The two-time Oscar nominee is as “happy as a pig in [expletive]!”
Golden Globe and Critics Choice Award-winner for 2023’s must-see The Holdovers, Paul Giamatti, is living out a lifelong dream by joining creator Gene Roddenberry’s beloved science fiction universe. Yes, Giamatti always wanted to portray a Klingon, and now he is getting his chance on the upcoming series, Star Trek: Starfleet Academy. The Sideways star is portraying Nus Braka, who is the half-Klingon, half-Tellarite villain of the show. Giamatti said while appearing at this year’s New York Comic Con (via TrekMovie.com):
“I am a real deal fan. Like Holly [Hunter], since about seven, eight years old, I’d watch it with my father. So, I grew up with [Star Trek], all the iterations of it. I love it. So I had always been sort of saying it to people, ‘Gosh, I wish I could be on Star Trek, someday.’ And then it actually happened. And then I was saying, ‘Gosh, I wish I could play a Klingon.’ And then it sort of happened.”
Giamatti, who has been nominated twice for an Academy Award thanks to his brilliant work in The Holdovers and Cinderella Man, revealed how happy he was to join the Star Trek universe during the same sit-down at the NYCC. Giamatti told those attending the panel:
“I play a half-Klingon, half-Tellarite [character]. And the Tellarites are these really, really, really aggressive, disputatious pig people. And I was like, ‘Oh yeah, I’m all over that!.’ So, I got to play up — I’m the bad guy! It’s fantastic! There’s a great tradition of bad guys. I get to do it. So, I’m happy as a pig in [expletive].”
Giamatti will be squaring off against another titan of cinema, Holly Hunter, in Starfleet Academy. The Oscar-winning actress (The Piano ) portrays the Starfleet Academy Chancellor, who also doubles as the captain of the incredibly unique USS Athena, Nahla Ake.
How lucky is the Star Trek universe to have actors the caliber of Paul Giamatti and Holly Hunter boldly going where no one has gone before? Maybe Nus Braka will even go a little Sideways in honor of the actor's famous role. Wouldn't it be hilarious to witness Giamatti's half-Klingon and Hunter's 422-year-old Starfleet commander breaking bread at a wine tasting? No doubt, but it likely won't happen since they are clearly enemies in the show's footage.
Are you as excited as this Trekkie is for Starfleet Academy? Share your thoughts and comments with us on the Redshirts Always Die Facebook and X pages.
Now, check out the official trailer for Star Trek: Starfleet Academy and look for the new show when it drops on Jan. 15, 2026.
Live long and prosper, Trekkies!