Posted in: Paramount+, Star Trek, TV | Tagged: star trek, Starfleet Academy

Starfleet Academy: Steiner, Diane, Shepard on Tarima, Jay-Den, Genesis

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy stars Zoë Steiner, Karim Diane, and Bella Shepard discussed their journeys as Tarima, Jay-Den, and Genesis.

Any time there's a new Star Trek series, it's always an eclectic mix of actors with various levels of experience, generally leaning on the more seasoned veterans. In the case of Starfleet Academy, the Gaia Violo-created series has no shortage of moments with lead Holly Hunter, who plays Nahla Ake, who not only is captain of the USS Athena, but is also Chancellor of Starfleet Academy. Alongside Discovery alum Tig Notaro (Jett Reno) and Mary Wiseman (Sylvia Tilly), and Voyager alum Robert Picardo (The Doctor), the latest batch of cadets is in safe hands. Zoë Steiner (Significant Others), who plays Tarmina Sandal, the daughter of the Betazed president; Karim Diane (One of Us Is Lying) who plays Klingon recruit Jay-Den Kraag; and Bella Shepard (Wolf Pack), who plays the Dar-Sha cadet Genesis Lythe, daughter of an admiral with a chip on her shoulder; spoke to Bleeding Cool about a variety of subjects from Tarima's connection to Sandro Rosta's Caleb Mir, Jay-Den on balancing his Klingon upbringing and his new path in the Federation, and Genesis trying to earn her way up the ranks without relying on any nepotism.

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy Stars Zoë Steiner, Karim Diane, and Bella Shepard on Forging Their Paths as Tarima, Jay-Den, and Genesis

Zoe, what did you like about building the dynamic with Sandro's Caleb Mir? Were you told to study any specific Star Trek episodes about Betazoids?

Steiner: Totally, in real life, I loved it, and it was so easy for me. I didn't have my work cut out, so to speak. Sandro was so generous as an actor. He's so present, giving, and kind. I could go on about it. In that regard, it was quite easy for me to build a dynamic with him, and then in terms of the characters, Caleb and Tarima. Similarly, like Tarima, she's a Betazoid, an empath. She wears her heart on her sleeve, but also has a lot of shame around those abilities and how they might get the better of her. When she meets Caleb, it's like a magnetic connection, and she sees a real freedom in him that she craves for herself.

Karim, how do you balance Jayden's individualism with his traditional Klingon values and upbringing?

Diane: Sometimes he balances it well, and sometimes he doesn't [laughs]. That's part of being young and figuring it out. There is a constant push and pull between how he was raised and who he is. We find out over the course of the season how he does with it. There is no perfect answer, but there's no perfect mix. He figures out what works for him.

Bella, what went into the psychology of becoming Genesis and molding her into the leader that she is?

Shepard: Her father's an accomplished Starfleet admiral, so that alone gives me a lot to work with and gives Genesis her drive and her ambition. It also gives her a lot of insecurities, so it's allowed me to add multiple different layers to her as a character, which is always a gift as an actor, to be able to create a very dynamic character.

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, which also stars George Hawkins, Kerrice Brooks, Gina Yashere, Oded Fehr, Stephen Colbert, Rebecca Quin, and Paul Giamatti, premieres with its first two episodes on January 15th on Paramount+.

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