Trekkies, Star Trek: Starfleet Academy is finally here! Yes, the wait is over, and we can thrill to the adventures of a group of green cadets and the captain of the USS Athena as they navigate what it means to be the first class at the academy in 120 years.
The young cast learned plenty about acting in a Trek series, and Karim Diane, who plays Klingon cadet Jay-Den Kraag, had much to learn about the lengthy make-up process that transforms him into his character. During the show's recent blue carpet premiere in New York City, Diane told Etalk:
"I quickly learned that prosthetics acting is tough, like it's a really--like, you know, I got the breakdown in the audition and I, they said must be okay with prosthetics and I was like, okay, cool! Like, Star Trek for sure, yeah! But then, when you sit down in that chair, and they're working on you for five hours every single day, and you have to get up at 1 a.m. to be at work, and you're filming 18 hours a day, five days a week, yeah, you realize like, this is actually--this takes a lot of energy!"
The Star Trek franchise has always placed great importance on the make-up effects that gave us Klingons, Andorians, Vulcans, and Tellarites. Later, during Star Trek: The Next Generation, the prosthetics only became more creative and advanced, such as those used for the Borg.
It's amazing to look back at the Klingon design in The Original Series, especially the warrior Kras in the TOS episode "Friday's Child." That Klingon looked like someone's Uncle Bob in a homemade cosplay outfit. Now, compare that to Jay-Den Kraag's look in Starfleet Academy. What a beautiful legacy!
Have you watched the first three episodes of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy yet? Did they hook you, or are you waiting for all 10 to drop before you watch? Share your thoughts and comments with us on the Redshirts Always Die Facebook and X pages.