Cirroc Lofton: Thank you, John. I love Avery. And that relationship comes out of love. As a parent myself, I have an 11-year-old daughter now. And when I look at her, I see myself as a kid. And I see that I had that same energy. And that’s what children are. They’re reflections of ourselves at a different time. So when he was looking at me, he was seeing a reflection of himself when he was young, and I was looking at him seeing a reflection of myself when I grow up. And those are the things, that’s what made it work so well, because of that mutual respect and mutual kind of admiration and seeing ourselves with each other. But yeah, I mean, it didn’t really take long for us to click. It started from the beginning. He embraced me like his son, I hugged him back like a dad, and then we just never stopped.
That’s beautiful. A bit of a hard-hitting question here. Do you think there’s a chance Avery will decide to return to Star Trek?
Cirroc Lofton: Do I think there’s a chance? Yeah, I think there’s a chance, I wouldn’t say there’s no chance. And I would also say that now being over 30 years removed from when we started the show, you start to look back at how the show impacts people today and our society and where it’s going today. And some of those storylines that we covered, and the subject matter that we covered, it’s becoming more relevant than it was when we did it. And for that reason, I think the odds increase on the possibility of people and the demand for wanting to see something like Deep Space Nine return. So yeah, I think there’s a chance. I won’t close the door on that.
The Sisko Day isn’t specific to Ben Sisko, as we discussed. You’re also a Sisko. So is Kasidy Yates, Grandpa Joe Sisko, even Jake’s half-brother, we don’t even know his name. The Sisko Day celebrates the whole family, including the Prophets. Some of the Prophets are family. What’s the best present to get a Sisko?
Cirroc Lofton: Ah, the best present to get a Sisko. I think the best thing you can do for Sisko is to do something nice for somebody that you love. If you can spread that kind of joy within your own immediate circle, from your family or your friends, that love will spread and be contagious. So it’s not about the Siskos, it’s about what they represent. And that is family and what we all represent to each other, this family of humanity that we all share. So if you want to do something good or do something Sisko-like, do something good for your fellow friends and family, and then share that kind of love amongst each other. That’s all you can do. That’s the best.
You haven’t played Jake Sisko in Star Trek canon since DS9 went off the air, but every time there’s a new show – Lower Decks crossover, Prodigy, Picard season 3 – we hope to see Jake. So I’ll put you on the spot a little bit: Is it going to happen?
Cirroc Lofton: You know, those things are outside of my control. The Star Trek powers that be make all of those decisions. I can say that thanks to Aron Eisenberg, my original 7th Rule compadre, I have come out of the shadows of obscurity and made myself more present in the Star Trek world and kept myself more, I guess, abreast with what’s happening in the Star Trek universe. So I’m grateful for this opportunity, for what The 7th Rule has provided for me. And yeah, anything is possible.
Star Trek has new people at the controls, at the helm. And so, it is possible. I’m not closing the door on the realm of possibility because I think that’s one of the things that Deep Space Nine talks about, they talk about the dreamer and the dream. And if you close yourself to possibilities then you close yourself to those dreams. Sure, it would be a dream of mine to reprise the role of Jake Sisko and do it again. So I will never close the door on those dreams.
In your mind, what has Jake been up to for the last 25 years? You must have thought about it.
Cirroc Lofton: Yeah, I have thought about it. And because there’s no real closure to how Sisko leaves from Jake’s life, I would imagine that Jake would be seeking that kind of closure and be trying to communicate with his father in some way or another. If that meant, you know, studying the Bajoran faith, if that meant trying to have an experience with the orbs and seeking those orbs to find contact The Sisko, I think he would do something to that effect. The other thing I contemplate is that he might be in one of those Bajoran solar sail ships that he took a trip with his dad in, and maybe take a solo trip trying to find himself and reflect on the memories that he had with his dad. So I think those are the kinds of things Jake could be doing.
You saw the DS9 documentary, What We Left Behind. I think you were in it. What did you think of the DS9 season 8 story that Ira Steven Behr and the writers came up with? That was a cool potential for a rebirth of Deep Space Nine.
Cirroc Lofton: I’m all for the rebirth of DS9. I loved how the writers showed us a glimpse inside the writers’ room in that documentary of something that I think I would have liked to see as long as Star Trek has ever been around. You could have showed me the writers’ room on The Next Generation, I would have eaten it up. I would have eaten up the writers’ room in The Original Series. I mean, watching how they come up with these episodes is something that I think is interesting for anybody.
But having said that, I wasn’t a big fan of them killing Nog as you would know, because that’s my best friend and I would have loved to see him become a captain in his own right. So I have some hesitation about that. But I do like the idea that they were piquing our interest and trying to see what could possibly happen in season 8. I’d have to share some Sisko spotlight with my imaginary brother at this point (laughs), but I definitely thought that the writers and Ira did a fantastic job on that documentary. It’s one of the most entertaining documentaries that you can find out there.
You mentioned the writers’ room. A few days ago, you hung out with a new Star Trek writer who’s also a fellow cast member for one of the other shows: Tawny Newsome. A little DS9 / Lower Decks crossover. She is cool as hell. Maybe she’ll let you in the [Starfleet Academy] writers’ room.
