"I'm a Very Specific Kind of Nerd" - Celia Rose Gooding

[00:00:00] This is Celia Rose Gooding and you are listening to Open Pike Night. Okay, how hard did you hit your head? Welcome to my kingdom. Now, kneel before me. Music. It responds to music. It's a pattern. Music coming from the black hole. Music is just sound waves, just sound waves which can be represented by numbers. Every time someone sings. It's a pattern. Music. I can say multitudes.

[00:00:27] Every time someone sings, some kid out there is going to see this show and spend the rest of their life searching the stars. A digestible reflection of their own world through the lens of fantasy. You know, science fiction. Welcome. Welcome. To my kingdom. Now. So much my head. Identify this song.

[00:00:54] Valolamba. A traditional song from Earth originating in Kenya. Look. It's a pattern. Look. Look. Okay. Try and follow my lead. Oh my god.

[00:01:14] And that is. So not mine. It's just sexing. You too need to clear this energy. Look, it's a pattern. Patterns repeating.

[00:01:35] Any person can love a piece of art or music or a story so much that it heals them. Shows them parts of themselves they've never even seen before. Patterns repeating. But you can't do any of that without a season two. It's my job to disrupt with song.

[00:02:10] Welcome to Open Pike Night. I'm your host, John T. Boulds. And before we go any further, all credit to Daniel from the Poly Amateur Hour podcast for creating that masterpiece of fan music. And we are here today, of course, to talk with Celia Rose Gooding. But first, I have to welcome my co-host, the man who tries to help himself whenever he can and wishes he could talk to himself a year ago and say, podcast even more.

[00:02:39] Cameron Harrison from Green Shirt Podcast. The problem is I try to do it in song and then I just can't bear to listen to myself. And unfortunately, Jesse did learn the secret to becoming a fire-breathing space dragon. And we haven't seen him since, so he could not be here with us today. But in the guest seat, we have returning to Open Pike Night for the first time since season two, since 2023. Please welcome back Celia Rose Gooding. Woo! Wow. Wow, wow, wow, wow, wow, wow.

[00:03:09] Wow. Wow, wow, wow. Wow, wow, wow. That mashup, I know I'm going to ask for a download. I need that. That was Jesse. Jesse made that? No, that was Daniel from the Polyamateur Hour podcast. Shout out, Daniel. You ate that. I'm so happy to be here. Thanks for having me back, y'all. Absolutely. Especially after this season. Celia, Celia, Celia. Yeah. So much.

[00:03:39] So much. Yeah, it's become the Uhura show very quickly. It has. I was thinking about that. Like your character from day one has kind of been the heart of this show. We, you know, I think I, one of our callers kind of talks about it better later on. So I'll leave it to them. But yes, 100%. Everyone's so nice. Thank you. I'm so, so proud of this season. And so I know when we originally talked about getting back on, when we talked about me getting back on here, I was like, let's wait until the end so that we have some good stuff to talk about it.

[00:04:09] Well, thank you very much for pushing for that. And like to get into it. Yeah. We just finished watching season four, but you have wrapped season five. The job of Star Trek as it stands right now is over for you. Meanwhile, season four just wrapped up. Where are you at? You must be feeling a little bit as out of time as Uhura in that last episode with covering this, having finished it so long ago. Yeah, I was actually looking at old photos because you know when like phones are like,

[00:04:37] here's where you were a year ago today. And a year ago, now like about two weeks ago, we had wrapped season four completely and we just finished 410. And I don't know, finally getting an opportunity to talk about it. I feel like ravenous because I am so proud of the work that everybody did all season. But 410 was so, it was an undertaking.

[00:05:06] It was a lot for me. It was a lot of me time. And I had to do a lot of like mental gymnastics to sort of make sense of the time jump, not only in between the two Uhuras, but the time jump in between who I am now at the end or who I was then at the end of season four and who I was at the beginning of season one.

[00:05:32] And sort of my actor conversation was between those two Celias. And it was just a, it was an undertaking for sure. I feel very excited, also a little nostalgic, a little spongy and vulnerable just because it's, I was really, I'm always nervous for episodes to come out because I like an actor. I would like people to like the stuff that we do.

[00:06:01] And so I was really nervous about getting very close to Michelle's Uhura. And I, I'm so happy that it was received so well. I still have to like make a little post about it, but I'm just so overwhelmed by all the love. It's, I, I'm so, so fortunate and yeah, I'm just so excited to talk about it. Fantastic. Well, we had some great callers lend their voices to us today. So first up, we're going to hear from Melanie. All right, Melanie. Hi guys.

[00:06:31] And a special warm hello to Celia. Here's Melanie from Germany calling in and thank you Celia for being here. It was so amazing to follow Uhura in the four seasons we got to see so far and to see her grow. The finale of season four was especially great. I love the hair and it really makes you look more similar to Michelle and you nailed her in a modern way that I guess you would absolutely love. So I have never really talked to you, only met you briefly at FATCOM this year and STLV

[00:06:58] this August because I was focused on someone else, but I certainly regretted. I would like to ask you what it was like to shoot with some of those well-known actors you spent the last five years with. I mean, this was your first job after being on Broadway, right? Which must have been amazing, I suppose. So when you did the musical episode in season two, I know a long time ago now, but maybe you remember. How did things change? Because you were more of an expert than others? Like Anson, who never did the musical before. Was it different?

