When Gabrielle Ruiz got the part of T'Lyn on Star Trek: Lower Decks, excitement isn't the right word to describe how she felt. Prior to playing that character, she was also Ensign Lamont, a computer voice, and Castro. Bit parts, but she was still a part of Star Trek, and Ruiz told Star Trek: Explorer's John Kirk that she couldn't say how much she cried when she saw her name in the Star Trek font. And it wasn't just because of her love for Star Trek; her family are huge Trekkies, too. In fact, Ruiz describes herself as a "born and raised Trekkie," calling her mother "a real Trekkie."
So booking the part of T'Lyn, the stoic Vulcan aboard the Cerritos, was a source of great joy for her, especially since she felt she needed to "honor Spock and the generations after." And perhaps its Ruiz's clear happiness at playing the role that has earned her such positivity from the fans who have fallen in love with her character.
"I can't express how much I cried. I mean, when I saw my name in the Star Trek font-I lost it."Gabrielle Ruiz
Not only has Ruiz been able to be a character on a much-loved part of the Star Trek franchise, but she knows how much this has meant to her family. I can't imagine anything gets much better than that for an actor.
Star Trek: Lower Decks will wrap up its fifth and final season in December of this year, and though we might have heard the last of T'Lyn and our other favorite characters from the series, there's always a chance we haven't seen the last of them. As proven by Mariner and Boimler [Jack Quaid], a live-action crossover with these characters can be successful. So I hope we get to see the other side of T'Lyn in the future.