Among the young cast of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy is Romeo Carere, who made his debut in the second episode of the series. He plays Ocam Sadal, the older brother of Tarima Sadal (Zoe Steiner), and the son of the President of Betazed.
Speaking to ScreenRant, executive producer and co-showrunner Noga Landau revealed the surprising news that originally Ocam was going to be a sister, not a brother, before Carere came along and nailed his audition. Landau said: "Originally, we thought that Ocam was going to be Tarima’s sister. Oh, we were not even thinking that Ocam was going to be a boy."
Landau continued by saying:
"We had a very different idea of who Ocam was. And then Romeo Carere appeared in our auditions, and we suddenly said, ‘All right, throw out everything we thought we knew about Ocam before.’ Because this guy, Romeo, came out of nowhere. He's a Toronto local, and nobody knew him before, and we immediately knew that he had to play the role. He had to be Tarima’s brother and so much more."
While the episode focused on Tarima meeting and bonding with cadet Caleb Mir (Sandro Rosta), the story ended with a nice twist: she joined the War College, while Ocam not only enrolled in Starfleet Academy but also became a roommate of Caleb and Darem Reymi (George Hawkins).
Ocam has quickly become a fan favorite with his quirky humor, sometimes the butt of jokes yet lovable. He and Tarima have a believable sibling bond, and it’s nice to see the character develop with his fellow cadets.
It’s not the first time an actor has caused a Trek role to change. Famously, Wesley Crusher was originally going to be Beverly’s daughter before Wil Wheaton’s casting changed that. In the case of Ocam, it wasn’t just the gender, but how a mostly quiet, serious figure became a bit of a “frat bro” with a humorous edge.
Landau credits Carere’s improvisational experience for crafting humor on the spot and providing some light-hearted antics to the show. The character may get more screen time with the episode, "Come, Let's Away," in which Tarima fell into a coma. That could force Ocam into the spotlight, particularly as he’s likely to follow his father’s footsteps as Betazed’s leader. So, while the character may be comedic now, he’ll have to grow up quickly.
It’s still fascinating to realize how one audition changed this character. Are you a fan of Carere's portrayal of Ocam? Share your thoughts and comments with us on the Redshirts Always Die Facebook and X pages. And Star Trek: Starfleet Academy is streaming on Paramount+.