LOS ANGELES, Jan. 14 (UPI) -- Roles on the new Star Trek series Starfleet Academy, premiering Thursday on Paramount+, brought physical demands to stars Holly Hunter and Paul Giamatti. Hunter plays Nahla Ake, a starship captain instructing a new class of cadets at the Federation academy.
In a recent Zoom press conference with the Television Critics Association, Hunter discussed her conversations with producer Alex Kurtzman, mastermind of the Paramount+ Star Trek series. Hunter, 67, said she adopted physical mannerisms to make her character flow.
"Her name means water in the desert," Hunter said. "I thought, 'Oh, that would be really cool if I could bring kind of a fluidity to the character.'"
That fluidity manifests when Nahla sits barefoot in her office chair and swivels around while lecturing cadets.
"Alex had written that my character was barefoot and I loved that," Hunter said. "Alex and I rehearsed a lot together on the bridge. We went over scenes on the set, just him and me, just talking about ideas and talking about blocking ideas."
