For fans of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy’s best bromance, one of the actors is explaining how it came to be. Starfleet Academy rests on the chemistry of its cast and few show it off better than George Hawkins and Karim Diane. Hawkins is Darem Reymi, a “prince” of his wealthy world who hides his true aquatic appearance. Diane plays Jay-Den Kraag, a Klingon who wants to be a doctor.
Speaking to Collider, Hawkins discussed how he and Karim have a real-life connection that makes their on-screen banter so natural and fitting for the storyline. Hawkins said:
"Karim is such a beautiful human being, and we get on really, really well. We come from such different backgrounds, and it's such a lovely thing to see two completely different people come together and sort of create chemistry. Karim was the first person I had chemistry reads with to do this project, to play this character. And he was the first person I met in my auditions who was playing another character. So he is sort of the person I held onto, and he's like a staple in this job for me."
The pair got to show that chemistry well in episode 7, "Ko'Zeine," when Jay-Den saw Darem seemingly kidnapped and followed him. It turned out Darem was being pushed into a marriage, and Jay-Den was corralled into being his best man.
It was a wonderful story for both characters as Jay-Den’s words, including a great wedding speech, made Darem realize he wasn’t suited for the life of a prince. Likewise, Darem gave Jay-Den some advice to push the Klingon to open up even more to his current love interest and War College cadet Kyle (Dale Whibley).
Hawkins continued to praise Diane during the same interview by saying:
"Karim is a sweetheart. Karim is such a sweetheart. So it's quite hard not to, he’s just a great person. My family loves him. My friends love him. He's a sweetheart. And he's an incredible actor. He’s incredible to work off of. And actually watching Karim create Jay-Den, and then seeing the end result…"
It speaks to the power of the duo’s friendship and maybe more for the characters. (Continued on page 2...)