[00:07:28] Do you miss working with them? And is there something you are working on now? And thank you again for bringing a very cool and modern version of a beloved character to life. You do it or you did it amazingly. Take care and live long and prosper. Melanie. Thank you, Melanie. See, people are really nice to me, guys. I don't know how to handle it. Jeez. Oh, I, of course I miss working with my Trek family.

[00:07:53] I mean, as Melanie said, it was my first big TV gig after Jack a Little Pill. And I just fell in love with that cast so immediately. They were so welcoming and patient and just so willing to help me on my journey of understanding what franchise I was inheriting, how the medium is different between TV and film and live theater.

[00:08:20] And I think I really started to get comfortable after the musical episode because it was like bringing my like, it was like homecoming. It was bringing my first love to my like new love. I don't know how that works in this metaphor, but I hope you're with me. I was just really excited to do something that felt really comfortable, to do something that

[00:08:45] I was incredibly confident in just because I'd been working on Broadway for so long. I was really excited to do a musical with my Trek family just because they are such incredible professionals and they have a, everyone has just an incredibly diverse skill set. And I was excited to show off like my extra fun stuff because everyone has their own thing. Anton has theater training.

[00:09:13] Ethan is an incredible string performer. Babs is an incredible martial artist. Everyone has their own special talent that we've gotten to show off over the seasons, especially in the human best, was it human best friend? Yeah. The Vegas episode. I call it space Vegas. Yes. But yeah, the musical episode was such a treat and such a joy. And I miss being in rehearsals with them because you don't really have rehearsal periods

[00:09:42] when you do TV and film. It's mostly you like show up that morning, you run the lines a few good times, then you start putting stuff on. I was going to say film, but we don't use film cameras. So you put stuff in the cloud. I think the musical episode was one of the first really out of the box episodes we did.

[00:10:06] Like we had the fantasy episode in season one, but I think as the seasons continued, we just got more and more genre diverse. But I do miss the musical episode. I think it was one of my favorites of the series just because I love musicals. I think our cast is so talented. None of them will say it. So I have to say it every time. All of them have beautiful singing voices. Yes. Every single one of us. Some of us just have more practice than others and that's nobody's fault.

[00:10:36] Yeah, I just can't help but smile when I think about it because it went so well. Well, that was a great question because like Ahura, we're a cadet to the TV set. But then here was this opportunity where like the other actors coming to you being like, hey, how do I do this? I think the only person who asked me for like concrete singing advice or for like tips on who's a good vocal teacher because I had my vocal coach. I did remote work with him on Zoom.

[00:11:05] And so Jess was someone who asked me like, hey, do you have a good vocal coach? And I sent her my guys contact and I never followed up on that because we were immediately thrown into weekend rehearsals. And Rebecca and Chrissy had a zero G practice. Like it was there was never a dull moment, especially around the musical episode. Everyone was if you weren't shooting, you were rehearsing what you were going to shoot. You were doing choreography or you were at the vocal studio getting your voice in.

[00:11:35] You could lip sync on the day or it was it was such a lovely frenzy of activity. Mm hmm. That's cool. That's very cool. I'm glad we finally get to talk about it. So, yeah, we have another question here from our friend, Abby. All right, Abby. Hey, open pike and Celia. Abby Summer from the First Flight podcast. Celia, you are fabulous. Your acting is amazing. And I don't could not give it more compliments.

[00:12:00] But I want to ask you about someone else or someone else's who deserve compliments. The costuming team. You wore some amazing outfits in season four. And not just the costumes that Bernadette Croft and her team deserve so much credit for. But the jewelry, the makeup, the hair, the nail polish. Oh, my goodness. You looked amazing. And I'm sure it took a team to do that.

[00:12:26] So can you please talk a little bit about those amazing creatives and how they help you do the wonderful things that you do? Hope this finds you all well. Talk soon. Oh, I mean, talk about a wealth and a smorgasbord of fun little things that I got to do. Not only did I have such incredible opportunities performance-wise, but the looks were incredible this season. Starting with you and best friend.

[00:12:54] That little fur moment and the makeup and the hair. Shout out Julia. Oh, gosh. I'm butchering her last name, so I won't even try and pronounce it. Beautiful, beautiful German last name. Julia on makeup and Charlene Schillingford on my hair. There we had an incredible trifecta situation going on. We were constantly in conversation with each other, making sure that everything was cohesive.

[00:13:20] And it was really me, Julia, Charlene, and Bernadette having team meetings of how are we going to make this the most extravagant thing in the world? Because something about Uhura that I found immediately recognizable when I was just getting ready to understand this character was her love for beautiful things.

[00:13:45] Like, I think as an established professional Starfleet officer, we take the professionalism and the brilliance so seriously. But she's also just a girl. And the way she had her quarters set up, all of the prints and the pinks and the purples, I was really excited to establish the foundation of all different aspects of her.

