Main characters
Michael Burnham
Michael Burnham (portrayed by Sonequa Martin-Green) is a science specialist aboard the USS Discovery. Burnham was first officer of the USS Shenzhou, where she was referred to as "number one", [1] [2] until she was convicted of mutiny and sentenced to life in prison. Discovery captain Gabriel Lorca, brings Burnham back to duty with a temporary wartime assignment as a scientist on his ship. Burnham was raised following Vulcan culture and traditions by Sarek, and is the first human to attend the Vulcan Learning Center and Vulcan Science Academy. [3] [4]
Series co-creator Bryan Fuller had anticipated casting announcements for the show in October 2016, [2] but no announcements had been made by the end of that month. The majority of the series main characters were believed to have been cast by then, but no actress had been cast for the series' lead role. This was a source of "some internal stress" at CBS, with the casting of the character deemed "a far tougher assignment" than expected. [5] Several African American and Latina actresses were being looked at for the role, with CBS "not seeking a huge star and [preferring] a fresh face for the part." [6] Martin-Green was cast in the role in December, which was revealed with the character's production codename "lieutenant commander Rainsford". [7] [8] Her casting was officially confirmed in April 2017, following the end of her run on The Walking Dead , with the character's actual name also revealed. [1] The character has an inner conflict due to being raised by Sarek, with showrunner Aaron Harberts explaining that many of the actresses tested for the role "either went way too robotic and chilly or way too emotional", but Martin-Green was "able to be aloof but warm; logical but able to surrender her emotional side to the audience." [3]
Since Sarek's son Spock never mentioned a sister in the original series, executive producer Alex Kurtzman said that the specifics of Burnham's backstory would be revealed in a way that would not break the existing canon continuity. [4] As the show's protagonist, Burnham was not made a starship captain, like those of previous Star Trek series, "to see a character from a different perspective on the starship—one who has different dynamic relationships with a captain, with subordinates; it gave us richer context", [9] though she does become captain of Discovery at the end of the last episode of season three. In the first two episodes of the series (stripped of rank by the end of episode two), she is referred to as Number One to honor the character of the same name portrayed by Majel Barrett in the original 1965 Star Trek pilot "The Cage", [3] and was initially pitched to CBS as only being called Number One in the series. [2] Fuller deliberately gave the character a traditionally male name as he did with the female leads of three previous (non-Star Trek) productions. Martin-Green decided that the character was named after her biological father. [10]
Saru
Saru (portrayed by Doug Jones) is a captain serving as first officer of the USS Discovery, [11] and the first Kelpien to enter Starfleet. [12] Saru was introduced in the series premiere as a lieutenant commander serving as chief science officer on the USS Shenzhou, which is rendered a hulk during a battle in the series' second episode. [13] Before the events of "Context Is for Kings", Saru becomes first officer on the USS Discovery. [14]
In the Star Trek: Short Treks episode "The Brightest Star", it is revealed that Saru adapted a communication device left behind by the pre-warp Kelpien's oppressors (the Ba'ul), eventually connecting with a young Starfleet officer—Lt. Philippa Georgiou—who obtained permission to "rescue" him from his planet.
Jones was cast as Saru in November 2016. [11] Kelpiens, a new species created for Discovery, were hunted as prey on their home planet and thus evolved the ability to sense the coming of death. This skill has given them a reputation for cowardice in the Federation. [12] Jones was excited to, "from the ground up, develop and find this character and his species" and not have to honor a previous fan-favorite representation. [15] He based Saru's walk on that of a supermodel, [4] out of necessity thanks to the boots he had to wear to portray the character's hooved feet forcing Jones to walk on the balls of his feet. [16] The producers compared Saru to the characters Spock and Data from previous series in the franchise. [12]
In the Mirror Universe, Saru is a nameless slave stationed on the ISS Shenzhou.
