Discovery Cast At PaleyFest
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PaleyFest took place this weekend and The Hollywood Reporter was there to document what the Star Trek: Discovery actors had to say about being on the show.
Sonequa Martin-Green was asked “what it meant to lead a Star Trek franchise.”
“It lives in the unspeakable,” she said. “Being a black woman in the midst of all this other diversity we’re championing; I can’t really describe it. The gratitude and honor I feel to be so highly favored among these people.”
Overcome with emotion, she motioned to her fellow actors and Mary Chieffo spoke up, saying how Martin-Green led the cast both on and off-screen. “She started organizing game nights and dinners,” said Chieffo. “We go out and support our bridge crew [played by local actors] when they have other things in town, and that comes from Sonequa. Her willingness to shine her light empowers all of us to do so.”
Those fans complaining about the absence of Tig Notaro (Jett Reno) heard from the actress. Her role came about from her long friendship with Kurtzman but she worried if her performance was good enough to remain on the show. “[Someone] sat on set and just fed me my lines,” she said, because of her trouble with “treknobabble.” “I wrote Alex an email apologizing: ‘Please don’t feel like you need to keep me. No hard feelings.’ After that email, he decided to make my dialogue even harder. So that’s what I’m doing on this show: It’s a big joke to Alex Kurtzman. I was on my own show that took place in Mississippi [Amazon‘s One Mississippi], and now I’m in space. Natural progression, I guess.”
Doug Jones explained what the change in Saru means for him as an actor. “The character was developed with the understanding that he’s based in fear,” said Jones. “I also live my life based in fear and anxiety,” he admitted. “So I understood Saru before, and now I’m inspired by him. The writers have given me hope for my own future.”
The decision to change Saru’s character in a major way was inspired by Jones himself, according to Kurtzman. “Doug’s range is so extraordinary that it felt like we’ve told this story now of what it means to live in fear. What happens when we go the other way?” He also told fans to expect more of Saru’s relationship with his home planet.
Some of the other actors spoke about their roles in Season Two. Tyler is “trying to stop hurting people as he goes through the series,” said Shazad Latif.
Culber, who has come back from the dead, is “[figuring] out how to cope,” said Wilson Cruz. That coping includes a separation from Stamets. “Things continue to evolve,” said Anthony Rapp. “We’re grateful we get an authentic, complicated, and rich story to play.”
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