General Trelane even informed Paul Giamatti's performance as Nus Braka
Paul Giamatti, who is probably best known for his work in The Holdovers and Sideways, even mentioned another very famous general, who influenced Nus Braka, this one is from The Original Series, though — and, most recently, Strange New Worlds. The actor addressed his answer further by saying in the same sit-down:
“But it’s interesting, the thing that I think is interesting about this guy is that–as it goes along, and by the end of it, you really see it–he is very much a kind of malformed child inside. He’s this very angry, angry, psychopathic child inside. Which actually made me think of Trelane, who is kind of a child a little bit."
Giamatti continued by saying:
"And even Q has a kind of child to him. So, whether it’s unique or not, what I bring to it, I don’t know, but that’s something that became more and more important to me as I went on with it. That he’s arrested as a little boy.”
Starfleet Academy didn’t have me at “Hello,” but the upcoming Star Trek series did have me at Paul Giamatti. And now that I realize the Sideways actor is pulling from iconic Trek villains like Khan Noonien Singh, Trelane, and Q, I’m even more excited to see the show. Plus, who would have thought, Deep Space Nine’s Cardassian Gul Dukat would be a part of the mix?
Giamatti’s revelation makes me anticipate Starfleet Academy even more now. Share your thoughts and comments with us on the Redshirts Always Die Facebook and X pages. And look for Star Trek: Starfleet Academy when the streaming series drops Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, on Paramount Plus.
Live long and prosper, Trekkies!