Ash Tyler and Voq
Voq (portrayed by Shazad Latif) is an albino Klingon, described as being "touched by fate and fire". [17] [18] He undergoes surgery and personality alterations to disguise himself as Ash Tyler, a human Starfleet lieutenant and former prisoner of war. [19] [20]
Latif was originally cast in the role of the Klingon Kol in December 2016, before being recast as Tyler at the end of April 2017. [19] [21] [22] Voq was initially credited as being portrayed by Javid Iqbal, an invented actor named for Latif's father, to hide the connection between the characters. [20] Latif described his character as "a very complex and painful and deep character", [19] and noted that "there's a chemistry, a relationship" with Burnham. [23] Latif's accent for Voq is Arabic-inspired, and he tried to maintain "a kind of pharyngealness" to Tyler's American accent. [20]
Paul Stamets
Paul Stamets (portrayed by Anthony Rapp) is a science officer specializing in astromycology (the study of fungi in space). He is married to Hugh Culber. [11] [24] Rapp was revealed to have been cast as Stamets in November 2016. [11] He was originally cast in a different, smaller role, but when discussing gay actors who could portray the character Stamets, the executive producers realized that Rapp was the actor they wanted to fill that role instead. He did not audition for either role. [25]
Stamets and Culber are jointly the first openly gay characters in a Star Trek series, and the showrunners "wanted to roll out that character's sexuality the way people would roll out their sexuality in life". Rapp noted that Hikaru Sulu was portrayed as gay in the film Star Trek Beyond , calling that "a nice nod. But in this case, we actually get to see me with my partner in conversation, in our living quarters, you get to see our relationship over time, treated as any other relationship would be treated". [26] Stamets is inspired by a real-life mycologist of the same name, [27] whom Fuller had introduced to the series' writers early on after becoming interested in his research into spores. The character's outlook that physics and biology are quantifiably the same thing also comes from the real Stamets's research and theories. [28]
Sylvia Tilly
Sylvia Tilly (portrayed by Mary Wiseman) is a cadet in season 1 and in her final year at Starfleet Academy and is assigned to the Discovery. [29] [30] She is assigned to engineering and works under Stamets aboard the Discovery, and becomes roommates there with Burnham. [30] In season 3 Captain Saru made Sylvia Tilly the first officer on board Discovery. Due to Saru being off of the ship for a long amount of time she took over as captain, but in the final episode she relinquishes the role of acting captain due to Commander Burnham's promotion to captain. During season 4 Tilly served as a lieutenant onboard the USS Discovery under Captain Burnham before leaving to join Starfleet Academy as a tutor.
Wiseman was cast in March 2017. [29] Tilly was included to represent people "at the very bottom of this ladder" of the Starfleet hierarchy. She is "the most optimistic … has the biggest heart", and Harberts described her as "sort of the soul of our show". [25] The character was named after showrunner Gretchen J. Berg's two-year-old niece. [28] On February 7, 2018, Wiseman said that Tilly was not written and portrayed as on the autism spectrum, but is personally touched by the fans interpretation and has been praised by autistic trans commentator Jessie Earl for not falling into the tropes of socially isolating from other characters. [31] [32]
Gabriel Lorca
Gabriel Lorca (portrayed by Jason Isaacs) is captain of the Discovery in the first season, [33] a "brilliant military tactician". [34] Isaacs joined the series in March 2017, [33] describing Lorca as "probably more f-d up than any of" the previously seen Star Trek captains, [4] and comparing the character to his portrayal of Mike Steele in the film Black Hawk Down . Isaacs was initially given the first two scripts for the series, which Lorca does not appear in, and an early draft of his introduction in the third that was going to be re-written, but agreed to join the series after discussing the series and character with the executive producers. [35] He plays the character with a slight southern U.S. accent, [36] wanting to avoid using his own English accent and thus being "a very pale shadow of the brilliant Patrick Stewart". Of the character, Isaacs said: "he's a military man, but he can be immensely charming. I've been privileged enough to work with the [U.S. Army] Rangers at Fort Benning, and no matter where you come from in America, if you train down South where most of the bases are, you pick up some form of a Southern accent. And I wanted something that had subliminal hints at the military." [37] Isaacs