[00:14:10] And it was really important for me to showcase and highlight and center and honor her adoration for the beautiful things. I really loved getting to the... Oh gosh, I can't decide if it's the red dragon look from the Elysian Kingdom. No, that wasn't even... It was once on a time. The red dragon look, Queen Neve's dragon look.

[00:14:38] That was the most stunning thing I've ever gotten to wear. Down to the nails and, like, the dripping jewels off the fingernails. That giant headpiece. I wasn't allowed off... I had to, like, get like a... Because we shot a lot of that stuff on the AR wall. And that big old thing, to get it from behind the AR wall through the little hallways that we have to go through,

[00:15:06] I was so nervous about, like, bumping it on something. Because that was a one of one. Like, I don't think they had another headpiece just lying around. So it was really important. And I was keeping it very precious. But I think one of my favorite transformations when it comes to the looks of Uhura was 410, was Tomorrow's Enterprise.

[00:15:30] The transformation of going from Strange New Worlds, my Uhura, to TOS Michelle Uhura was... It blew my mind. I found myself... When we first had it all together, it took me a minute for my brain to, like, register that this was the Uhura. Because I'm so used to mine. And I had put so much effort and intentionality into how I wanted Strange New Worlds.

[00:15:59] Uhura to look for natural hair was incredibly important to me. And so I remember earlier when seasons two and three were being released, people would always ask, like, Are you think you're gonna do the beehive? Or are you think you're gonna get more mod in your look? And I was very anti. Very, like, no. That is not my place. Some things are sacred. And then I read the script for 410. And I was like, just kidding. We're doing it. And I was really nervous, guys.

[00:16:29] I was really nervous. Just because I... Uhura is an iconic, beloved, established, respected, idolized character in the franchise. And as the person who was just living through a certain piece of her life, it was very important for me to not overstep and not assume too much.

[00:16:54] And the showrunners and the writers, they had a vision for me that I thought I was always going to, like, keep a distance from out of respect. But they were like, no. Full steam ahead. We're gonna do it. And I was like, okay! And it really wasn't until... I think it was our third day of shooting where it was one of the days where we would start in the Strange New Worlds look.

[00:17:18] And then we would, like, do the scene, Strange New Worlds era, then have a lunch and a break and a transformation, and then do the second half of the scene as TOS or her when they're in conversation with each other. And it was the day... I don't remember exactly what we were doing. But Chris Fisher, the director for the episode, he pulled me aside because he could tell that I was really nervous.

[00:17:42] I kind of struggled a little bit because it was really important for me to make them feel different. Of course, when we were originally shooting at the time, the time difference between the two of them was not just a year. It was three years. And so it was really important for me to immediately register that these two are... While they are the same person, there are completely different points in their lives.

[00:18:08] And Chris Fisher pulled me aside and was like, hey, it's working. Just do the job that is yours. That is say the words. Try and get us out of here before 3 a.m. It really took the tutelage and the care of everyone who I was relying on for this episode. Henry and Robbie are writers.

[00:18:31] Chris, the director, me, my stunt Uhura, Sammy, my stand-in Uhura, Lisa. It was a lot of us getting this story together, and I really leaned on them. And I had that mental hiccup of make them different, make them different, make them different. And I got almost caught up on that. And so it was really nice to hear from sort of the captain of the ship that is the episode, Chris Fisher, and to be like, it's working. Just say the words. Live in the conflict.

[00:19:01] Let the tension be the thing that supports the relationship between the two of them. Well, the admiral of the ship, Henry Alonso Myers, he talks a lot about, like, one of his philosophies is give the actors and the crew, you know, give them challenges. Challenge them and let them rise to the occasion, and they will always blow your expectations away. Have you felt that throughout Changing Worlds? Because, I mean, it sounds like that's what happened here. From our point of view, you did. Yes. 100%.

[00:19:30] It was one of those things where I felt incredibly challenged. And I had the trust in myself to, like, get it done because I had no other choice. I wasn't going to be like, hey, guys, I can't do this episode. So go back and rewrite it and give me something new. I mean, once they give me the script, they're like, hey, this is your job. And so I definitely felt challenged and a little intimidated. And I was really, really leaning on it.

[00:19:58] I was texting Henry at all hours of the night being like, this is what I'm feeling. Is this the conversation? What are you thinking? And he's like, I trust it. Go. Go have fun. Go make it work. And part of me was like, I need guidance. But another part of me was like, just if these professionals who have a lot more riding on this than you do trust you, then how dare you not trust yourself?

[00:20:23] And that conversation at the end of the episode between both Uhuras on that, like, disco ball enterprise bridge where we don't know if everything's okay or not. We're sort of in the space of we don't know what happened. And I don't know what reality I'm returning to. And I don't know what we could have changed or affected. But to play a version of Uhura speaking to a younger version of herself and saying, hey, you're doing great.

[00:20:51] It was sort of a message from me at the end of the episode to me at the beginning of the episode of like, hey, I don't know what's going on outside. But just never stop growing. Lean in. You're doing fine. Relax. Exhale. We're not it's not surgery. It's just space midwifing. We're going to be all right. We're going to be all right. I promise. Yeah.

