Hey, nerds. I'm Wil Wheaton and this is "The Ready Room."
Your official behind-the-scenes hub
for all things Star Trek Universe.
Today, we saw the second episode of Star Trek: Discovery
Season 3, which finally reunited us with our beloved
Discovery crew and as always, we have so much to talk about.
So consider this your requisite spoiler warning for the day.
If you haven't watched Episode 2, "Far From Home,"
then go take a hike through the colony and meet us back here
for a very special double interview.
That is right, this week I am joined by
Star Trek: Discovery's resident Kelpien, Doug Jones,
as well as the feistiest ensign in Starfleet, Mary Wiseman
to talk about Saru and Tilly's latest away mission.
Plus, right next to our stockpile of dilithium,
we're safeguarding a brand new exclusive clip
from next week's episode of Star Trek: Discovery.
But before I get to that, I just have to say how much I love
the Old West vibes of this new episode. Wasn't that cool?
How often do you get to see batwing doors
and spurred boots in Star Trek?
I'm way ahead of you,
you're all saying, "A Fistful Of Datas."
You're not wrong but I'm talking about
not "A Fistful Of Datas."
For more on this storyline,
let's check out our latest "Moments of Discovery" deep dive.
Control room, engage.
I love being absent from Episode 1
'cause then that leaves the audience going,
"Where are they?"
Well, Episode 2 here we land.
And we're looking for Burnham, where's Burnham?
What's happening here? How do we fit?
Episode 2 was an incredible read when I read
it for the first time. It felt instantly like a Western.
I got to be a Jimmy Stewart, I got to walk through
saloon doors, they actually went
[imitating swinging doors sound]
Dream of my life.
I knew that I would use all of the Old Western tropes
while shooting it, and I thought, well, you know, merging
that with what we know Star Trek to be would be a really
interesting mix and it was all laid out there on the page.
Innocently, we go in looking to have our little
device repaired so we can get our communications back up.
But, of course, you meet the bad guys who are like,
"Hey, what do you want?"
We got to meet guest star, Jake Weber, who was amazing.
And then the fight breaks out.
[Grunting]
[Glass breaks]
We had a lot of fun, you know, adding dust
into Star Trek, adding leathers into Star Trek,
adding certain types of tensions and beats that you
wouldn't normally see on a Star Trek show and we added
it all in there and you know, hopefully,
came up with something pretty unique.
[yelling and grunting]
And thank heaven, Georgiou comes in to save the day
against my orders.
This is not who we are.
It is who I am.
I love that little tête-à-tête we have back and forth.
I am the acting captain of the vessel
that brought you here, stand down!
We're kind of at each other all season.
Which is kind of lovely. But still, you know,
kind of glad she was here.
She always does that when it's like, "Oh you,"
and then I'm like, "All right, all right."
Right now I am joined by two of Star Trek: Discovery's best
and brightest, the immensely talented Doug Jones
and Mary Wiseman. Mary, Doug, I am so excited to be talking
with you today. Let's dive right in.
Let's go back to the beginning of the episode
we've just seen.
Discovery crash lands on a planet.
Now, the last time I saw a starship crash land on a planet
it was my starship and we did not come out of it very well.
And it was traumatic and upsetting to me
to watch Discovery crash land.
I am wondering, just because I'm speaking
to fellow Star Trek actors, on the shake scale,
as the ship was coming down, did you land with a 10?
[chuckling]
You know, right.
Turmoil on the bridge is probably my least favorite thing
because I wanna be authentic about it, but you just feel
so silly in the moment, don't you?
You really do.
Especially when you're wearing a pair
of hooves like Doug is.
[chuckling]
It must literally be terrifying for you.
Yeah, but I think that crash landing, I think all of us
were even for the-- instead of just like doing the usual
countdown. Three, two, one, left. Three, two, one, right.
Instead of doing that kind of thing, we did full on tumbling
out of, you know, over consoles, out of chairs.
[yelling and grunting]
That was probably the most athletic crash landing,
or a crash or turbulence I've done.
For sure, yeah and I did a lot of hair acting
which I found to be my friend in the shaking scene.
The pony really, you know I can really
sell it with the high ponytail.
Because you brought it up,
I love the evolution of Tilly's hair
on Star Trek: Discovery.
