Ryn's Prosthetics In Star Trek: Discovery Were Cumbersome And Limiting

At the beginning of the third season of "Star Trek: Discovery," the title ship flew through a time portal, shunting the characters forward from the year 2259 to the year 3188. In the 32nd century, the Discovery soon finds, the Federation had been forced into hiding by a galaxy-wide cataclysm that disabled all known starships. In its place rose the Emerald Chain, a money-driven corporation run by the Orions and the Andorians. When the galaxy fell back into capitalism — the Federation was a post-capitalist organization — exploitation and slavery soon followed. Under the Emerald Chain, the galaxy is a very unhappy place, and it will be up to the crew of the Discovery to find the remnants of the Federation and re-establish peace and diplomacy. 

In their quest, "Discovery" accumulates a new ally in the form of Ryn (Noah Averbach-Katz), an Andorian in the employ of the wicked Emerald Chain boss, Osyraa (Janet Kidder). Ryn had previously signed a "lifelong contract" with the Emerald Chain, essentially making him a slave for life. He once staged an uprising against Osyraa, but he failed and had his antennae chopped off as punishment. He was hence assigned to implant bombs in the necks of other slaves, making him widely hated by just about everyone. 

Ryn, like all Andorians, sported bright blue skin, white hair, and still had small forehead lumps where his antennae used to be. Because "Discovery" had a more advanced makeup department than previous "Star Trek" shows, several aliens were redesigned with more facial detail, and Andorians now also sported additional cranial ridges. 

In 2021, Averbach-Katz engaged in an AMA on Reddit, and he revealed that the newly redesigned makeup, along with the long white wig, covered most of his face and head ... and was massively uncomfortable.

Averbach-Katz learned what many "Star Trek" actors must: one must adjust their performance style to accommodate the prosthetic foreheads, full-face makeup, contact lenses, and false teeth they are called upon to wear. For advice, Averbach-Katz could have spoken to Armin Shimerman, or one of the many actors required to don outsize Ferengi heads, ears, and teeth. Or Jeffrey Combs, who also played an Andorian on "Enterprise," and who had to wear special mechanical servos under his prosthetic head to make his antennae twitch. When asked about his Andorian makeup, Averbach-Katz wrote:

"The prosthetics were like acting in a football helmet that was glued to your head, while at the same time, a giant squid slowly consumes you head-first. It's quite an experience, and not for everyone." 

Ryn had a beard in his first appearance, but it was too complicated to keep applying, so the makeup designers saved time and money by making Ryn clean-shaven. He continued:

"That beard added an extra two hours of make up time because each strand had to be glued to the mask individually, and then cut to the perfect length. It was a lot. Acting in it is a unique challenge, because my face was completely covered, even my lips, so many of the small way to convey emotion are lost [...]. On the flipside, the mask is so dynamic that, if you can stay focused and simple, [it] actually does a lot of the storytelling for you (at least that's what I would tell myself!)."

Ryn's beardlessness wasn't just practical and time-shaving, but a good character choice; Ryn shaved after he was rescued from the Emerald Chain, visually denoting that he finally gained the wherewithal to care about his appearance.