[00:21:19] And speaking of challenges and with, you know, 410 obviously is the highlight for whoever the season. But there's some other really fun episodes. We got to ask about the puppet episode. What was it like seeing your puppet? And did you get to be on set at all while they were filming it? Oh, unfortunately. No, I didn't get to be on set while they were filming it. But I did get to see my puppet. I had a lot of I took a lot of selfies with my puppet.

[00:21:48] I grew up on the Muppets. I grew up on all things Jim Henson. And so when I first heard that we were going to get a puppet episode, I was incredibly excited. And then when I heard our puppets were going to be made by Jim Henson's Creature Shop, I was even more excited. And then when I found out I got to see my puppet, I was like the most elated I'd ever been. We were in the middle of shooting, I think, a much more serious episode at the time.

[00:22:41] It was astounding. They got little things about me as a person. They're just like my look. They got little things so right. The way my face is set up, I have naturally two-toned lips. My top lip is darker than my bottom. And my puppet had a darker top lip than the bottom. I was like, y'all are paying attention. The focus is incredible. And I remember going with Melissa and she was like doing hair touches on her puppet.

[00:23:09] And we were in, this was, oh, I remember. Okay, so the puppet is pre-promotion Uhura. And we were shooting an episode that was post-promotion. And so they saw the cuffs on my, the people who were building the puppets, they saw the cuffs on my uniform. And they were like, do we have the wrong costume? Have we been shooting? And we were like, no, no, no, it's fine. It's fine. You're perfect. But the attention to detail was incredible. I didn't get to keep my puppet. I'm devastated about it.

[00:23:39] They're out there somewhere. Yep. Got a heist planned. Yes, we do. But I have a bunch of little plushies that I keep around all the time. So I do like the idea of a heist though. So maybe, maybe it might be necessary. It's kind of a unique episode in that, you know, Uhura is in the episode, but you were only on set for a couple of days. You lend your voice to it, of course. But were you able to watch the episode a little more as an audience member? Or is it still like, oh, there's my workplace. There's my friend Ethan.

[00:24:09] Like, was that experience different? I, I'm sure Ethan could, has a different opinion on it. But I do love the episodes where the whole plot is how much can we fuck with Ethan Pack? Like, how far can we take it? And so while the episode was shooting, I got to go on vacation, which I was really grateful for. But when I got to see the screener for it, I was like, I'm so glad I was miles away from set.

[00:24:38] Man, I'm so glad. Like, Jordan Canning is the TV puppet master. Her work on Frabble Rock, her work on this episode is just incredible. And to see, she's directed a lot of the, like, comedic Spock-focused episodes. And they just have a chemistry and a cohesion in getting this specific type of comedy down. It was incredible to watch.

[00:25:07] It's one of my favorites to watch. I can't say it's one of my favorites to perform because I really had no part in it besides throwing my voice at it. But it was fun to do ADR in that way. I don't have a lot of animation work besides, like, the one crossover animation episode you did earlier in the series. And so to try and find Okura's puppet voice was very exciting. It's a little whinier. It's a little, it's just, it's a little whinier.

[00:25:37] It's a little higher in my register. I think I have an actually deep voice. Spock. Spock. Help me with my ear. And so the captain, Spock's been helping her take us for so long. I'm going to turn. Like, I don't know. It was just really fun. I love getting to do silly stuff. That's fantastic. Thank you very much. Of course. We do have another call here from our good buddy, Neil. All right, Neil. How's the name of our stuntmaster, Neil? Hello, Open Pike Knights. Hello, Celia.

[00:26:07] I think you're absolutely incredible as Uhura. And having open queerness in Trek at such an all-time high is really great to see. So we have Ortega as being an absolute badass. We have Chappell's many ex-girlfriends. We have a gay Klingon in Starfleet Academy. And then, of course, we have you as Uhura slaying both looks and occasionally Andorians.

[00:26:30] What's your experience being part of this continued push in Star Trek toward more inclusion, more representation of queer characters and actors? Yeah. And particularly with Uhura, what's it like doing that with a character that has been such a big part of the racial justice movement? Really appreciate your taking the time to answer some questions from fans. And I'm really looking forward to seeing you play Uhura more. Thanks so much. Bye.

[00:26:59] Oh, gosh. Thank you, Neil. I mean, as a queer person, as an actor who has had an opportunity to play queer characters, it was—I was firstly very intimidated by the idea of me playing a—actually, let me rephrase that. I wasn't intimidated by the idea of playing a straight character. I was nervous about if we were going to incorporate romance and sexuality in the character.

[00:27:29] I didn't want to just turn her into me. Mm-hmm. It was incredibly important for me to keep the character recognizable. If I was playing an original character and I got to make it up myself, she'd be much queerer. But it was very important to me, especially given the well-long-standing and established relationship that Neota has with Scotty in the TOS movies, her occasional flirtations with Spock.