I love it so much!
Was this something that you talked about with the
showrunners or was, did they bring it to you?
I'm just curious, like this is not a deep acting question.
This is a curious fan question. Tell me the story
of Tilly's amazing hair.
[laughing]
[Mary] I think that hair does a lot of storytelling
on our show.
Like everyone evil has straightened hair.
[chuckling]
Pretty consistently.
I really bristled under the very tight bun
of the first season. I found it was very unflattering.
But I think the idea was that Tilly at this point
is like a really by-the-books individual
and so it kind of makes sense that she's all tucked
in and kind of, I feel like as she finds herself,
she lets her hair be more a part of her container.
For me personally, I just, you know,
I wanna let it all hang out, I wanna do my hair acting,
I want my big, huge cut of hair out. So, selfishly,
I think I kinda like pushed it that way.
And with the help of our Key Hairstylist, Ryan Reed,
who is a lover of all curls and did me right.
You're very lucky, when I was Wesley Crusher,
an entire can of hairspray was used every morning
to transform me from a 20th century teenager
into a 24th century action figure head.
And it drove me absolutely crazy.
I wanna talk a little bit, Mary, about the similarities
between Wesley and Tilly, I told you this before you came
into "The Ready Room" and we started rolling, I wanna tell
the world, Tilly's my favorite character in the history
of Star Trek. More than Spock, more than Kirk,
more than Wesley.
I identify with her so much.
She's anxious, like I am.
She is in her own head, like I am.
She has good ideas but doesn't quite know
how to express them, just like me. I identify with her
so much. She is gonna be a role model. She is a role model
for people who have always felt like, "I'm just too nervous,
I shouldn't say anything, no one's gonna listen to me."
Are you aware of that? And if you
are, how do you feel about it?
This is how anxious I am right now,
this is what my hands are doing off camera.
Wil, first, thank you so much for saying that,
that means so much to me coming from you.
I can't even tell you.
I have heard that a little bit and it's a weird thing
to interface with, I have--
[chuckling]
my own struggles with all the things that you mentioned.
And it's encouraging to me and I guess,
it's bizarre, I mean, it's a great gift that just
being able to show up and deliver yourself that you can make
other people feel seen.
-: Yeah. -: Or, you know,
represented in some way, it seems so small,
but to be able to give people that is so, so encouraging.
So, it's a big responsibility but like everyone I've gotten
to connect with since starting the show, it's made my
life that much bigger and deeper and more meaningful.
So, I'm so grateful for the opportunity I was given.
You know, the character was written this way.
It's not just me, they wanted a character that would make
fans feel seen and represent somebody
who doesn't always get to have the heroic turn.
So I really give it up to all the creators that
were involved in writing Tilly the way she's been written.
'Cause it was really their idea, they conceived it.
And yet you do have so many heroic turns, though
throughout this show. Your smarts have come in to save
the day several times and Saru has been very aware of this.
The big difference between Tilly and Wesley is they have
these incredible ideas and the people in charge
actually listen to Tilly.
[chuckling]
I finally understand, like, I thought I understood what
it meant to be a Star Trek fan 'cause I loved The Original
Series so much. I didn't know what it meant to love
Star Trek until I fell in love with Discovery.
Like it just lands--
it makes me feel-- you should know this--
your show makes me feel the way I felt when I was a little
boy watching The Original Series, it just gives me that,
it's that same sense of like, of wonder and that same sense
of family. And a huge reason for that
are the relationships between the characters.
So let's talk about that for a second.
We know that Burnham and Saru are very close.
We know that Tilly and Burnham are close. But this season,
oh, the relationship between Saru and Tilly
and how it is growing, and how the respect,
the mutual respect is starting to blossom.
I just wanna hear you talk about that relationship,
about the discovery process on set,
and about the-- just the choices that you have made
to bring this wonderful relationship to life.
Oh, I just, I absolutely-- Well, first of all,
I love Mary Wiseman as a human being, so when she's playing
Tilly, I just, I'm just, like you, Wil, I'm so in love
with that character and she also might be my favorite of all
time. And I love that I get to interact with her
as a sort of a mentor, but also sort of as father figure.
We really, that family issue comes up again.
