Star Trek: Discovery: Newest member of the cast is being hailed as a one-take wonder

The third season of Star Trek: Discovery debuts on October 15th.

Directors love actors that can nail their scenes in one take, and the newest member of the Star Trek: Discovery cast, who will make his debut on Oct. 15, does just that. And it isn’t easy, considering he’s a cat. His name is Leeu, an 18 pound Maine Coon, and he plays Grudge, the four-legged companion to Cleveland “Book” Booker (David Ajala) who is also joining the cast.

Leeu joins a long line of animals who’ve made their home in the Star Trek universe, including Data’s cat, Spot, on The Next Generation, and, of course, Porthos, who was Captain Archer’s dog on Star Trek: Enterprise. The difference, though, is that Leeu already knows he’s the star of the show. The cat’s character now has his own Instagram page and Twitter account, which is pretty funny as he clearly knows viewers will be mainly tuning in to watch him.

Leslie Lawrence, one of Leeu’s trainers, entices him to look at the camera using tin foil and treat bags, an unenviable task considering a cat’s attention span. And so far, it seems to be working.

"Everybody says that their cat can make a good set cat. But it does take a specific animal to be able to stay cool and calm and collected, because when cats are done, they’re done."

Even Ajala, who has to work closely with the cat, knows just how easily Leeu becomes the Queen on the set.

"I can say the Grudge is a queen. She is feisty. She is cynical, cautious, and wary of people. But when she embraces you and it takes you in, she takes you in. It’s tough love! I’ve had to work my way up the ladder."

So far, there haven’t been any hints on potential storylines for Grudge or if he will be integral to some plots like Spot and Porthos were. But with his own social media following, there’s bound to be demand that he stay around for a while.