[00:27:59] I mean, the first interracial kiss in American television between Uhura and Kirk. It was important for me to still play Uhura as a boy kisser, as someone who was a girl kisser in real life. I think what this new era of Trek has done with Discovery, Lower Decks, Strange New Worlds, Starfleet Academy,

[00:28:24] I think Strange New Worlds is definitely, I think, a little more reminiscent of TOS in just its diversity of experience. So it's an all-human bridge. Well, just kidding. All-human and a half. All-human and a half bridge. We're all humanoids for the most part. We are, a lot of the relationships that are on camera for the most part are heterosexual. We have a lot of queer-coded characters.

[00:28:52] We have Chappell, who is canonically bisexual. Finally, we have Ortegas, who is so butch-coded to me, personally. Absolutely. And, yeah, I mean, in my ideal world, if we had nine seasons, I would have loved to give Uhura a non-het storyline, whether that be interspecies or whether that be her.

[00:29:17] I would have loved to have, like, some sort of thing between Uhura and Cadet Asha. I was, like, hoping for an enemies to lovers arc, and we didn't get there, and that's fine. But- Head canon. I think, I'm sure there's a fic out there on AO3 that I just haven't seen yet, but you can send it to me if you find it.

[00:29:39] But I think Starfleet Academy and Discovery, especially, have really championed queer representation in Trek. I think Strange New Worlds, truthfully, it left a little for me to be desired, but I am so happy with the different types of relationships on our show. I think we see it a lot with Pike and Una and Chapel and Mbenga, the importance of professional, platonic, deep love and admiration and respect.

[00:30:08] I think we see it in, I think it was, was it Off Hour? Or with that crazy timestamp where Mbenga gets, like, trapped behind that thing. The relationship between those two characters, I think we, in TV beyond Trek, I think we have yet to master the power of friendship between a male and a female character.

[00:30:33] I think people automatically assume that they have to have some sort of romantic entanglement or unspoken attachment to each other. But the power of the platonic professional admiration, I think we show a lot of that in Trek. A lot of, no, we don't kiss on the mouth, but I still would stop time for you. And that, I think that's really beautiful. I think it's really important and really underutilized and underappreciated. That's a greeting card right there. Sorry.

[00:31:02] We don't kiss on the mouth, but I still would stop time for you. But I still don't think, you know what, Hallmark, get on it. Get on it. That's really well said. Yeah. Yeah. Thank you. Thank you. I would still watch the hell out of a chapel dating show, though. Oh, yeah. Give me that. Just give me that. I need to see the, what was it? The, she has a girlfriend with hot arms. Yeah. For the. The time. The time. Yes. The temporal analysis or the division of temporal investigation. There we go.

[00:31:31] Would have loved to see that. But hey, bloopers are coming. Maybe it'll come out in there. That's right. Well, Neil also mentioned slaying and Dorians. Oh, yeah. Can you talk about preparing for and filming that amazing fight scene that I don't think any of us was expecting in that episode? I wasn't expecting it either. I wasn't. When they said, hey, we're going to have a stunt sequence for Uhura. I was like, okay, I've done stunt sequences before. I had that little gunfight in the haunted episode. That was fine.

[00:32:00] And they were like, no, you're going to take down like a squadron of Andorians. And then you're going to live to tell the tale. I was like, okay, not only the, the hard emotional gymnastics of getting into hand in hand combat with people who look very similar to her fallen mentor, Hemmer.

[00:32:20] There was a lot of, as an actor, there was a lot of tension and conflict that I was imbuing through Uhura because that was hard for her. And also she had this mentee that she had to take care of that she felt an incredible amount of responsibility for. And then the physicality of it, the flipping and the punching and the kicking and the choking and all of the practical work that had to be done.

[00:32:50] It was weeks of stunt rehearsal. It was lots of Epsom salt. It was a lot of intense work. And Sharon, who I adore, the director of the episode, Sharon Lewis, if I'm correct. Yes. I have loved her for the longest time. I love being able to work with her. She got, she directed, oh goodness, the Jakaru episode. Yes. What is Starfleet?

[00:33:20] The documentary episode. I loved working with her for that one. That was a huge episode for her as well. And so when I found out that she was going to be directing this episode, say the name for me one more time. What was it? An order of magnitude. Orders of magnitude. Yes. I was really excited for us to sort of figure out what that was going to be together. Because she was one of those directors where I could be like, I need help.

[00:33:51] Yeah. And Neil, who did our stunts, he's incredible. He helped me so much. And our entire stunt team, all of our stunt Endorians, they were so patient with me. And I'm such a perfectionist that I was like, again, again, again, we got to do it again. They were like, hey, you have work to do tomorrow. And you need to be able to walk like you haven't just had your ass kicked. And so, yeah, it was a heavy lift.

[00:34:16] But I was so impressed when I saw the final cut. I was like, wow, I really look like I'm fighting for my life out there. And it was Alan McElroy, our writer for the episode. He was really excited about establishing the scene on the storyboards was called Badass Uhura. And he really wanted to establish not only her brilliance, of course,

[00:34:46] or her ability to think quick on her feet when we're off planet or off. What would we call those sort of on-planet missions? There it is. It's been a minute since I shot Star Trek, guys. It's like gliding off my brain all these important little techno Bible things. But yeah, the nature of playing a younger version of a character that is known and beloved but didn't have enough time to showcase all her multiplicity,

[00:35:15] it was important for us to establish that that athleticism didn't come out of nowhere. She doesn't have abs for no reason. She's a strong, tough cookie. Mirror Mirror was just a piece of all of what she's capable of. And so it was really exciting as a fan of the character to see that for her, but it was intense for the body that she lives in in me.

