https://archive.org/details/CharacterInsightEp187
Madred is a Cardassian officer who interrogates Captain Picard in the episode Chain of Command, Part II, which Mike and Darrell just finished reviewing. The intricate dialogue between Madred and Picard during the interrogation and torture that span this entire episode reveals a lot about Cardassian history and values, but even more so as a character piece on Picard. Aside from the great acting performances in this episode, we have Madred to thank for some of the most important character development provided to Captain Picard in the TNG series.
However, Madred himself is revealed to be a delightfully deep and flawed character. He backs the brutal Cardassian military establishment because he believes it has the power to eradicate poverty and violence he experienced as a homeless child growing up. After suffering through great stress and turmoil as a child, he sees nothing wrong with having his own young daughter present during part of Picard's torture. That's an interesting bring your daughter to work day, indeed.
Jil Orra - "Do Humans have mothers and fathers?"
Madred - "Yes... but Human mothers and fathers don't love their children as we do. They're not the same as we are."
Despite his best and brutal efforts of physical pain and humiliation, Madred cannot force Picard to submit to his will by falsely admitting there are five lights instead of the four he shines on Picard frequently. Of course, the epilogue of the episode reveals that Picard had just about been broken by Madred's techniques, even though Madred never gets to see this first hand.
Madred - "How many lights do you see there?"
Picard - "I see four lights."
Madred - "No. There are five."
Even though Madred was a one-off character written to advance Picard's character and story, the complexity of his background and interplay with the Captain has made him a popular side figure in many Star Trek novels, comics, and video games. For example, Madred and Picard meet again in the novel Ship of the Line, where Picard reveals that efforts to recapture Federation prisoners were aided by Madred's daughter, who was sickened by what she saw during Picard's torture. These are the types of somewhat obvious but neat twists that get worked into the expanded universe of Star Trek fiction when a great character is right there for the taking by authors.
David Warner played Madred, and he also appeared in two TOS movies. In The Final Frontier, he plays ambassador Talbot, while in The Undiscovered Country, he plays Klingon Chancellor Gorkon. He accepted the role of Madred on three days' notice, and as a result, came into filming needing to read his lines off cue cards and not knowing anything about Cardassians. That makes his performance even more impressive in this episode.
Warner continues acting even at the ripe old age of 75, and some of his other biggest films include the original Tron and Titanic. He's also well-known for voice acting work, including various villain roles such as Ra'a al Ghul on Batman: The Animated Series.
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