Outline:
The new series “Star Trek: Starfleet Academy”includes a recurring character called Lura Thok, portrayed by British comedian Gina Yashere, which has sparked numerous humorous discussions among Star Trek fans.Lura Thok is part Klingon and part Jem’Hadar., you know. Everyone is familiar with Klingons, but Jem’Hadar are more recognizable to fans of “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine,” who can confirm that the Jem’Hadar were a race of genetically modified warriors serving the evil empire called the Dominion. The Jem’Hadar were created to be infertile, all were male, and they were all born already dependent on a powerful drug known as Ketracel-white.
Lura Thok, due to her gender and her mixed-species heritage, demonstrates that the Jem’Hadar eventually managed to alter their genetic code sufficiently to enable reproduction and the birth of females. The specifics of the Jem’Hadar’s history have not yet been revealed on “Starfleet Academy,” but this setting occurs more than 800 years after the conclusion of the Dominion War in “Deep Space Nine,” making it plausible that the Jem’Hadar achieved numerous scientific advancements over time.
Lura Thok leads the Academy’s war school (!), and oversees combat training while ensuring cadets follow the rules. She is rugged, has a short temper, and speaks with intensity. She’s an enjoyable character. However, Yashere was unaware that she was auditioning for Lura Thok when she went in for “Starfleet Academy,” and she didn’t even realize she was auditioning for a “Trek” show. Film’s own Jacob Hall recently interviewed Yashere, who shared that her audition materials had all mentions of “Star Trek” intentionally taken out. She portrayed the role from a character standpoint and was surprised to later find out she was supposed to play a Klingon/Jem’Hadar.
Read more: The 5 Most Unfavorable Episodes Of Star Trek: Voyager, Ranked
Gina Yashere’s audition materials had all Star Trek-related mentions eliminated.
Like many actors from “Trek” before her, Gina Yashere wasn’t a Trekkie before she tried out for the role. Maybe not being a Trekkie allowed her to discover a more authentic version of the character; she didn’t copy any other actors’ portrayals. Yashere simply viewed her role as a military figure and embraced it:
I had no knowledge of the Jem’Hadar or the Klingons. My first audition for the show, I wasn’t even aware it was ‘Star Trek’ because they removed all references in the script and used a codename. So I just saw a drill sergeant yelling at a group of kids, and I portrayed it that way. Later, I discovered it was ‘Star Trek,’ but by that point, they had already fallen in love with my performance, which ultimately landed me the role.
It wasn’t until after she secured the role that Yashere began her “Star Trek” studies. Fortunately, she had a relative who was a Trekkie, so she questioned him on the specifics. And if you’re a Trekkie, you know that there are alotof details. Fortunately, the more Yashere learned, the more she understood that her militant performance was suitable, adding:
My younger brother is a huge fan of Star Trek. He shared the complete history of the Klingons and Jem’Hadar with me, and I said, ‘Well, I don’t think I was too wrong. They’re very powerful, warrior-like species.’ So I kept that aspect of her character and incorporated it, but made her a bit gentler because she’s now teaching children and can’t actually harm them. I made her a little softer, but I believe it works quite well.
It certainly does. “Star Trek: Starfleet Academy” is now available to stream on Paramount+.
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Read the original article on SlashFilm.