"They said, yeah, we have another Klingon, but we can make him half. Maybe we'll make him half of that, Giamatti tells Inverse. The result is a half-Klingon, half-Tellarite baddie, which Giamatti plays with equal parts menace and pathos. In short, this celebrity Star Trek fan's dream has been achieved. And yet, the story that Giamatti happens to be a Star Trek fan, and parlayed that enthusiasm into his new role, is really just the latest outcome from a life infused with science fiction."
"Giamatti taking on this role isn't just stunt casting; it seems to represent an outgrowth of his artistic philosophy. It wouldn't be right to call Giamatti a sci-fi actor outright, and yet, his career is filled with great sci-fi roles: the most affecting episode of Black Mirror Season 7 starred him; if you listen to the audiobook version of Philip K. Dick's classic A Scanner Darkly, that's him narrating the entire thing; and don't forget he was in Planet of the Apes back in 2001."
Paul Giamatti was cast as Nus Braka in Starfleet Academy, a character reimagined as half-Klingon and half-Tellarite after Giamatti expressed a desire to play a Klingon. The role combines menace and pathos and fulfills a long-standing personal interest in Star Trek. Giamatti's career includes significant science fiction work, such as a noted Black Mirror episode, narrating A Scanner Darkly, and appearing in Planet of the Apes (2001). Science fiction functions as a central lens through which he sees the world and informs his artistic choices, including thinking about far-future implications and storytelling.
Read at Inverse
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