spotlight anthony rapp


Finland and she asked me why I thought it’s been around so long. One of the things that came to mind, was that we’ve always gazed up at the sky and wondered what it would be like out there. I think people from the Stone Age wondered what it was like out there—it taps into something so primal—exploring the unknown and that “final frontier” touches on something deeply human. At its best over the many years, Star Trek has used the lens of science fiction, the lens of looking at these alien cultures and races, as a way of exploring what it means to be human. Touching on really important, meaningful themes and peopling it with characters of substance. I think all of those things combined make it something that lasts. One of the earmarks of the films and of the televi- sion series, is that it has taken on social issues well before when they were politically correct. I think it’s true with the gay characters being introduced onDiscovery. Did you feel any kind of pressure around taking this on? I wouldn’t call it pressure. Any time I take on material, I like to be able to stand behind it. It doesn’t mean however, I’ll agree with everything the character says or does. I’ve played killers, a eugenics proponent onThe Knick, and I didn’t agree with one word that came out of his mouth, but what I believed in was the story being told. In Discovery’s case, if there were something that felt really out of sort I couldn’t stand by, then yeah, I’d feel a certain kind of pressure. Everything Aaron [Herbert] and Gretchen [Berg] our show runners and the writing staff have put forth, have sold that he’s a human being. He’s a complicated human being, just like every other complicated human being and I’m excited to bring him to life. The fact he’s in a relationship with a man is just another fact about him. To me, it’s representative of where we are now and more of where we’ll be in the future. It won’t be such an issue. I’m gratified to hear that in the end, he is basically just another character on the show. Being gay doesn’t define him or set him apart from others, it’s just a part of who he is. Yes. Not to say that it’s minimized, but it’s akin to Sonequa’s (Martin) character being a black woman, there’s no material that addresses either of those facts. She just is who she is and just does what she does. Similarly, Lieutenant Stamets is a gay man, who’s gay, a scientist, persnickety and smart. How would you say this show compares to the other series?


I would say ours shares DNA with all of them. I’m


only deeply familiar with the original series, Next- Gen and I’m only in the first couple of seasons of Deep Space 9.DS9was the first of the series that did long-form storytelling, with six episode arcs. Even in coming seasons—knock on wood (laughs) hope- fully we’ll have so many seasons—It will be a long form story, so that’s different. And, just by virtue of the visually stunning sets and camera equipment at our disposal, along with the practical effects of 3D printing with props and costumes, that sets us apart from the others. Our series is a 15-episode arc, relationships between the characters aren’t static and grow and change or evolve over time. Events happen and have ripple effects. Is there anything that really surprised you about being a part of the series? I’m not sure that it really surprised me, though


It’s been super gratifying and fun to find out who among my friends are Trekkies. (Laughs) Lashaun is a wonderful actress I’ve known for years and I was actually doing a benefit with her the day I found out. When I told her, she could barely breathe, because someone she knew was going to be a part of it. Beyond that, honestly, I’m not sure anything has been super surprising. I feel like I had a kind of primer in fandom by being a part ofRENT, although Trek fandom is a world unto its own. I remember in the original series when Kirk and Uhura kissed and it created such a controversy. That’s one of the things I love about the power in television, it really does inform the people who watch it introducing them used to things they may not have been comfortable with before. I totally agree, just by virtue of the fact that when


you see the pictures of our cast, there’s an array of people in the picture together. Yes, it’s just an image


but images are also signifiers and meaningful to people. It may seem like a silly thing, but there was a Trek fan, a young Asian woman who posted a picture of herself cosplaying as Picard. She also posted a picture of Michelle Yeoh and said, “Now I can actually be the captain, I don’t have to imagine myself as an old, white English man. I can be an Asian woman as the captain.” That was very cool. How nervous are you about the series premiere? It’s such an interesting time forStar Trek Discovery to hit the world because of the topics that it takes on. Intergalactic interspecies relationships and all of that, there are some interesting parallels in our current world. We’ve been in our little bubble and it feels like


finally we’re about to give birth. But, I do believe our show will resonate with some of the things going on today. Hope beyond hope, I’ve only seen the trailers and the clips—a teeny bit of one minute here, one minute there—the couple things I’ve been in when I’ve had to re-record dialogue or add little extra things. Those glimpses have been great, but they’re not finished; they don’t have the score, they don’t have the final visual effects and they’re out of context. I’m happy with what I’ve seen, but I’m really looking forward to seeing it in all in context and being a part of this. I never envisioned myself being a part of any of these things. As a reader of comic books, as a lover of Lord of the Rings, a lover of Star Wars and Star Trek…I never really thought “I’m gonna do that one day,” never once. I guess that what comes of “Boldly going where no one has gone before…”


Star Trek Discovery is on CBS Tuesdays, for a full schedule, go to cbs.co. It is also available to stream on CBS All Access at cbs.com/all-access.


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RAGE monthly | OCTOBER 2017


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