Sonequa Martin-Green, star of the upcoming Star Trek: Discovery, has finally opened up about her mysterious role in the series. Ever since the shows trailer hinted at a Vulcan past, fans have been anxiously awaiting any news on her character, First Officer Michael Burnham. Now, via Entertainment Weekly, Martin-Green has personally broken her silence.
According to Martin-Green, Burnham is fully human. She was the first human to attend the Vulcan Learning Center as a child, before attending the Vulcan Science Academy as a young woman. Burham enjoys a close relationship with Sarek (James Frain), Spock’s father, and has been serving on the U.S.S. Shenzhou for the past seven years.
“I’m the first officer on the U.S.S. Shenzhou that is captained by Captain Philippa Georgiou, who is played by the amazing Michelle Yeoh. I have an inner war and it’s a journey of self-discovery and finding out what it means to be alive, to be human, to be a Starfleet officer, what it means to be a hero,” shared Martin-Green.
The producers spent a while searching for the perfect actor to pull off Burnham’s divided nature. “We read a lot of people and they either went way too robotic or and chilly or way too emotional. What’s beautiful about Sonequa’s performance is she’s capable of playing two, three, four things at once. She’s got such a great command of her craft, she’s able to be aloof but warm; logical but able to surrender her emotional side to the audience,” said Aaron Harberts, who serves as showrunner on the series along with Gretchen J. Berg.
“I have the Vulcan conflict in my life from Sarek and Amanda so there’s always going to be that inner conflict with me. But I think it’s relatable because we all have some kind of inner conflict going on – who we are versus who we present ourselves to be. There’s a lot to be discovered,” added Martin-Green.
Star Trek: Discovery will debut Sunday, September 24, 2017 – first on CBS, before shifting to CBS All Access streaming service.