initially wanted to ad-lib a catchphrase for the character feeling that all Star Trek captains should have one, coming up with "git'r done" which the writers turned down due to it being widely used and trademarked by Larry the Cable Guy. [36] Comparing his character to Captain Georgiou, Isaacs said, "Georgiou is a mother figure, and I am unsentimental and don't see my job as protecting [Burnham] emotionally or any other way. I see her as a very, very useful asset in this war." [37] In addition to having a standard captain's ready-room, Lorca also has a room referred to as his "menagerie" where he keeps things that he collects. This includes the skeleton of a Gorn, a species that is apparently first discovered later in the original series, with Harberts feeling that the presence of this skeleton added to the mystery of the character—how did he come about it, and how does the rest of Starfleet not know of the species if he does? [28]
Hugh Culber
Hugh Culber (portrayed by Wilson Cruz) is a medical officer of the Discovery. Culber is married to Paul Stamets. [38] They are jointly the first openly gay characters in a Star Trek series. Ash Tyler kills Culber in episode 10 of the first season. Culber later returns to life in season 2 after it is discovered that he was duplicated and trapped within the mycelial network before being rescued. 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." [39] In 2019, Hugh Culber was ranked the 10th-sexiest Star Trek character by Syfy. [40]
Christopher Pike
Christopher Pike (portrayed by Anson Mount) is captain of the USS Enterprise. After the first season concluded with the Discovery receiving a distress call from the Enterprise, specifically from Pike, Harberts expressed interest in exploring that character in the second season, feeling that he had not been seen much in Star Trek previously and so "there's an interesting opportunity that we might have to delve into and flesh out a character who I think is a pretty darn heroic and selfless captain." [41] In April 2018, Mount was cast as Pike, which was described as a "key role" for the season. [42] He revealed in July 2018 that he was contracted as a main cast member for the full season. [43]
Jeffrey Hunter portrays Captain Pike in footage from the original 1965 Star Trek pilot "The Cage", used in a recap that plays at the start of the Star Trek: Discovery season two episode "If Memory Serves". [44]
Cleveland "Book" Booker
Cleveland "Book" Booker (portrayed by David Ajala) is a character introduced in the third season of Star Trek: Discovery. A resident of the new future created after Control's defeat, he becomes Michael's companion when she goes to the future before the Discovery itself, and her new love interest. He is also shown to own a cat named Grudge.
Nhan
Commander Nhan (portrayed by Rachael Ancheril) is an engineer and security officer. She initially serves on board the Enterprise but later transfers to the Discovery along with two of her crewmates. Nhan is later appointed chief of security aboard the Discovery.
Jett Reno
Jett Reno (portrayed by Tig Notaro) is the chief engineer of the USS Hiawatha. [45] Notaro joined the series because of an existing relationship with Kurtzman, who had the part written for the actress. [46] The character was originally named Denise Reno but Notaro was able to rename the character and changed it to Jett Reno. Reno possesses a sardonic, deadpan sense of humor, and is often at odds with Stamets. She frequently uses references to 20th-century engineering technology, such as fixing things with duct tape, using a battery-operated power drill, etc. [47]
Adira Tal
Adira Tal (portrayed by Blu del Barrio) is an ensign aboard the USS Discovery. Adira is Star Trek's first non-binary character, as well as the first human to have bonded with a Trill symbiont for a long period of time. When they're first introduced, Adira serves in the United Earth Defense Force, but later comes to stay on the USS Discovery where they are able to get some of their memories back. They also get taken under the wing of Stamets and Culber. During season three, they are the only one able to see their boyfriend and former host of the Tal symbiont, Gray Tal. In season four, they are promoted to an ensign on the Discovery and help with calculations in regards to the DMA crisis of the season. Adira uses they/them pronouns.
Gray Tal
Gray Tal (portrayed by Ian Alexander) is a Trill character introduced in season three of Star Trek Discovery. Gray is the former host of the Tal symbiont, which was given to Adira upon his death. During the third season, he appears only to Adira as a separate entity not visible to others. He is later incorporated into a new android body during the fourth season, in which he returns to Trill to begin training to be a Trill guardian.
