Paramount+ is gearing up again to boldly go where no one has gone before with the premiere of the highly anticipatedStar Trek: Discoveryspin-off seriesStar Trek: Strange New Worlds. Set in the years prior toStar Trek: The Original Series, the show will explore the adventures of theU.S.S. Enterpriseunder the leadership of Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount). Pike was first introduced inThe Original Series, along with Number One (Rebecca Romijn), Spock (Ethan Peck), Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding), Doctor M’Benga (Babs Olusanmokun), and Nurse Chapel (Jess Bush), though the roles were originated by different actors.Strange New Worldsis set to introduce new characters as well, including La’an Noonien-Singh (Christina Chong) and Erica Ortegas (Melissa Navia).
During this interview with Collider, Jess Bush and Babs Olusanmokun spoke about their characters, getting to bring a new approach to familiar characters, and the first time they were set foot on the sickbay set. As with most of our interviews, you can choose to either read the interview below or watch it in the video player above!
COLLIDER: As a lifelong Trekkie, I have to ask, were you both already Trekkies when you got cast?
BABS OLUSANMOKUN: I was a childhood fan, but I would not say I was a Trekkie because it’d be an insult to other Trekkies, but I was definitely a fan.
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So Babs, the first time that you got to go onto the Sickbay set, what was it like?
OLUSANMOKUN: It was just amazing. It was amazing. I’m like, “Wow, this is this sickbay. This is my office. This is where we get to play.” And it was just massive and level of artistry that went into the design and the detail, and the minutia, like all just all the little pieces. Is just staggering, staggering, really. So it helped us settle in even more.
JESS BUSH: Yes.
OLUSANMOKUN: Really like, we’re here, and we have to use this space, and we have to command this space. So it was really lovely.
Jess, you are both playing a character that originated in the original series. Did you feel like you had the freedom to flush it out and bring something new to the character?
BUSH: Mm, absolutely. It was a really cool process of collaborating and speaking extensively with the Akiva and Henry, the showrunners. And taking in Majel’s performance and distilling the essence of that. And then really having the conversation about like, “Who is she in 2021? Who is she when she was younger? How do we marry those things?” And it was cool. They both gave me a lot of points about who they wanted her to be, but they also gave me a lot of license to explore and then trusted me with. Which was so, it was such an honor to be trusted with that as an artist. So yeah, I mean, it’s been such a great time and I’ve felt inspired and supported by almost everybody that I’ve met in theStar Trekuniverse from every side of it. So it’s been a real pleasure and an honor.
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Babs, without spoilers, we get to see a little bit more of M’Benga’s backstory at the beginning of the season. What was it like getting to explore that arc and what can fans expect from it?
OLUSANMOKUN: Unfortunately, I can’t say what fans expect from it, but it was a lovely journey to undertake, it was a lovely challenge to undertake. And I just tried to make sure I was serving the truth as much as possible, really all through. Yeah. Yeah.
Jess, if you could use one word, how would you describe Nurse Chapel?
BUSH: Oh, that’s hard.
BUSH: It’s so hard to choose.
OLUSANMOKUN: I know three words.
BUSH: Three words for you or for me?
OLUSANMOKUN: For you, for you.
BUSH: I would say mischievous, very moral, she’s got a really strong moral compass and that guides her more than any other rule or regulation. That’s her sticking, her North Star. And I don’t know, Babs you help.
OLUSANMOKUN: Know it all.
BUSH: Okay, all right.
OLUSANMOKUN: In a good way, in a good way.
Can you do the same for your character Babs?
OLUSANMOKUN: For my character?