Saru is one who, you know, of course we all roll our eyes
at the appropriate time when she says something
or blurts something out then we're like, "Oh, dear
there she goes again."
-: Yeah. -: But through that,
Saru sees the sense that she's making, the reason that she's
presenting, the balanced science that she brings
with, you know, all of her smarts.
And so what I love is the episode we just watched,
in Episode 2, where we have gone out of the ship, and I--
she's the one I chose to take with me.
-: Yeah. -: And she's asking, "Why, why,
why." And I'm like, "Well, I needed an engineer."
"We have lots of those," it's like you're the one
who makes that good first impression.
He loves that she blithers on. But through it all,
he knows that underneath there is that person that others
will relate to, others will find comforting,
others will trust.
Well, first, I just wanna say that like, Doug, even though
he's covered head to toe in prosthetics and again,
is wearing hooves, he is the kindest, warmest,
most loving person on set and he's always a balm
on those early mornings or those late nights.
He always has a joke, never has a complaint,
always willing to hear your complaints, of course, you know,
he's just the most empathic and most wonderful person
to work with. So of course, on a selfish level, I'm very
happy I got to work with him more on this season.
I think in the show, it's like, it's just a really lovely
arc because as Doug mentioned, he becomes a bit of a father
figure to her. And I do believe, in life, you seek out
relationships that can heal you. And I think Tilly
is in great need of a parental figure who will treat her
with empathy and affirm that her ideas and her mind
and her way of seeing the world have value.
So, it's a huge growing moment for her and I think the kind
of growth that Tilly goes through this season,
wouldn't be possible without this like really strong
relationship that forms. And one thing that's kind of fun,
I don't think this is too spoiler-y...
As the season goes on,
I think Tilly becomes fiercely protective of Saru
in a way that's like, brings that
-: exciting part of her. -: Aw, that's wonderful.
And I just think it's definitely a relationship to watch
because it's just really lovely and really heartfelt
and for me, it was one of the joys of the season,
getting to spend so much time with Doug
and our characters getting to grow in this way.
And you know, can I also add that protective thing
is Mary Wiseman and Doug Jones off camera as well.
She's mentioned my hoof boots, what, two, three times
during this interview alone.
-: Yeah. -: That's because
she worries about me constantly, as like, you know...
It's like, "Dad, we gotta get you
to the lunch room, come on now, walk with me."
-: Yeah. -: "Just take me arm"
I love her.
You know, it's interesting that you've brought up the hoof
boots a couple of times because the hoof boots make me
really uncomfortable. I worry about your ankles every time
I see them. And I was actually thinking about you.
You shot on location in Iceland, which is remarkable.
We never got to go to Iceland by the way.
We never even got to go out of California.
But I'm wondering, what in the world was it like to go
walking through that terrain in your terrifying hoof boots?
Well, good case in point, there you go.
We started off on a beach, it was a big, like a red, sandy
beach or black, sandy beach, I think it was.
-: Yeah, black sand. -: So sinking backward
into that without a flat floor, I'm screwed.
And then from that we're on top of a glacier.
-: Yeah. -: And we had to start
a walking sequence at the back edge, right behind us
was a drop off and Mary--
-: No. -: I have never seen Mary
so nervous for my sake, I was just kinda like, "Eh, well,
if I die, I die." And she was like, "No, stop, oh."
And I always kind of have to take a corrective step
before we start something and every time I did that,
oh, poor thing, jumped and wanted to dive
and take the fall for me.
Are your hoof boots built into your costume in a way that
they can't come off or are they off when you're off camera?
When my feet are off camera, they have a second pair
that is at the same height but it's a flat block instead
-: of a high heel block. -: Yeah.
So I have more control of my steps then.
Are you wearing fierce platform shoes?
-: Yes. -: Yeah, fierce?
Yes, yeah, oh yeah, I'm like Lady Gaga on stage, yeah.
As if I couldn't love Saru more.
I know.
[chuckling]
Mary, you looked like you were gonna add something
about the hoof boots on the edge of the glacier.
It was terrifying, it was completely terrifying.
We were walking over giant rocks, like, I felt like
I was gonna fall down and twist an ankle.
So, it was just like-- he's so vulnerable. But I do think
it's a testament to Doug's athleticism. I mean, you know.
