Hugh Culber | |
---|---|
Star Trek character | |
First appearance | "Context Is for Kings" (2017) |
Created by | Bryan Fuller, Gretchen J. Berg, & Aaron Harberts |
Portrayed by | Wilson Cruz |
In-universe information | |
Species | Human |
Gender | Male |
Occupation | Physician |
Significant other | Paul Stamets |
Planet | Earth |
Affiliation | United Federation of Planets Starfleet USS Discovery |
Hugh Culber is a fictional character in the Star Trek franchise. He appears in the television series Star Trek: Discovery . Culber is portrayed by actor Wilson Cruz. Originally introduced as a recurring character in the first season of the series, Culber is promoted to a main character in the second season. Within Discovery's narrative, he is the ship's senior medical doctor and partner to its engineer Paul Stamets (Anthony Rapp).
In July 2016, Wilson Cruz was cast as Culber, Paul Stamets' love interest, after having previously worked with Anthony Rapp on the musical Rent. [1] Cruz was revealed to be reprising his role of Culber for the series' second season, as well as being promoted to the main cast, on July 23, 2018. [2] The character's appearance in the third season was confirmed in October 2019, a year before its premiere. [3] In October 2020, just prior to the third season's premiere, Culber's role in the fourth season was confirmed, when it was announced that the series was renewed. [4]
About the character in an interview about being promoted to the main cast in season two with Anthony Pascale, Cruz said: "this season for this couple [Culber and Stamets] is really about deepening them individually. We get to find out a lot about Culber–who he is, what he wants, what makes him tick, what his ambitions are–separate and apart from this relationship. But we get to learn a lot about this relationship and it is put through the test." [2] Cruz also confirmed that the reason he was only in the recurring cast because he was in 13 Reasons Why at the same time. [2]
Culber is one-half of the first openly gay regular character couple in a Star Trek television series. [5] On creating the first gay couple in a Star Trek series, Cruz said he "felt like it was a long time coming ... What's great about the way that the show is handling it is it's not like we are having a special two-hour episode about gay relationships in space. It's not that. They just happen to be in love, and they happen to be coworkers. And, I hope by the time we get to [the 23rd] century that it will be exactly like that." [6] In the season three episode "Su'Kal", Culber appears a member of the Bajoran alien race briefly in a hologram simulation. [7]
Talking toward the fourth season, Michelle Paradise noted that Stamets and Culber would form a "really lovely" family unit with the non-binary Adira Tal, who was introduced in the previous season, and their transgender boyfriend Gray. [8]
In the first season, Culber treats Ash Tyler, who is struggling to contain his alternate Klingon personality, but is later killed by his patient. In the second season episode "Saints of Imperfection," Stamets travels into the mycelium to find a copy of Culber, and brings him back to life.
Various publications described how the character set a precedent in both the Star Trek world and generally in media as a depiction of a gay character. [5] In 2019, Hugh Culber was ranked the 10th-sexiest Star Trek character by Syfy. [9]
Hikaru Kato Sulu is a fictional character in the Star Trek media franchise. A member of the crew in the original Star Trek series, Sulu also appears in the animated Star Trek series, in the first six Star Trek movies, in one episode of Star Trek: Voyager, and in several books, comics, and video games. Originally known simply as "Sulu", his first name, "Hikaru", appeared in a 1981 novel well over a decade after the original series had ended.
Wilson Cruz is an American actor known for playing Rickie Vasquez on My So-Called Life, Dr. Hugh Culber on Star Trek: Discovery, and the recurring character Junito on Noah's Arc. As a gay man of Afro-Puerto Rican ancestry, he has served as an advocate for gay youth, especially gay minorities.
Anthony Deane Rapp is an American actor and singer who originated the role of Mark Cohen in the Broadway production of Rent. Following his original performance of the role in 1996, he reprised it in the film version of the show and the show's United States tour in 2009. He also performed Charlie Brown in the 1999 Broadway revival of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown and originated the role of Lucas in the musical If/Then in 2014. From 2017 to 2024, he played Commander Paul Stamets on the television series Star Trek: Discovery.
Sexuality has been a significant theme in the various Star Trek television and motion-picture series. Sexual relationships in Star Trek have mostly been depicted as heteronormative in nature. There have been depictions of bisexual relationships, but always with a twist. In Star Trek Discovery, there are two same-sex marriages, while in Star Trek Enterprise a polyamorous character, Phlox, has three wives, who have three husbands each, the marriages being depicted as open to romantic and sexual relationships with others.
