Why Quasi From Star Trek: Section 31 Looks So Familiar

If you watched the first new "Star Trek" movie in nearly a decade and came away from it thinking about how you need to see more of one awkward-charming Chameloid in particular, you're not alone. The "Star Trek"-loving /Film staff are also unanimously endeared to Quasi, the nerdy, shapeshifting character played by Sam Richardson in the new Paramount+ film "Star Trek: Section 31."

Quasi makes a great impression from his initial introduction, in which he reveals himself to be a casual genius with a knack for babbling when he's nervous (as he is around Michelle Yeoh's super-hot, super-deadly Mirror Universe Philippa Georgiou). Quasi is presented as a supporting member of the Section 31 squad, but he's endearing, entertaining, and capable enough to be a leading man — or, at the very least, a beloved scene-stealer filling a Scotty or Chekov-like role within the ensemble. The film's script gives Richardson some of its best lines, but I think the actor deserves plenty of credit too; he does a lot with a little, and leaves viewers hoping to see Quasi again soon. That's par for the course for one of the most enjoyable comedic actors working in TV today.

If you've watched new films and shows in the last 15 years, you've most likely already seen Sam Richardson's work. The Michigan-born actor's screen career started in the aughts, but he was cast in several breakout roles beginning in the early 2010s. Richardson played one of Jim Halpert's college friends (and a co-founder of his season 9 start-up company Athlead) in "The Office," and appeared as a TSA Agent in both an episode of "Arrested Development" and the Jason Sudeikis-led comedy "We're The Millers." In the caustic HBO satire "Veep," Richardson played Richard Splett, the upward-failing assistant to Julia Louis-Dreyfus' Selina who ends up stumbling into positions of power in the show's later seasons. He's also one of the masterminds behind the short-lived but acclaimed Comedy Central sitcom "Detroiters," which he co-created, executive produced, co-wrote, and starred in.

"Veep" and "Detroiters" may have put Richardson on the map, but his appearances on the Apple TV+ shows "Ted Lasso" and "The Afterparty" have made him a comedic fixture in recent years. In the former, Richardson plays Edwin Akufo, the intense Ghanaian rich guy who tries to convince Sam (Toheeb Jimoh) to sign onto the team he's building. In the latter, he's the show's lead, a funny, flailing suspect in a murder mystery set at his high school reunion. If none of this rings a bell, well, Richardson has a whole host of other impressive credits to his name, from voice work on "Bojack Horseman," "Harley Quinn," and "Ralph Breaks the Internet" to appearances in movies like "Spy," "Ghostbusters," "Promising Young Woman," and "Hocus Pocus 2."

Like so many great actors who stepped onto the bridge of a starship before him (we salute you, Jeffrey Combs!), Sam Richardson has also appeared in more than one "Star Trek" project. Before playing Quasi, he actually had a voice role in the adult animated comedy "Star Trek: Lower Decks," appearing in a season 1 episode and another in season 3. In the show, he played Vendome, a member of the blue, ridge-faced alien species the Bolians. Although Vendome didn't have many lines (he appeared in more than two episodes, but was a silent background character in several), he was a lesser-known Lower Decker with a complete (if bare-bones) story arc all his own.

Vendome first pops up early in the show's first season and is speared by Gelrakians when he accidentally gives them a fertility statue as a gesture of goodwill instead of an "honor crystal" held over from Starfleet's first contact mission. The mix-up isn't actually his fault, though, and Vendome survives it, going on several more away missions in subsequent episodes. Hilariously, Vendome has more in common with Richardson's ladder-climbing "Veep" character than his "Section 31" antihero, as he later becomes captain of the California-class USS Inglewood after its previous captain is accidentally turned into a baby. Boimler (Jack Quaid) initially thinks Vendome's promotion is unfair, but ultimately realizes he worked hard for it. The alien is seen staffing his crew with Bolians and even shows up to support the Cerritos' mission in the season 3 finale. 

Where do you know Sam Richardson from? With the release of "Star Trek: Section 31," which is now on Paramount+, we can now safely say he's known for playing wholesome, underused "Star Trek" characters.