He's such an incredible physical actor.
-: Yeah. -: And also just a
physical specimen. That nobody else on Earth
could have done what he did in that terrain.
Also, Iceland was beautiful, it was the best experience
-: of my life. -: Oh, gosh yes.
And they have the best soup on the planet.
So, this episode takes this beautiful turn
and it becomes almost a classic Western.
You have a full-on bar brawl
at one point. And in that bar brawl,
you are both present for a Michelle Yeoh fight sequence
for, I believe, the first time in the series.
I would love it if you would talk about how amazing
that was. Not just to watch, but to be part of.
I mean, incredible, she's legendary.
She's like-- it's just like unreal
and she's just so expressive with her body.
She's so powerful. It was the coolest thing
to get to witness. We were like, I don't know,
kids at a play or something, just every take,
watching her. She's just incredible.
Right, and you know, and when Michelle Yeoh was fighting
you just kind of stand back and watch the show.
And thankfully they choreographed it that way that where
she-- Mary and I were kind of over by the bar while Michelle
did all this. I mean, I threw
-: a couple things at somebody. -: Yeah, I'm hiding.
Yeah, I told you to get behind the bar.
-: Yeah. -: It was great.
In that sequence, we find out that there is a dilithium
shortage in the future. And then Tilly has this fantastic
moment where she races into her beautiful Tilly brain
and goes, "We can trade some of our dilithium."
So, Mary, that seems like the kind of decision
a captain makes and it seems like the sort of decision
that could be part of Tilly being on the path to eventually
becoming a captain, do you agree with that?
Yeah, I think the deduction involved in them having warp
capable ships, but no dilithium, I think she deduces
in that moment of panic really quickly.
Oh, they need dilithium.
It speaks to how quick her mind is and also how she's
capable of working under pressure, even though
it doesn't come out in the most elegant way.
Of course, she has the brain power and acumen
to acknowledge the need and actually get into some sort
of negotiations. Which, I do think that speaks to her
leadership qualities, for sure, and I think
that's why Saru brings her.
She's an out-of-the-box thinker.
Is Saru seeing a future captain in Tilly?
Oh, absolutely, I think that's why he nominated her
for the command training program in the first place.
She asked for it, but he considered it and he took his time
and carefully then added her to that program, for sure.
Because, and as the season goes on, you'll see him
giving her more responsibility that way.
-: Sure. -: 'Cause he wants
to groom her that way.
So let's take that and turn it a little bit inward
on Saru. He's been this great acting captain,
and we've seen it every time, going back to the beginning
of the series. When Saru needs to step up, Saru steps up.
And he does-- he is such a glorious example of Starfleet
and the Starfleet ethos. Ho he is really stepping up.
He is really filling that chair.
A difficult chair to fill after Captain Pike
got out of it. But he's really filling that chair
really well. Do you see him continuing in this leadership
role moving forward and maybe becoming a full time captain?
Right, well, there's the question of the season.
-: He certainly could. -: Yeah.
Certainly he wants to, but he also wants that for Burnham.
If we should find her.
-: Yeah. -: At the end of this episode,
of course, we found her or she found us.
-: Yeah, yeah. -: So that question
is gonna come down to, let's go back to the end of Season 2
where we share a very knowing glance across the bridge,
telling Captain Pike, let's talk about the captain's chair
later. Let's get through this issue, you know.
Let's get away from Control and jump to the future.
Then we'll talk about the captain's chair.
And with a knowing
glance to Burnham, that means that it's probably
gonna be between the two of them. Both qualified.
Both wanting it for each other, because we both are very
supportive and caring with each other now
with that brother sister relationship that we have.
-: So-- -: Yeah.
Where could it go?
A theme emerges, I've seen-- I've watched a little bit
ahead of where we are today and a theme is emerging
and the theme is the need for connection,
the search for connection.
We find ourselves, the Discovery crew and the audience,
we find ourselves just ripped away from everything we know,
and everyone we loved, and I feel like that's real timely.
I feel like that desire to connect with the people we love
is, it's just something we can all really, really relate
to right now.
Obviously, no one could have predicted when you
were in production that we would be where we are now,
but here we are. Science fiction does its best work
when it reflects what we are living through at this moment.