[00:35:37] And so it was a lot of TLC to get back to the Uhura that received that promotion. That's fantastic. Fantastic. Well, let's get back into 410 a little bit because we have several callers. Some other questions might overlap a little bit, but here is Michelle. All right, Michelle. Hey, Open Pike Night. This is for Celia Rose Gooding. Thank you so much for bringing Uhura to life these four seasons.

[00:36:06] I grew up on TOS and seeing Uhura on the bridge for me as a little girl was great because I loved Kirk, Spock, and Bones, but having Uhura in the mix was like, yes, it's not just a boys club. And she was smart and she was spunky and talented. And you have brought all of those things to life in her youth, and I just thank you for that.

[00:36:30] Also, I was at Trek Long Island sitting in the hotel restaurant area when the Knicks won the championship. And watching your joy and your enthusiasm during that game was phenomenal. We were just sitting having dinner, my friend and I, just like a couple of tables back, and happened upon you all coming down for that. So that was amazing.

[00:36:52] My question for you is, what was it like to embody an older Uhura in the finale of season four? Because I really felt like I was kind of watching TOS Uhura there. And even though it was only a year, it felt like a huge time jump. And you were just amazing. You looked amazing. But the emotional impact of that episode, I think, will carry on for years to come. Thank you for all your hard work. Live long and prosper. Oh, thank you, Michelle.

[00:37:22] That is, everyone's really nice to me. Wow. Oh, thank you. One of the things that I was really hungry for was clear delineation between both Uhuras. And so when I hear from TOS fans that it was very clear, it just makes me so happy. It makes me so happy. What was it like embodying a TOS-esque Uhura?

[00:37:51] Challenging, but also really satisfying. My mission before we even started shooting was to get as close to Michelle's Uhura that everyone knows and loves. And so to do it so literally in one of the closing out episodes of our series, it just felt really appropriate and satisfying. And so it was a challenge for sure.

[00:38:20] I think it took me a minute to get out of my own head just because of the reputation that Uhura has. Because of the, just how adored she is. Because I really wanted to do it justice. Um, and so to hear from people that I, I got there, it just, it, man, it makes me feel, my, my, my cortisol like lowers. It feels incredible.

[00:38:48] Uh, it, it, it, it is not lost on me just how, um, important it was to get this right. And so I'm glad we got there to some degree. It was a lift, but I was so supported. It wasn't just me out there. It was not me by myself acting across from a tennis ball. I had two, sometimes three different Uhuras with me, making sure that I had somebody to engage with.

[00:39:17] Somebody who looked like me so it didn't feel like I was, um, reaching too far out of, out of my depth. And when I see pictures of my stunt double Sammy and I, I'm like, wow, we actually do it like Sammy. We could be, we could be sisters. And the work that we had to do together of, even in the hair and makeup trailers where we were literally switching wings. Like it was, it was just, it was so collaborative and I felt so supported.

[00:39:46] So that challenge, it wasn't something that I had to face alone and I did not feel alone in it at all. I'm so grateful that it, I'm so grateful that it landed and I've, yeah, go ahead. I mean, let me say Celia, like I told director Chris Fisher, like there were moments where I was like, oh, did they like do a little CGI on her face to make her look more like Yoda? And then you like, you would turn your face and I'd be like, no. And Chris Fisher is like, that was just Celia embodying her, like to the minutia. Yes.

[00:40:16] It was amazing. Yeah. Thank you. I had a very similar thought when I watched the episode on my TV. I'm like, oh, okay. A little AI on my face. I don't know how I feel about that. And then I, I, I had a conversation with Henry and he was like, that's all you Diva. Even in space helmets. I'm like, no, I can tell the difference. It's like, like in space. Like, yeah, it was amazing performance. Thank y'all. Absolutely. Thank you so much. It, it was the power of TV, man, power of storytelling.

[00:40:45] I'm, I'm, I'm blown. I was there every day and it blows me away. Just how, just how it all turned out. So I'd been like holding my breath for like a year and seven months. And so I'm really happy with how it came out. Good. Good. Well, here's a, here's somebody else who loved to hear is Val. Hey, open Pike night. This is Val calling in for Celia. Since the first episode of strange new worlds, it has been Uhura's story.

[00:41:13] She was the audience mirror at the start, a new cadet starting out somewhere new as we, the viewers were starting out with a new show. But from there, we've gotten to see this character who has such a history in TV and film, grow up and find herself. Deciding to choose Starfleet, standing up for others, fighting for those she and the viewers care about. It has been an amazing journey. And that whole progression has been so wonderfully brought to life by Celia. I know we have some more journeys ahead in season five, but this finale was just such a beautiful culmination of it all.

