How the costume improves in season 2
Season 2 of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy is already underway and Yashere revealed that, to her joy, the costume and makeup people were able to make her appearance more comfortable. The actress said in the same interview:
“Season 2: they improved the prosthetic. So now it’s lighter, it’s breathable, and it’s a lot more comfortable now to wear for 16 [hours]. I mean, it's not comfortable. It is more comfortable. But as soon as I see the completed look, it makes everything worth it.”
This is to be expected as it’s traditional for the first seasons of a Trek series to have difficulty with the makeup on some actors: see Michael Dorn as Worf, Rene Auberjonois as Odo, or the various actors playing Ferengi and Cardassians. As each series goes on, the makeup crew is able to learn from their early mistakes and make these prosthetics easier to apply and wear. After all, if the actor can’t handle it, it will ruin the performance.
The jumps in makeup also help, as it’s easier to do this than it was 30 years ago. It’s actually refreshing to see Star Trek continue to use old-school makeup rather than just CGI some alien look on an actor. Being in makeup always helps a performance, as the audience will react better to an actor showing true emotion than in some odd mo-cap suit and fancy effects.
That really rings true for Yashere, who vanished into the role of Thok, acting like a drill sergeant with the cadets, yet also a soft side with her romance with quirky engineer Jett Reno (Tig Notaro). The strange chemistry between the pair gives Thok more depth. You wouldn’t get that if you didn’t buy her in the role and burying herself in that makeup job enhances Yashere’s appeal.
It’s a testament to how Star Trek still leads the way for astounding alien makeup while not forgetting the human element and Starfleet Academy carries on that grand tradition.
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