And I would love it if you would share a little bit
about that experience of looking for connection,
for those characters, trying to find those connections.
And Michael's re-emergence clearly, you know, is a great
example of that. But Mary, do you have thoughts
in that part of the color spectrum?
Yeah, I mean, it's eerily timely, I agree.
And it's not like, what's nice about it is it's not like
a one to one thing that, like it's not coronavirus,
it's not a pandemic. But this feeling of disconnection,
like you said, feels so familiar at that time.
And that aching yearning and feeling isolated and alienated
and then kind of being left alone with yourself
in a real way, it just feels incredibly relevant.
And even getting to watch a little bit now, it's like,
nobody could have guessed. So, I think it is a really,
satisfying parallel and I think the things
that come up are, as the season goes on,
are also reminiscent
of things that happen in quarantine.
Questions of leadership, being alone with yourself
in a meaningful way and kind of having to like clean house
in that way. Who am I really and what do I really want
beyond a story I told for myself, like of what my life
would be, I think are recurrent themes. So, I think
it'll be a good balm for people to watch at this time
because there will be so much that speaks to our
experience as people in a pandemic.
Right, unbeknownst to us as we were filming it.
-: That's for sure. -: Absolutely.
I think that theme of change and what we
do with it, disconnection and finding ways to reconnect,
or connect with what we have around us, and appreciating
what we have in our bubble that we may not have noticed
before. All those themes are very present.
Let's wrap up with Frakes.
Just 'cause I love him so much.
He directed next week's episode
and just because I know him
and you know him, I wondered if you had any non-spoiler-y
anecdotes from working with him that you
want to share with fandom at large.
I think Mary has a story that she's not quite sure
if she can tell, it's a great story.
Too many stories, I'm having selection paralysis
all of a sudden.
[laughing]
One fun thing he does is he always quotes this thing
Patrick Stewart used to say on set.
And I don't even know what it is but it's like,
"You there, fa-dee-da, body talks, but first, clink clink."
Or something like, some really weird
northern English saying and he would always
say it, apropos of nothing.
The other thing is that he sings.
-: Constantly. -: Super irrelevant
musical theater songs constantly
that nobody else knows the words to.
And so we have a little duet that we do where I pretend
to know what the hell he's talking about and that's fun.
-: Yeah. -: I love that.
He sang on our set, too.
Oh, I love that.
Obscure musical numbers from shows that I should
be old enough to have seen and didn't. No, I know.
Also, we love having him because as a Star Trek actor
himself, now directing, he has such a, we have such
a connection with him that, you know, another director
may not be able to have with us. And so he'll constantly
remind us, "You know, I was once an actor
and pound for pound, one of the best
American actors you'll ever find."
[laughing]
Oh, just thank all the gods, old and new,
for Jonathan Frakes.
So true, give it up, he's the best.
I have taken up so much of your time.
I'm so grateful that you chose to share some of it with me.
As I said, I'm just a huge fan and it's such an honor
and a privilege to share Star Trek with you
and to be able to talk with you about this big
weird thing that we're part of.
Thanks to both of you
and I wish you just the best year.
Well, thank you so much for having us, Wil.
Doug and Mary and I talked a little bit about that amazing
bar fight in today's episode of Discovery, but, as you know,
we here in "The Ready Room" can not get enough
behind the scenes content. I mean, you might say
it's our own dilithium crystal. Which is why we have
Disco's own Stunt Coordinator, Chris McGuire,
to talk about some of the action-packed sequences
we've seen so far. Check it out.
[grunting]
I don't know where I am.
I have nowhere to go back to.
So please, please help me.
Burnham and Book make a pact
to help each other out temporarily.
And the plan is they go their separate ways afterwards
He's not a fan of Michael Burnham
when they first meet. I mean, they fight.
It's a big old friggin' fight sequence.
Which was amazing to shoot, by the way.
Chris McGuire is our Stunt Coordinator, stunt captain
and what I love about Chris is how he collaborates
and his enthusiasm and his excitement.
Chris, like myself, is always driven
by the narrative of the story.
He always wants to incorporate character elements
within the fight sequences, so that they're real
and feel organic for us as actors.
