Posted in: CBS, Star Trek, streaming, TV | Tagged: Laris, orla Brady, paramount, patrick stewart, star trek, Star Trek Picard, Star Trek: The Original Series, Tallinn

Star Trek: Picard Star Orla Brady Talks Season 2 Role & TOS Connection

Star Trek: Picard star Orla Brady has a significantly bigger presence in the second season but it's not for the reason you might think. In the first season, she became Jean-Luc's (Patrick Stewart) closest friend as the Romulan Laris, working in his French vineyard that largely bookends the season as he sets off to unravel a Synch conspiracy from within Starfleet. The story is dramatically different from the Paramount+ series' follow-up season that finds the crew of the La Sirena traveling back to Earth's 21st century to set the timeline correct and prevent their dystopian nightmare from happening. Brady spoke to Comicbook.com about her latest developments. This is your spoilers warning.

Brady set aside her Romulan ears and was revealed to be the watcher known as Tallinn (which Picard mistakes for Laris), who is a supervisor assigned to watch over Jean-Luc's ancestor in NASA astronaut Renee Picard (Penelope Mitchell) and fulfilling the same mission as Gary Seven (Robert Lansing) from Star Trek: The Original Series episode "Assignment: Earth". "It was a complete surprise [I would be invited back for season two]," Brady revealed. "It was a surprise to the writers and an utter surprise to me." Breaking down her connection to Picard in season one, "Laris and Zhaban were two characters who, if anything, in season one, they were there to give us the prologue," she explained. "This is what Picard has been doing. It's related to the destruction of Romulus and Romulans seeking refuge on Earth, and they have been taking care of him. He's been in a situation that's been very secure, very lovely, but he's eager and itching to do something to make a difference if you like. That was their function. The roles, as originally conceived and when I got the script first, were in their 30s. I think they were younger, kind of active."

Brady broke down what could have been from season one into the tease in the season two premiere "The Star Gazer." "Laris and Zhaban were two characters who, if anything, in season one, they were there to give us the prologue," she said. "This is what Picard has been doing. It's related to the destruction of Romulus and Romulans seeking refuge on Earth, and they have been taking care of him. He's been in a situation that's been very secure, very lovely, but he's eager and itching to do something to make a difference if you like. That was their function. The roles, as originally conceived and when I got the script first, were in their 30s. I think they were younger, kind of active."

The reception was better than the showrunners expected. "The writers told me afterward that they were a little taken, in a good way, taken aback with response to her because it was kind of two and on, and then he was off in the main story," Brady said. "So they felt that there was enough of a connection between myself and Patrick, or Picard and Laris, that they felt they wanted to explore that story more. And they had anyway hoped to go into the reasons why he has never committed to a long-term relationship. That beautiful long-term adventure that love is had never been a feature of his life, and they wanted to explore it, and they felt that this began to happen naturally in season one, and it was a surprise to all of us."

Brady grew up watching TOS as a child but didn't have to revisit the series concerning her new role as Tallinn. "So I had a sense of Gary Seven, and as soon as they referenced that, the supervisors, I went back and watched it," she said. "I mean, I've seen it several times since. It was such a great creation on the part of Robert Lansing. He created an equal to Captain Kirk, somebody who has great status. Had they done the spinoff series, which I think they had planned to do, I think I've read that somewhere, that they were hoping they could spin off the supervisors into a series of their own, with Robert Lansing at the helm, it would've been phenomenal had that happened. So it gave me a great sense of how he, and therefore I, could feel very equal to Picard. And so, she has none of the reverence all the other characters in the series have for this legendary character, Picard, his whole life, what he's done. Even Laris has that, but Tallinn doesn't. Tallinn just thinks, 'What the heck is this entitled white guy doing, time-traveling into my gig? I am a supervisor. I'm responsible for this girl. He's trying to muscle in on the act, and now he's telling me what the plan is? What the heck.' She's quite cross with him at first."

For more on Brady breaking down Laris' bond with Zhaban and how his death shaped her relationship with Picard, what she liked about TOS growing up, and finally being able to interact with the rest of the cast, make sure to check out the full interview.

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