In the latest episode of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Rhys Darby reprises his role as the mischievous and scrappy cosmic entity, Trelane—a character who originated back in The Original Series 60 years ago. In the episode, Trelane is trying to impress his superiors by showcasing the wide range of emotions and drama that humans experience. To do this, he turns the Enterprise into a giant soap opera.
But there's one problem... Captain Pike, for some reason, hasn't fallen under Trelane's influence and can see his crewmates live out their new, clichéd, over-dramatic storylines. But as the only person on the Enterprise who can see what's truly happening, Pike must negotiate with Trelane to learn what's really going on and find out how to stop it.
Show Snob was lucky enough to sit down with Darby to chat about his hilarious career and his role on Strange New Worlds.
Since you’ve appeared on the show twice now, I have to ask, are you a Trekkie?
Darby: So, I wouldn’t say I’m a massive Trekkie, but, like everyone else, I watched the original series back in New Zealand when I was a kid. I've watched some of the newer movies, and my wife loved Next Generation and Picard. I’m not “fully involved," but I definitely dip my toes in the franchise, especially since Strange New Worlds came out.
But what I really love is how it’s been around for 60 years and what the franchise means to people. It’s really pushing the idea of hope and optimism about what humans can really be if we get out there and see the universe and how we treat each other. I love the meaning behind Star Trek.
You mentioned liking Strange New Worlds, what about it do you feel grabbed your attention?
Darby: I love that it’s one of those “adventure of the week” shows, where they arrive somewhere and explore, and it’s like a new story each week. There’s obviously an overarching story arc, but they kind of function like standalone episodes. It’s my favorite show so far, and then I got the call to be on it, and I was like, what?!?!
You’re a veteran character actor, and I’d imagine that even if you aren't a massive Trekkie, the amount of history and lore that Star Trek has must be a lot of fun to play with?
Darby: Yeah, it’s honestly more fun to play something that’s been around before that you can put your own spin on. Because you want to take pieces of the original character and hold onto them but also add to it and make it your own. It’s a nice little challenge as a character actor to have that.
When you’re creating a lot of these fun, bombastic characters, do you think working in the realms of sci-fi and fantasy is helpful to bring them to life?
Darby: Oh yeah, definitely. It helps to be in another world because it lets your imagination attach to whatever you’re creating. With sci-fi and fantasy, you can go outside the realms of what we exist in, and you can do more.
Are there any other sci-fi or fantasy franchises that you’d love to guest star in?
Darby: Oh yeah, back in the 80s I was a huge Battlestar Galactica fan. Then the new one came out, and that was great. If they ever brought that back, I’d do it for sure. I also love Stargate and watched that religiously. Also, The Witcher. I love that kind of fantasy, with swords and stuff. I played the games and read the books even before the show came out.
If you ever get invited back to the Star Trek franchise for a role, would you take it? And if so, would you rather play a hero or a villain?
Darby: Oh, I’d definitely come back. But now that I’m Trelane, I can’t come back…unless I’ve got a different look or prosthetics or something. If they prosthetic me, I’d love to come back and play a villain, because it’s way more fun and interesting.
But honestly, playing Trelane is already a lot of fun because he’s so powerful, and he can be either friend or foe, and that’s really interesting because characters like him aren’t just full of hate. There’s something about them that’s appealing, and they have varying emotions.
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