Something a little magical happens when the cast of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds gets together at Dragon Con. This is the third consecutive year that Anson Mount and Ethan Peck have been guests, the second year for Christina Chong, and the first time for Bruce Horak and Babs Olusanmokun. The cast answered fan questions Saturday at 2:30PM in Hyatt Centennial II-IV and again Sunday at 10AM in the Marriott Atrium Ballroom.
It was not difficult to tell that the entire cast has been thoroughly enjoying their con as they made their way on stage for the early morning Sunday Q&A. One of the track volunteers made a coffee run and when the coffee arrived, Chong waved enthusiastically and made grabby hands for her cup. Even the famous “Pike hair” needed a break as Mount wore a hat for the morning. Mount said that Dragon Con is one of his favorite conventions, and Peck agreed. Chong mentioned that she really loves seeing all of the costumes and has deep respect for the people who put such time and energy into their creations, shouting out specifically the person who had recreated her Princess Thalia dress from the first season.
On that subject, Mount took a moment to apologize to the members of the 300 Spartans that he photobombed in the Hilton, but he thought they were simply fantastic. Among the other costumes that stood out to the cast, Horak noted he’d seen an incredible Rosie the Robot and Olusanmokun talked about the photo op he’d taken with a Dalek (from Doctor Who). Perhaps naturally, one of the follow up questions was about who each person would cosplay as if they could. Chong immediately replied, “Barbie.” Horak would come as Chewbacca, Peck would come as either Riker or Data, and Olusanmokun would come as the Terminator. Mount, on the other hand, chose Bluey’s Dad since that is a show he bonds with his young daughter over. In fact, Mount tried to get his daughter on the phone so we could all say hello, but she was taking a nap. Instead, we got to say hello to Mount’s wife.
Due to last year’s writers and actors strike, fans of Strange New Worlds didn’t have a chance to talk at all about Season 2’s musical episode “Subspace Rhapsody,” and we more than made up for it this year. When asked who really enjoyed the singing, Chong again piped right up to say that she loved it. Olusanmokun, however, said that he was “aware of his weaknesses” when it came to singing and was “man enough to admit it.” Mount enjoyed it but, “that doesn’t mean I’m any good at it. I just enjoy ‘oh sh!t’ situations.” Peck also enjoyed it even though he wasn’t looking forward to it.
Mount, Chong, and Peck also attended Friday’s event “Subspace Rhapsody Picture Show & Sing Along” at 5:30PM in Hilton Grand West. Chong said that “it was incredible and so touching and moving, I felt emotional at several points.” Mount agreed, saying that he was tearing up during it, and Peck said that it was incredibly touching. Peck added, “We film in a vacuum more or less, and to see the impact that some of our work has… what an inspiring [thing], really, really incredible. Thank you for putting that on.” Peck and Mount agreed during the panel on Sunday, however, that they didn’t know how we were going to top that, suggesting that maybe the production needs some explosions or more set pieces. Peck did say, though, that if any of the cast are here at Dragon Con next year that they would definitely come back to see the shadow cast again.
One of the side effects of a musical episode is earworms. When asked what the biggest earworm from the episode was, Chong answered that it was “Status Report,” which Peck agreed to. But Mount apparently had too much caffeine the previous night and had “Keeping Secrets” stuck in his head while trying to go to sleep.
One of the best moments from the episode almost didn’t happen, according to Mount. During a brief chat backstage Horak said that the showrunners had approached him about being one of the “K-pop Klingons” in the episode. Mount later added that the writers had gotten a note from the network that they thought it was too much and should instead be opera, since it is known that Klingons have opera. “My response was… it’s supposed to be embarrassing. If they already do opera, why would they be embarrassed by opera? So, we had to shoot two different scenes, one as opera and one as K-pop. Once they saw it, they got it. So that’s what we ended up with, thank goodness,” Mount said.
