Star Trek: Discovery Star Wilson Cruz Helped Break Ground, And He's Proud Of It [SXSW 2024]

Every franchise out there should be making casting choices that reflect the breadth and diversity of humanity we see every single day in our own lives, but "Star Trek" in particular has even more reason than others to do so. Heralded from its earliest conception as a progressive, forward-thinking, and uniquely idealistic series of stories, the property has done its best to maintain creator Gene Roddenberry's grand vision throughout its 50+ years of existence. That's not to say "Star Trek" has a perfect track record or has avoided certain missed opportunities over the years. Still, the franchise has always gone much further and more boldly than its contemporaries could ever claim to do.

As /Film's Jacob Hall notes in his review of the "Discovery" season 5 premiere, this particular "Star Trek" series has always made it a point to foreground characters of marginalized identities who rarely get a moment in the spotlight in most other entertainment. For all its ups and downs over the years, the show has maintained one beacon of hope through the relationship between Wilson Cruz's Dr. Hugh Culber and Anthony Rapp's Commander Paul Stamets, the first openly gay characters in all of "Trek." Even this wasn't without its own missteps, admittedly, when fans all but revolted over Culber's unnecessary "death" during an early episode of season 1, which only reinforced negative stereotypes surrounding the notorious "Bury your gays" trope. (He got better!) But, for the most part, this beloved character pairing has remained intact all the way through the upcoming final season of "Discovery."

In a Q&A session held during this week's South by Southwest Film Festival and attended by /Film, the cast took the opportunity to praise the show's groundbreaking emphasis on representation.

Over the course of its history, the "Star Trek" franchise has depicted exotic goo monsters, over-the-top space pirates, and all sorts of cosmic anomalies that have made everything up to and including time travel possible ... yet it took until the premiere of "Discovery" in 2017 to have a pair of dudes who happen to be into dudes openly share the screen together. (Sulu's husband's cameo in "Star Trek Beyond" notwithstanding.) But progress is a process, as they say, and that's what the cast focused on during the season 5 world premiere.

During the Q&A following the screening, actor and activist Wilson Cruz opened up about the immense pride and responsibility he felt in portraying a character who represents so much to so many:

"I wasn't expecting that. I think about all I can say is that it's been life-altering, really. But it's been such a privilege to share that honor with my friend of 30 years, Anthony Rapp [...] but this franchise has been alive for over 50 years. And for most of it, many of us who are part of the LGBTQ community have longed to see ourselves reflected in this franchise. It felt like a place that we should be a part of and that we really were a part of. And so to be the two people who welcomed this community in has been an honor. And to see these two characters really develop and expand their family with [non-binary actor Blu del Barrio] and with [trans actor Ian Alexander] as our chosen family has been incredible. So I couldn't be prouder and I'm so grateful to everyone who has supported our storyline."

Fans will get to see more of this when "Discovery" season 5 premieres on Paramount+ on April 4, 2024.