'Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' Carol Kane Has Never Seen 'Star Trek'

Carol Kane has been acting for as long as Star Trek has existed, beginning with a stage production of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie in 1966. So there's definitely some plausibility to the fact that the newest actress to join the long-running sci-fi franchise has never seen even a single second of it.

"The science fiction world has not really been attractive to me for some reason," Kane says. "Now that I’m in it," she accentuates with a laugh, “I’m very excited about it. It just wasn’t on my path until now." While her excitement in having joined the franchise is very real, she still hasn't quite pressed play on her voyage yet, but she will. The writers thought her lack of knowledge would work in the character's favor. 

Kane is known for starring in Taxi and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, recurring on Gotham and appearing in films like Dog Day Afternoon, When a Stranger Calls, The Princess Bride, Jumpin' Jack Flash and Scrooged. Now, she's joined the cast of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds for its second season which premiered Thursday on Paramount+, where her role as Pelia, the new chief engineer of the Enterprise fits in with her wheelhouse of exquisite eccentrics. It's a role that will likely have a long-lasting impact on the franchise, as she is the first of a new alien species to appear in the series: Lanthanites, who are long-lived and highly resemble humans, save for a weird but delightful accent that Kane created entirely herself, likely shaping the species' depiction for years to come.

"I wanted her to sound like you don’t know where exactly she comes from," Kane says. "There is an elegance and a power to it. It's unique on the ship — nobody else has that accent or whatever it is." Kane remarks she felt like "the new kid" upon joining a season-premiere script reading over Zoom, where she was asked for the first time to try out Pelia’s out-of-the-ordinary diction. She describes herself as far less confident than the character, “I was terrified that at the end of it, they would say, 'No, we want you to [do your] regular voice,' but they didn't. They said, 'Go for it!' I think that was brave of them."

As she became accustomed to the role, that's when Kane began to realize just how big Star Trek is in pop culture, where even her Trekkie acquaintances made themselves known as such to her she says. “My oldest friend was telling me about the depths of it, how it really has a meaningful story to tell. I really didn't anticipate that there were so many emotional connections within the characters. I liked that a lot." She's also braced for impact of fandom reaction. The hope is they've received her well. The second season of Strange New Worlds will continue to roll out each Thursday. Taxi is also streaming in its entirety on Paramount+.

Source: Variety