CAPTAIN'S TABLE
How does it feel to be a proper Star Trek captain?
Oh my. It feels very humbling. But it also feels very emboldening. From the very beginning, I knew that this was a journey to the chair. But that’s not something that I could be very vocal about. I couldn’t really share that, right? That’s a huge spoiler.
I know a lot of people assumed that was definitely always the plan. I really respect what the writers have done with it and I’m grateful for it because you feel like you earned this position with Burnham… you feel like you were able to learn and grow and make mistakes and mature from them with her, because as Burnham it’s just been that steady maturation process, steadily falling forward. The way they did it was perfect because it was earned. And you’ve gotten to see this woman actualise over time and now be in that chair.
Does it feel different the first day you’re the captain?
Oh yeah, for sure. I did a thing where I did not sit in that chair until it was time. Until we shot that scene. Olatunde Osunsanmi, one of our executive producers, also directed that episode. We both talked at length about what a big deal it was, and how nervous we were to actually shoot the scene. Because the scene would be historical. And it would be – at least we hoped that it would be – impactful. It felt very different.