Star Trek: Discovery is an American science fiction television series created by Bryan Fuller and Alex Kurtzman for the streaming service CBS All Access. It is the seventh Star Trek series and was released from 2017 to 2024. The series follows the crew of the starship Discovery beginning a decade before Star Trek: The Original Series in the 23rd century. At the end of the second season, they travel to the 32nd century which is the setting for subsequent seasons.
"The Butcher's Knife Cares Not for the Lamb's Cry" is the fourth episode of the first season of the American television series Star Trek: Discovery, which is set roughly a decade before the events of the original Star Trek series and explores the war between the Federation and the Klingons. The episode was written by Jesse Alexander and Aron Eli Coleite. It was directed by Olatunde Osunsanmi.
"Context Is for Kings" is the third episode of the American television series Star Trek: Discovery, which is set roughly a decade before the events of the original Star Trek series and explores the war between the Federation and the Klingons. The episode was written by showrunners Gretchen J. Berg and Aaron Harberts, and Craig Sweeny, from a story by series co-creator Bryan Fuller, Berg, and Harberts. It was directed by producer Akiva Goldsman.
Michael Burnham is the protagonist of Star Trek: Discovery, portrayed by American actress Sonequa Martin-Green. She originally appears as the First Officer of USS Shenzhou under Philippa Georgiou until she commits mutiny, for which she is stripped of rank and sent to prison for life. Burnham is later recruited by Gabriel Lorca on USS Discovery as a science specialist after serving only six months of her sentence, with Lorca viewing Burnham as an asset in the war against the Klingons. She serves as the series lead. The character is introduced as a xeno-anthropologist helping the Earth-based Starfleet understand and engage with new cultures in outer space.
The first season of the American television series Star Trek: Discovery is set a decade before Star Trek: The Original Series in the 23rd century and follows the crew of the starship Discovery during the Federation–Klingon war. The season was produced by CBS Television Studios in association with Secret Hideout, Roddenberry Entertainment, and Living Dead Guy Productions, with Gretchen J. Berg and Aaron Harberts serving as showrunners, and Akiva Goldsman providing producing support.
The second season of the American television series Star Trek: Discovery is set a decade before Star Trek: The Original Series in the 23rd century and follows the crew of the starship Discovery. With the crew of the USS Enterprise they investigate seven signals that were sent by a time traveler to prevent a rogue artificial intelligence from destroying all sentient life. The season was produced by CBS Television Studios in association with Secret Hideout and Roddenberry Entertainment, with Alex Kurtzman serving as showrunner.
Star Trek: Picard is an American science fiction television series created by Akiva Goldsman, Michael Chabon, Kirsten Beyer, and Alex Kurtzman for the streaming service CBS All Access. It is the eighth Star Trek series and was released from 2020 to 2023 as part of Kurtzman's expanded Star Trek Universe. The series focuses on retired Starfleet Admiral Jean-Luc Picard. It begins at the end of the 24th century, 20 years after the character's last appearance in Star Trek: Nemesis (2002).
The third season of the American television series Star Trek: Discovery follows the crew of the starship Discovery as they travel to the 32nd century, more than 900 years after Star Trek: The Original Series, and learn that Starfleet has nearly been destroyed by a cataclysmic event called "The Burn" that has left the galaxy disconnected. The season was produced by CBS Television Studios in association with Secret Hideout and Roddenberry Entertainment, with Alex Kurtzman and Michelle Paradise serving as showrunners.
Paul Stamets is a character in the fictional Star Trek franchise. He appears in the television series Star Trek: Discovery. Stamets is portrayed by actor Anthony Rapp. The character is one half of the first openly gay regular character couple in a Star Trek television series. He is a scientist and engineer who combines physics and mycology into a fictional method for instantaneous faster than light travel. The character is named after the well known amateur mycologist, Paul Stamets.
The fourth season of the American television series Star Trek: Discovery follows the crew of the starship Discovery in the 32nd century, more than 900 years after Star Trek: The Original Series, as they help rebuild the United Federation of Planets following a cataclysmic event and face a space anomaly that causes destruction across the galaxy. The season was produced by CBS Studios in association with Secret Hideout and Roddenberry Entertainment, with Alex Kurtzman and Michelle Paradise serving as showrunners.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is an American science fiction television series created by Akiva Goldsman, Alex Kurtzman, and Jenny Lumet for the streaming service Paramount+. It is the 11th Star Trek series and debuted in 2022 as part of Kurtzman's expanded Star Trek Universe. A spin-off from Star Trek: Discovery, it follows Captain Christopher Pike and the crew of the starship Enterprise in the 23rd century as they explore new worlds and carry out missions throughout the galaxy during the decade before Star Trek: The Original Series.
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