My favorite part is to sort of work with the cast
and figure out what they would and wouldn't do.
I know each and every one of these characters and the cast
who play them. You know, when they show up to our first sort
of rehearsal, they'll tell me what it is that they wanna try
to accomplish in the scene and then we make it happen.
We give them the tools so that they can do it safely
and so that they can totally express themselves as actors.
Iceland was incredible, it was the first time I was able
to choreograph a chase sequence that took place on an alien
planet where I didn't have to try to visualize
what we were seeing. Because ordinarily, we're looking
into green screen or the cast are looking into green screen.
The vista was there.
The rock formations were there.
The glacier-molded landscapes were all there.
So, Tunde and I, with my iPhone, would run the sequence
and he would be the actors and he'd say,
"This is what I wanna see."
So then we just used the terrain and you know,
these outcropping of rock and whatnot
and just built the action right there.
It was pretty incredible.
You're about to be really mad!
I love how Chris was very supportive
and just gave us the room to create.
You know, he's a wonderful,
wonderful guy to collaborate with.
And our stunt doubles as well, I have to shout out
our stunt doubles 'cause they are amazing.
My stunt double, Bauston Camilleri,
has saved my life many a time.
So, between him and our Stunt Coordinator, Chris,
they are just, they're aces
at getting these things choreographed out
so they look real and staging them so that we're safe,
always safe, safety first.
From the moment I read the script, I immediately think
about which departments are going to be impacted
by stunts. From the art department, reinforcing walls
for our stunt performers to slam into.
Stunt foam on the floors, the walls,
and sometimes the ceiling.
To the costume department.
You know, Gersha and her team build these super cool
elaborate costumes, and so we try to build the action
to accommodate that as well.
We had to build the fight sequence that involved
having Georgiou completely unarmed,
surrounded by several heavily armed
regulators with their weapons up.
The challenge is to choreograph it in a way
that it's believable.
That the audience isn't saying, "Well, he could have
shot her right here." And I think we did that.
I'm kind of off to the side watching Michelle really
do most of the kicking and her kicks go,
they go everywhere. I mean she's, oh,
she has no joints. I think they're just like
elastic in there.
When we choreograph and do walkthroughs,
she literally walks it.
You don't see Michelle explode into action
'til the camera rolls.
[Director] Three, two, one, action.
[grunting]
I remember that day specifically because
we did a ton of prep, a ton of work to build the fight,
rehearsed it and then rolled the camera.
We shot the first master and it was unbelievable.
I believed it.
[grunting]
In the world of Star Trek: Discovery, the future is now.
So in that spirit, we wanted to give you just a glimpse
of your future, seven days hence, when you'll be watching
Season 3, Episode 3, "People Of Earth."
Let's go ahead and roll that clip.
[Michael] Personal log, Commander Michael Burnham.
Stardate 865211.3.
Automatic transmission to U.S.S. Discovery,
wherever or whenever it might be.
I'm sending this message because you need to know
what I've learned here.
I hope that by some miracle you will receive it some day.
700 years after we left, dilithium supplies dried up.
The Federation trialed alternative warp drive designs
but none proved reliable.
Then came the Burn.
No one knows how or why it happened but in an instant,
all dilithium went inert.
Any ship with an active warp core detonated.
The Federation, as we know it, disappeared overnight.
It's now just a shadow of its former self.
We didn't give everything for this version of the future
and I'll be damned if I let it stand.
I've become a courier.
I transport goods in exchange for dilithium
to keep exploring sector by sector.
Searching for clues as to what caused the burn.
Answers that might help to bring
the Federation together again.
Wherever I go, I look for you, my friends.
I listen for any sign of your arrival
but communication remains severely limited.
Even if I did find you, I know it would be different,
because I am different.
But I will always love you.
I've had to accept I may never see you again.
You can love someone and still let them go.
Thank you all so much for joining me
here in "The Ready Room" today to talk about Episode 2 of
Star Trek: Discovery Season 3.
I will be back in a week to talk with my very
dear friend, Jonathan Frakes, who directed Episode 3.
Along with writers, Bo Yeon Kim and Erika Lippoldt.
As well as, the series maestro and composer, Jeff Russo.
Until then, I'm Wil Wheaton.
Live long and prosper.