Wilson Cruz – Star Trek: Discovery

By: Jamie Steinberg

Q) What continues to challenge you about portraying Dr. Culber?

A) He has been one of the most challenging characters for me to develop just because every season calls for him to evolve in an exponential way. The difference between the first season Culber and the second season Culber is night and day. And the difference between second and third is another night and day. So, for me, it’s justifying and making believable all of these changes. If someone comes back from the dead, what does that do to you? Right? How does it change the way that you live your life? Because it has to, right? So, I had fun imaging what that would be psychological for somebody to be given a second opportunity to live your life in the way that you had always wanted to and could do all the things you knew you had the potential of doing and to love all of the people who deserve your love and to receive the love that you are given. That was the challenge in front of me. So, in Season 3 we see this man who has been through an unbelievable trauma take the reins of his own life and create the life that he feels he deserves. And, specifically, that means he is not just a partner to Stamets (Anthony Rapp). He’s not just his boyfriend, but he has his own life, his own goals and his own ambitions that he brings into the relationship and that they are equals. He has to find a way to balance the needs of his relationship with his partner with his own needs and ambitions. So, those are the challenges.

Q) Does Culber care that he is stranded in the future or is it really just the fact he is with Stamets at this moment?

A) I think Culber sees this as an opportunity. It would have been very difficult to change his entire life if he had stayed behind, right? Because there were expectations of him and all of that. In a new future, in a new place and a new life, he has the potential of creating his best life from nothing and creating it with the man that he loves and surrounded by this family that he has created. So, for him leaving everything behind was difficult, yes, but it presented a real opportunity to create his best life. But I think he knew it was going to be hard, but how much harder could it have been than dying? [laughs] As long as we have the people we love in our lives, anything is possible.

Q) How does he feel about being separated from his loved ones and family? We didn’t get to see if he left a message for them the way the others did.

A) No, we didn’t. That was part of what was difficult for me as an actor. I had to create all of that for myself off camera and justify all of that and give myself my own reasons. But I really do think he reached out to his parents and explained why he needed to this. I think just like everyone else he thought it was worth all of that risk.

Q) It’s great when we get to see Dr. Culber at work. Will we get to see much of that this season as well?

A) Oh yes. I mean, it’s going to be our version of it – the “Discovery” version of what this doctor, specifically, does and how he approaches his work on the ship now. Culber, in having gone through this traumatic experience realizes that so many of his crew members have also been through traumatic experiences and that they are going to need someone to guide them through this really difficult transition. And who better than somebody who has managed to come back from the most traumatic experience, which is death. So, we’ll see a lot of Culber interacting with the entire crew and managing their mental health and their health. So, he’s going to be looking at his patients in a holistic way. It’s not just their physical health, but how they are doing mentally and physically.

Q) Did you have much of a say as to how Culber developed in Season 3?

A) Mmhmm! I’m a bit of a pain in the ass to the writers…[laughs] But in a collaborative way. I just feel like we create and develop this person together. But it’s mostly the writers and every now and then I’ll ask a bunch of questions or our conversations will gear the story in certain directions. So, it’s very collaborative here and thank God because that way I’m part of that process! I’m part of the development of it and it helps in the homework. It kind of makes things easier if I’m involved in that.

Q) There is such intense themes with this series. What are some that are explored this season?

A) I think first and foremost it’s this question about separation, isolation and disconnection from each other because of the circumstances we find ourselves in in this new future. But also it’s incredibly poignant and necessary conversation for the times we are living in now. And the funny thing is that we didn’t know that it would be serving as much of a parallel as it is when we were shooting it. But now in watching it, it is insane how it speaks directly to us right now. How do we find ways to connect and take care of each other and span this divide that is created by our circumstances? Those are huge themes this season.

Q) Were you looking forward to sharing scenes with someone(s) in particular?

A) I can’t give too much away, but I have some really great stuff with people I haven’t really worked much with. So, that’s been really exciting. I wish I could say more than that, but we are seeing Dr. Culber outside of his little nuclear family. I wish I could tell you more than that, but then I’d be giving away too much.

Q) What are some episodes fans should keep an eye out for this season?

A) Oh! That’s good. That’s sneaky! [laughs] I would say that fans of Culber should really look forward to episode four. I think I can say that without getting in trouble.

Q) What have you personally taken away from your time working on “Star Trek: Discovery?”

A) So much. Well, this summer has been really difficult for a lot of us. The country has been having a conversation about racism, systemic racism, and all of these -isms that we have continuously dealt with in this country and in this world. My job – all of our jobs on “Star Trek: Discovery” – is to imagine who we would be if we lived in a world and a time where none of those -isms held us back from living our potential and reaching our potential. So, for me, it’s been incredibly moving and inspiring in my own personal life. Just the practice of imagining who I would be without all of that. I think it forces me to look at our present world in a very different way and calls on me, and all of us who have thought about this, to do everything we can in our real lives to push us towards that idealistic future that we see on “Star Trek: Discovery.” And it’s really powerful how exploring those ideas and imaging that world and life how it changes you and the way you interact with the world and the people in it.

Q) You’re very vocal about such important causes like LGBTQ rights and spreading the word to get people to vote. What do you want to be sure we share with our readers about these significant issues?

A) I think if there is anything that the last four years could possible teach us and that we could walk away with after enduring such insecurity and inconsistency and disappointment in our leadership…After enduring all of that, I think the lesson that I hope we all take from it is that we can’t stand idly by and act like these problems are going to take care of themselves or that we will somehow magically evolve without our own efforts in creating this change. So, if we can learn that our participation in our society and take our civic duty responsibly, we can create a world, society, country and a life that we can all be proud of. That would consist of a world in which we recognize, acknowledge and celebrate the humanity in every single person no matter their color, their orientation, their gender, their ability – that we (every single one of us) are capable of saving our own world. Very much like we do on “Star Trek: Discovery.” You don’t have to be a super hero. You don’t have to have a cape. You don’t have to have magical abilities. All it takes to be a hero today is to show up vulnerably, authentically exactly the way you are with the desire for equity and justice for every single person on this planet. That world is possible. We just have to commit to creating it.