Holly Hunter and Paul Giamatti watched the original “Star Trek” as children, never dreaming they’d be part of the franchise’s legacy.
Now, they’re leading “Star Trek: Starfleet Academy,” the latest iteration and an opportunity for them to play in the sandbox. Hunter portrays the chancellor of the academy; Giamatti is one of its villains.
“I was embarrassed with how excited I was,” Giamatti says. “I’d been a lifelong fan. I was in drama school when ‘Deep Space Nine’ was on … and I did not get to audition. So, it was a fantasy for me to be on this. You can manifest your dreams. That’s the message here.”
Paul Giamatti, left, and Holly Hunter star in "Star Trek: Starfleet Academy."
Hunter remembers watching the original series with her father and brothers. “It was very iconic and very Gary Cooper-ish, you know? It had some of the same feeling that westerns had for me when I first started watching the show,” she says. When producers offered her the newest iteration, she was game.
Hunter and Executive Producer Alex Kurtzman discussed her character’s physicality before they started shooting. “Alex had written that my character was barefoot and I loved that,” she says. “So that kind of opened up this whole idea of what she might be like physically.”
The two rehearsed on the ship’s bridge set, talking about ideas and blocking.
At home, Hunter wrestled with the show’s vocabulary. “I had to ask, ‘What does that mean? How do I pronounce that?’ I got somebody to help me memorize the lines and I just drilled them in my head repeatedly. Sometimes, I’d even write them on the ceiling of my bedroom so I would see the writing on the wall when it’s time to have breakfast.”
Leading a cast of cadets, Hunter’s one of the adults in the room. But, so, too, is Robert Picardo, who plays the holographic doctor, a role he played in “Deep Space Nine,” “Voyager” and “Prodigy.”
Robert Picardo stars in "Star Trek: Starfleet Academy."
The latest iteration, Picardo says, has more contemporary speech than earlier ones. “In ‘Voyager,’ we spoke in mid-galactic speech. It was a shock at first,” he admits. “They went nuts on the internet that I said, ‘That would be super helpful.’ The doctor may have changed a little, but he now is teaching cadets, so he has to speak their language.”
Among his offerings: four-letter words. When students call him on it, he denies it, “which is kind of gaslighting the students. But it shows he is using every tool in his toolbox to teach these kids, so it makes sense. There will be hardcore old ‘Star Trek’ fans who will go, ‘Did the doctor just say a four-letter word?’ And I’m going to have to say, ‘Yes, it’s a brave new world.’”
“Academy” writers also address the aging process and admit program upgrades would involve other changes, as well. Profanity, though, did surprise Picardo. “I thought, ‘Well, he needs to shock the students who are not paying attention.’ “
Because “Starfleet Academy” has a host of young actors learning how to maneuver in space, Kurtzman wanted to make sure the older actors weren’t just plot devices. “It was just as important for the teachers to be as interesting as the students,” he says. “I kept saying to the writers room, ‘We cannot make a show where when the adults show up on screen the kids want to fast forward. They have to be just as interested in the adults.’”
From left, George Hawkins, Bella Shepard and Kerrice Brooks star in "Star Trek: Starfleet Academy."
Giamatti gets ample opportunity to hold their attention, particularly since he’s a space pirate. “It’s a huge open door to your imagination,” he says. “It’s just like a crazy drug to get your imagination going. He’s got very human dimensions, and he’s complicated and he’s a kind of deeply troubled child inside.”
Hunter says “Star Trek” is tethered in nostalgia for many people. “It can start at the beginning of your life or in your actual childhood when you are surrounded by your home, your family, your home television set.”
Her memories go back to those days when she was drinking grape juice on the family couch. “All that stuff comes back to you with the two words, ‘Star Trek.’”
“Star Trek: Starfleet Academy” premieres Thursday on Paramount+.
