Wilson Cruz: Hi, I'm Wilson Cruz,
and I play Dr. Hugh Culber.
My first point of contact with Star Trek was Next Gen.
And it was the world of syndication.
I was the ripe old age of probably,
I think I was like 16, 17 when it came out.
And it spoke directly to my soul.
So pretty quickly,
I understood that Star Trek was talking about a world
that I wanted to live in,
a universe that had the ideals and the politic
that I hoped the world would actually look like.
I had known about Star Trek series being developed.
And so I had reached out,
but then didn't hear anything.
And so months later,
when I received a phone call saying
that I was getting an offer to be on the show,
you could have knocked me over with a feather,
to say that I was blown away and out of my mind
with excitement is an understatement.
The dying part was a surprise,
(cinematic sound)
which I think is for most people. (laughs loudly)
The return I knew pretty quickly was gonna happen.
So it was a comfort once that was expressed to me,
the actual performance of it was difficult.
The return, I thought was important to get right.
And so I wanted to make sure that
it was emotionally satisfying and satisfying to the plot
and to the general story that we're telling in the series.
So it was a lot of hard work and I'm glad we got it right.
There have been a few nods already to my
and Hugh's Puerto Rican background.
First of all,
if you were paying attention,
you heard that Hugh used to hike the cliffs of Cabo Rojo.
Narrator: He was hiking the cliffs of Cabo Rojo alone.
Wilson Cruz: I was 16.
And that his favorite meal to prepare is Asopao.
Narrator: Asopao, your recipe.
Wilson Cruz: It's your favorite,
which Stamets prepared for him upon his return
to the quarters for the first time after being reborn.
There's a sentence you don't need to say every day,
but I think a lot of Puerto Ricans and New Yorkans like me,
I think there should be a Puerto Rican flag
somewhere in those quarters.
We like to display our pride pretty prominently
in our homes.
Pa'lante, always Pa'lante.
Siempre Pa'lante.
Especially now in times that we're living in
where the Island is starting to redefine itself
and who we are and who we are in the world,
I think it's important to always keep an eye on fuerza.