In one of the most surprising moments from either panel, one fan asked what each person’s favorite musical is and would they sing something from it? It’s doubtful anyone in attendance actually expected anyone to sing, but after Chong answered Chicago, she went right into an excerpt of “All That Jazz,” though she noted that she wants to play Roxy Hart instead of Velma Kelly. Not to be out-done, after Horak said his favorite musical is Sweeny Todd, he also sang an excerpt from the show. Mount’s answer had three parts: his favorite musical that he’s ever seen is Sam Mendes’s Cabaret, his favorite movie musical he’s ever seen is Rocket Man, and the musical he’d most want to do is Three Penny Opera. He was being cajoled into singing from that show, but instead he sang an excerpt from Cabaret. Peck and Olusanmokun more or less refused to rise to the bait, but in the end Olusanmokun relented enough to sing a little “Poor Judd is Dead” from Oklahoma, a show that he did in high school.
Tangentially, and in the same vein as musicals, one fan asked the group what their favorite or go-to dance moves were. Continuing with the theme of surprise, Mount decided to jump off the stage, approach the fan in the aisle, and lead her through a brief dance, ending with a dip. The stunned but excited look on the fan’s face mirrored the reaction in the ballroom.
The conversation wasn’t all about musicals, however. Since body-swapping has already come up in the show, when asked who else they would want to swap roles with, Peck said that he’d like to play Pelia. Horak agreed that he would like to play Carol Kane’s part just so they could bring him back. That sentiment was echoed by the crowd, who clearly were on the side of Horak returning to the series.
It might not be a surprise that with such busy schedules, each person seeks out a little solitude when it comes to their hobbies. In addition to painting portraits, with a goal of doing 1000, Horak said that he also enjoys composing music. Chong also said that she enjoys singing and writing music as well as playing with her dog. Olusanmokun likes to wander around and admire a location’s architecture, while Peck likes to go for a long drive in his Mustang. Mount has a pottery studio in his house where he likes to go, and he also tinkers with his mandolin.
The Star Trek fans and actors are part of a large, connected family. During a backstage chat, about what it is like to be part of that family, Chong said, “It’s incredible. To be here and wherever else we go travelling the world and to be getting the feedback of how loved we are—not just our show but all the shows—to reconnect with the cast and with the casts of all the other shows, it’s amazing. You can’t get a better job, I don’t think.”
Mount added, “It’s really wild doing something—and I guess it might be my first experience—that has a built-in audience. It’s a blessing. It’s also a fan base that has a sense of their own identity, so there’s often times there’s not as much of that weird, like, fans giving you high status for no reason. They welcome us into their space.”
Season 3 of Strange New Worlds, doesn’t yet have a release date, but during San Diego Comic Con, a five-minute teaser scene was released where several members of the crew are changed genetically into Vulcans to achieve some un-specified mission. When asked if there was one non-spoiler word that could be used to describe the season, Olusanmokun said, “astonishing.” Mount replied, “hijinks,” to which Olusanmokun added “shenanigans.” Horak, sadly, gave his spoiler for Season 3, which was “absent.” Hopefully, another way to bring Horak back into the fold will come up soon.
It’s always interesting to find out how first-time guests are enjoying the con, and Olusanmokun said that it has been fantastic. Horak said that he’d heard about Dragon Con from some of the handlers he was working with at his first convention in Las Vegas. “They kept saying, ‘This is great, but wait til Dragon Con, wait til Dragon Con. It’s insane.’ I did bump into Ethan a couple years ago who said it was out of this world, didn’t sleep, partied all night. It’s been a ride.” Olusanmokun said he was unprepared for the party and had heard it was going to be wild, “and indeed it’s been wild, but the joy of people coming together and cosplaying… the amount of work I can imagine people putting into these costumes, I feel like they’re more than costumes. It’s a way of being. And that’s really cool.”
It is gratifying to hear how much the cast likes this con and enjoys themselves while here. The feeling is absolutely mutual.