[00:41:42] Celia, in the finale, you masterfully showed us this character we know and love while also presenting this perfectly developed future version of her, which made the episode come alive and cement itself as one of the best episodes of Star Trek ever. My question is, as an actor, what was your thought process going into this epic finale playing two versions of Uhura? How did you approach playing this future version of her? Because I know, at least to me, it strikes this amazing balance between the future that

[00:42:07] we know is to come and the character we've seen and grown with the past four years. Oh, very sweet. So yeah, a little bit of an overlap there. But who did you find you related to more? Current, like the Uhura of, I guess, today and then, or the Uhura of tomorrow on the, who do you feel more like? It depends. It really depended on the day.

[00:42:35] Truthfully, there were some days where I felt very much protective of Strange New World's Uhura and there were days where I felt so intimidated by the legacy that I was meant to inherit. I, speaking as Uhura now, I today feel very much like Strange New World's Uhura. Just so, so overwhelmed.

[00:42:58] I, I wish I had a more practiced, expansive vocabulary to describe exactly how I'm feeling in this moment. I wish I was a linguist in real life. Man, I, I feel like all of it. You know, I think my job as an actor is to hold on to little universes and try to make them make sense in one person.

[00:43:22] But I, I always refer to Uhura as multiplicity because she is everything. She represents so much more than just an established and professional communications officer on the bridge of the Starship Enterprise, on the bridge of the flagship, the Federation. And I, oh, boy, oh, boy, oh, boy. I, I, I feel, I like, I, I just feel like both of them all the time.

[00:43:51] I feel so protective of the version of myself that was incredibly intimidated when we first started working on this episode who felt like I had been handed a tsunami and a straw and, like, drink up. Uh, uh, and, and it, it was really tough. But then we, like, got over, we got, like, a little bit over halfway through and I started working a lot more with Martin and with Jess.

[00:44:19] And they were so willing to be in that just uncomfortable space with me because I was constantly, like, head down, headphones on, like, doing the math of the time difference and what I know and who I am and all of that stuff. And they were just so willing. Jess was so willing to just, like, hold my hand in silence with me while I, like, try and put all of this together in my head.

[00:44:46] And Martin was always there just to, like, bring levity and lightness and make me laugh. And I, I, I was, I was so spoiled in, in this tough, tough time. Um, and once I felt really supported, I was able to just soar. Mm-hmm. Nice. Good. Speaking of, of future Uhura, without spoiling anything about season five,

[00:45:15] going into that, having portrayed the character, which will be at the end of that season, presumably, was that kind of helpful for you to kind of portray that journey? Or was it kind of a challenge that you had to get to that area? What was that like? It, it, it felt like an open book test. It was, it was, because we had already established, like, hey, we know who that lady is. The growth is, is on film. Mm-hmm.

[00:45:42] Um, and so when we get to season five, and we see the, the sort of merging of those two characters without them being in conversation with each other, they sort of, like, do that. And, um, I can't spoil too much about season five, but there's some, if y'all thought 410 was cool, man, we got some cool stuff coming. We got some really satisfying stuff for Uhura.

[00:46:10] Just, like, things that I, when I found out that we were having a limited season, I was like, man, there were so many things that I wanted Uhura to get to do. Mm-hmm. And then we still got to do them in the six. And I was like, yeah! Uh, uh, and so, yeah, it was just a wonderful merging of two people who, months prior, I had to really separate in order for the story to make sense to me. Mm-hmm. And so, to do the thing that I, that my, like, instincts as an actor wanted to do,

[00:46:38] which was to make them one, to be able to do that in five, I was, again, cortisol, lowered, smile, wide, so happy, so satisfied. Nice. Good. Very good. Uh, another call from our friend Lucy. Hi, Lieutenant Lucy from London, uh, calling with a question for Celia. Terrific performance, as always in this episode, but also across the whole series, so thanks so much for that.

[00:47:04] Obviously, in this episode, the costumes and hair and makeup were really impeccable and really captured the look of the original series, both for Uhura and Nurse Chapel in particular. But I wonder the extent to which you consider yourself an inside-out or outside-in performer and whether that had any bearing on this particular performance and or whether you did any extra work in looking at Nichelle Nichols' performance

[00:47:34] and the way she carried herself for this particular episode. You've always, uh, captured an essence of her, but this one really took it to an extra level. So, yeah, really interested in that. And thanks again for everything. Welcome. I, I, it's my first time hearing that description of performance, either inside-out or outside-in. And so from the context, I'm going to try and, and if I understand correctly, I am more of an inside-out performer.

[00:48:02] I take my personal lived experience and let that sort of color and amplify what's going on in her outer world. Actually, but then there is, on the flip side, the outside-in where her look completely informs, for the audience at least, uh, what is going on and who she is and where she is in her journey.

[00:48:29] And so, hmm, both, you know, multiplicity, multitudes, all, never just one thing. What was your reaction when you first looked at yourself in the mirror with the wig and the makeup and the uniform? I, truthfully, complete honesty, I was like, I don't know, guys. I don't think this is going to work.

[00:48:52] I, I swear, I swear to everything I've ever loved, I, I was like, guys, this, it feels blasphemous. Like, it feels like sacrilege. It, it just, it can't, too close, too close, too far. And, and I couldn't, like, because I didn't get an opportunity to meet Nichelle, what I, all I wanted from her was just, like, a, okay, and the seal of approval of, like, do it, diva.

