Star Trek: Discovery Executive Producer Alex Kurtzman expressed his excitement at the casting of Michelle Yeoh, Anthony Rapp, and Doug Jones in a recent interview with IGN.
Reflecting on his enthusiasm, and the role played by Michelle Yeoh of Captain Georgiou of the U.S.S. Shenzhou, Kurtzman said “I think that Michelle gets to play a part that has so many dimensions to it and is so perfect for where we want to go over the course of the season and maybe even beyond.”
On Doug Jones’ casting of new alien officer Lieutenant Saru, Kurtzman stated:
“Doug Jones, you know, [is] one of the greatest. What he did in Pan’s Labyrinth has embedded itself in my mind forever. So when you think about the opportunity, what you want to do when you’re creating a creature of some kind is cast an actor who has the ability to pull off the bulk of it in a practical way and that requires a real understanding of movement. And again, Sofia [Boutella]’s ability, because she’s a dancer, she had an innate understanding. It’s just in her DNA to understand how to move in that way. Doug obviously carries the same thing.”
Kurtzman drew parallels between Jones and Star Trek Beyond‘s Sofia Boutella, who will play Ahmanet in 2017’s The Mummy, which Kurtzman is directing.
Commenting on Anthony Rapp’s casting as Lieutenant Stamets, a science officer aboard the Discovery, Kurtzman had this to say:
“I’ve been a fan of Anthony’s for a long time. He’s just a brilliant actor. It’s always just about how do you find actors who are, it’s always who’s right for the part, but it’s also there’s a lovely diversity that Star Trek has always been about. As we build the cast, because there are still a lot of parts to cast, we were excited that people seemed to be so excited about our first three choices.”