I know you’re doing these interviews to help promote the season 1 home video release. Have you seen any of the extended features on that at all?
I have. I have seen the gag reel, which is so fun. I get all warm and fuzzy watching it, because we get to see what was really going on for us. There’s the story and then there’s behind the scenes moments that touch a special place in your heart.
I would love to hear your thoughts about what it really was like on set between takes. Was it jovial?
I think it depended on what exactly we were shooting, whether the stakes were very high and there was a lot of moving parts. I think for more complicated scenes, people had to just be a little bit more focused. It also depended on who was working that day. Everybody has a different chemistry together. But most of the time, we’re having as much fun — it’s a good time. Everybody’s there creating something really special. And there’s lots of time spent on set where we’re waiting around and can chat. There’s definitely some very silly, funny times. We’re there for so many hours a day that you start to go a little bit cuckoo.
Is there one actor that always just cracked you up more than others?
Celia [Rose Gooding, who plays Uhura on the show]. She’s just got the best spirit and is so passionate and dedicated to her work and also embraces the lightness. She’s just a ray of sunshine always, singing always, laughing always, but also so heartful. I love her energy on set.
With Nurse Chapel — and I know you’ve talked about this before, about how you’re taking on a legacy character and we’re seeing different facets of her. But one thing I love about what we saw on season 1 was the relationships she forms with other crew members. She has very distinct and meaningful relationships with everyone, but especially with M’Benga, with Ortegas, and Spock, of course. I know you can’t get into details too much about season 2, but I wondered if you could tease anything about how those relationships play out or interact in the upcoming episodes.
How can I do this without spoiling anything? I think Chapel’s relationship with M’Benga is very special and very deep and almost familial, and that really gains more color in the second season. Her relationship with Spock gets a lot more complicated and deepens, as well. I think you just start to see a little bit more deeply into what Chapel provides in a relationship, whether that be platonic, familial, or romantic, both strengths and weaknesses. I really enjoyed fleshing that out in season 2.
