Lead star Sonequa Martin-Green talks 'Star Trek: Discovery'. Sonequa Martin-Green (of 'Walking Dead fame) talks about making history by being the first female black lead of a 'Star Trek' show. And showrunner Aaron Harberts talks about what viewers have to look forward to with 'Star Trek: Discovery', when it returns from its mid-season break on Netflix on January 8.
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00:00Sonequa, now, Star Trek is boldly going where the show itself hasn't gone before, and
00:09cast its first black female lead.
00:12Now do you feel the weight of that responsibility at all?
00:15Definitely.
00:16Yeah.
00:17As a black woman, particularly one raised in the South, I understand how important it
00:23is for us to see ourselves, I understand how important it is for us to see ourselves in
00:27leadership positions, and for Star Trek to continue its legacy of universality, and of
00:33this diversity that is so ingrained in our world in the future that we don't have to
00:37even discuss it.
00:38I'm so humbled and honored to be a part of the conversation, to be a part of what I like
00:42to call art activism, you know, that's inspired by my mentor, actually, and that's exactly
00:49what it is, and that's what Star Trek has always been, and that's what it still is now,
00:53and so we're just hoping to further that legacy, and establish our own identity within
00:58that legacy, so it's a really beautiful thing, I've been very impressed, I was very impressed
01:04from the very beginning that that was the plan, was to have a black woman lead the show,
01:09and everyone was so adamant about it, and that really, really touched me on a deep level,
01:13and so to be able to be that person sort of standing on the shoulders of Nichelle and
01:18Kate Mulgrew, all the people who, you know, were in, you know, were part of that picture
01:24of diversity that Star Trek has always had is tremendous.
01:27What can you tell us about Michael Burnham, the character?
01:29Michael Burnham is a very strong, yet troubled woman, which I love, I love how my character
01:40has been written, and I love all of the complications, and all of the inner conflict that comes with
01:47being Michael Burnham, a human raised on Vulcan, who has made decisions that she thought were
01:54what was best, but I am now on a path of absolution and redemption, so it's really deep, rich
02:05stuff that's challenging.
02:06We've seen two close relatives of Spock on the show so far, there's Michael Burnham herself,
02:12and there's Sarek, do you think we'll ever see Spock in the show?
02:16Now that we also have a second season coming, do you think that's a possibility?
02:20We love the family unit of Sarek and Burnham and Amanda, and obviously Spock is a giant
02:26component of that.
02:28We are certainly open to the idea that Spock could eventually enter our particular Discovery
02:38universe.
02:39At the moment though, we're really focused on these new characters, and making sure that
02:43the audience gets invested in this ensemble, and in the journeys of all of these characters.
02:49The last thing we'd ever want to do is suddenly when you bring Spock in, making it maybe more
02:55about Spock, but also just from the fans' perspective, I don't know yet whether or not
03:00there's a giant appetite for it, because it was pulled off brilliantly by Leonard Nimoy,
03:07and by Zachary Quinto as well, who just did an incredible job, that's lightning in a bottle
03:12right there.
03:13So it would have to be the right story and the right time, and we would have to find
03:18the right actor, but right now we are truly focused on Michael and the rest of the crew
03:24of Discovery.
03:25Were you always familiar with the world of Star Trek, or was it much later?
03:29I was always familiar with it, at least.
03:31I sort of had an osmotic experience with it, because my parents used to watch it, and I
03:36used to run by the TV when I was a kid, so I never quite sat down to watch it, but I
03:41always knew of it, I always sort of had a peripheral view of it, and I certainly know
03:46what it means, I certainly know the impact that it's made on all of us as a society,
03:50so I'm just so grateful to God to be here.
03:53And did coming off a show like Walking Dead help getting into another big franchise like
03:58Star Trek?
03:59Oh gosh, yes!
04:00I was certainly prepared.
04:01Being able to sort of uncover the sort of joys and beauty of the sci-fi genre is amazing,
04:08and I am certainly now a really huge advocate for the sci-fi genre, because I understand
04:12its capability and I understand its potential.
04:15So that's probably the biggest thing, is being able to be a part of such a rich story that
04:19reaches the masses in that genre.
04:22Being a part of that show certainly prepared me for this.
04:24How important is the fact that Star Trek Discovery is on a streaming site?
04:27Does it come with its advantages?
04:30The advantages to us to being on streaming, frankly, we have the permission to do language
04:36and nudity and all of those things that fans might enjoy on certain programs, but Star
04:42Trek, it's not well-suited to Star Trek.
04:44This is a different kind of show with a different kind of legacy, and if we were ever to do
04:49those things, they have to be organic and they can't be gratuitous at all.
04:55What we have found is that we're not necessarily leaning into those things.
05:00I think the big advantage of being on a streaming service is the ability to tell very serialized
05:06stories and the ability to tell stories and present characters that you might not always
05:12see on broadcast television.
05:14It's a real place for flawed characters, and that's been wonderful for us.
05:31You're mad.
05:32I'm mud.
05:33You chose to do the right thing.