Cirroc Lofton: (laughs) Maybe. Maybe she’ll let me in the writers’ room. I’m definitely supporting all of the new people in Star Trek, and Tawny is one of the top of that list because I love the work that she’s doing on her show. I love the way she carries herself and represents for the franchise. I love Sonequa [Martin-Green] and what Sonequa does and how she handles herself. So all of the new people that are on board with these new series I’m big fans of. I love Doug Jones, Todd Stashwick, I mean, these guys are pretty phenomenal people. Michelle Hurd, I mean, the list goes on.
But I had an opportunity to support the writers [and] meet with some of the Discovery writers. One whose actual last name is Cisco. And I ended up with the writers and joined them in support of their strike of the network, some studios, and it was an awesome time. I think Tawny is a great person. And I think that show’s going to last a very, very long time.
Let’s talk about your hit podcast, The 7th Rule. It started with you and the late, great Aron Eisenberg, who played Nog on DS9. You guys started this podcast reviewing every episode of Deep Space Nine. Now you and your co-host, Ryan T. Husk, are reviewing every episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation with Denise Crosby. How are you finding seeing these early TNGs compared to DS9′s first year?
Cirroc Lofton: Yeah, it’s been a little rocky. It’s not that easy. The first season of The Next Generation has been difficult, a little bit. It takes a while to get its legs under it. But you know, they were trying to do something that hadn’t been done in decades at that point. Reviving the series and the franchise, and trying to find a formula that works for them. Some of the episodes are hard. I think it was “Code of Honor.” It was really difficult, especially. It didn’t age well. It seems like it’s racist or stereotypical in some very poor fashion.
But I’m grateful for The Next Generation cast, for the foundation work that they laid for Deep Space Nine. I mean, we wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t for them doing a great job and having a successful Star Trek franchise, you know, building up on that. So I’m swallowing the difficult parts of watching this first season, and I’m going to just block the things out that other people block out and move on to the next good stuff.
But I’m starting to really love the characters. I think Brent Spiner’s awesome as Data early on in the seasons. I’m really liking Dr. Crusher’s performances, I think she’s a really great actress. And there are elements of what Picard does that I think become characteristic of who he is as a captain that I can see elements of now at the beginning of this first season. Particularly, the Shakespearean way in which he delivers his performances and some of the notes that he hits as the captain.
So, it’s not the best start, but I’m looking forward to it getting better, which everyone says it will. And having Denise Crosby there to help just explain things for us and give us a real insight about what she was feeling and what the mood was. It really helps digest some of the things that I’m watching because I understand that this process in that time period was difficult because they were figuring a lot of things out and trying to find that formula. So having Denise has been a real godsend. She is amazing as a human being, and her perspective just helped make the show even that much more special.
The 7th Rule has been my introduction into Star Trek, really, I know I was on it, but I haven’t really started to learn it from the other side and actually learn what the storylines were about and how the characters interacted. And I’m starting to become a Star Trek nerd. So beware! Get ready. I’m coming, guys! I’m coming into the club.
Last question: Alex Kurtzman, if he calls you right now and says, “Cirroc, it’s time you came back. We want Jake. Name any project, any show you want.” What would it be? What’s your dream comeback scenario?
Cirroc Lofton: I’m gonna tell you, when you are in the trenches with people, you’ll always have a special bond with them. And my guys are the Deep Space Nine cast. From Avery Brooks to Armin Shimerman to Nana [Visitor] to Terry Farrell. [Alexander] Siddig, Michael Dorn… that’s who I want on my cast. So if I had an option, it would be to bring the Deep Space Nine crew back.
If we’re just going to write a blank check here, I’d want to work with my DS9 guys. And that also includes some of the people that are on the other side of the camera. The writers, the DPs, everybody. So if I could have it my way, that would be how I would like it to be. Bring as many people back from Deep Space Nine as possible.
I would love nothing more. They’re making Star Trek movies now for Paramount+. Why can’t there be a DS9 movie? That’s what I think.
Cirroc Lofton: Yeah, we’ll keep our fingers crossed. You know, we’ve been waiting now for a while. We thought we were going to do movies right after we were done, and we’re still waiting for that, so. Thank God for the fans. Star Trek is all about the fans. It’s all about the fans, and it’s all about the fans. And without them, we don’t exist. And I’m grateful for them. I’m in this ride alongside with them. And it’s all about what they want. And I don’t want to insert myself over that.
I think the primary function is to keep the fans entertained, keep the storylines interesting, keep the wheels turning in our heads about how we can move towards a society in which we alleviate a lot of the problems that we’re dealing with today. And I think that’s one of the great hopes in Star Trek. It’s this better, brighter future. It’s the optimism. It’s the glass-half-full approach of life. And I think that’s one of the great legacies that Star Trek will leave behind. And I’m glad to have contributed a small part to that legacy.
About The 7th Rule & The Sisko Day
The 7th Rule is a Star Trek podcast founded by Deep Space Nine’s Cirroc Lofton and Aron Eisenberg, and producer Ryan T. Husk with Malissa Longo. After reviewing every episode of DS9, The 7th Rule now reviews every episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation with Denise Crosby. The 7th Rule established May 22nd as The Sisko Day to honor Captain Benjamin Sisko and Avery Brooks’ indelible legacy in Star Trek.