[00:49:19] And so, because I didn't get that opportunity, I was like, I just don't think this is appropriate. But the thing that allowed me to get out of my own head about it was we had an editor on set, like, editing the scenes in real time so that at the end of the day, the dailies could look kind of like the episode. And the conversation across both science labs where TOS and Strangely World to Her are in conversation,

[00:49:47] the sort of jump cuts between the two of them, I was like, duh, yeah. Don't listen to actors ever, dude. We are small, we are a small piece of how this comes together. Y'all are doing the right thing. Don't listen to me ever. Because it worked. It worked so well.

[00:50:13] And it was, it just made the, it just made everything so much more satisfying. It made everything, of course, like, visually, it made everything easily to, it made it much easier to track on, like, who's talking to who and where are we at what time, except for when they sort of switch bridges and then everything is sort of hullabaloo. But it really, at first, I didn't trust it.

[00:50:39] And then time passed and it totally worked. I think that's the exact journey that Strangely World to Her goes on at first. She doesn't trust it. And then she gets out of her own head and lets her higher self sort of take over. And it just worked. It just worked. Mm-hmm. It's so fascinating talking to the actors and hearing, like, your uncertainty at some of these big challenges and everything.

[00:51:09] Because, I mean, let me tell you on our side of the TV screen, when we hear, like, so-and-so is going to have to play a puppet. So-and-so is going to have to play a zombie. So-and-so is going to have to play themselves from one year having a conversation with themselves. We're like, great. They're going to blow it out of the way. We know you're going to come at us and blow our expectations out of the way. So- Just that most confidence. Yeah. It's fascinating to hear your perspective of it. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I have to be honest with y'all.

[00:51:36] It was one of those things where I got on board, but I was not the first one on board, for sure. I was like, I will do it because that is my job. But I was very much like, there are going to be some people who love Uhura that hate that I'm doing this. And that wasn't the case. So I was so happy that people liked it. Woo, man. All right. Well, we have one last caller today.

[00:52:05] Let's hear from Trev real quick. Hey, it's Trev beaming in from the Fair Letter Franchise podcast with a question and a heaping of praise for Celia. Let's just get the fawning out of the way. I just want to thank you for the incredible work you've been doing with Uhura. A character I think every Trek fan loves, but who for a long time admittedly wasn't focused on as much as she should have been. I always used to say that for the best Uhura stories, you actually have to turn to the Trek novels, particularly The Tears of the Singers by Melinda Snodgrass and Uhura's Song by Janet Kagan.

[00:52:32] So I'm really happy that Strange and Worlds has finally added a bunch of great Uhura stories. And that's actually where my question will come from. There's a history of Trek actors going on to write additional Trek stories, often as novels. I know this might be too on the spot to really go in depth, but I'm curious. If Celia was given the opportunity to write an additional Uhura story or even an Uhura novel, is there a particular story they'd like to tell? Or any aspect or element of the character they'd like to explore more but actually have some authorship over? Okay, once again, thank you so much, Celia.

[00:53:00] I know, I think you're doing, Michelle, so proud. And the entire Trek universe is so lucky to have you adding to Uhura's legacy. Thanks. Wow, it's so good. Thank you, Trev. That's very kind. I... Okay, okay. Because I'm doing that thing that I did in the top of 410 where I'm like, I don't know if that's my place. If... If I were given permission by who? I don't know.

[00:53:31] I... Yes. I would love to tell Uhura stories. I actually... My first published writing was a... What would they call this? A guest column that I did in The Hollywood Reporter about Michelle. And I got framed because I was so proud of it. And so I have done some writing in honor of her, but I haven't come up with a new story and been like, this is something that's canon. Hmm. Because I am... Like, I'm a very specific kind of nerd.

[00:54:00] I understand the importance of what is canon and what is not and the conversation around, like, which timeline is prime and which one is alternate. And even conversations around our show of are we prequel or are we a reimagination or... Mm-hmm. All those conversations I'm not a part of because that's not my place. But to insert myself in that conversation, I... I mean, I would love to.

[00:54:24] I think Uhura has meant so much to the franchise, so much to entertainment history, especially when it comes to Black women and entertainment. Would I love to continue her incredible journey? Absolutely. I'd love to write some stuff for her. Do I consider myself to be a novelist? No. But I contain multitudes. I can do anything. And so, yeah, I mean, I would love to. What would go down? Man.

[00:54:55] I don't know. I think my, like, dream team... Never mind. Just kidding. I know exactly what I want. I would love more stories about... I call it the Interdimensional Space Team, which is Uhura, Chapel, and Ortega. Mm-hmm. I think there is some world in which we have, like, some totally spies-esque Powerpuff Girls, heist journey. Charlie's Angels. Cused Angels. Yeah. Yes.

[00:55:26] And it's written. Cused Angels. Coming to you soon, like 2030, you will have Cused Angels, the tales of Uhura, Ortega, and Chapel fighting crime in space. God, read it. Speaking into the universe. Yeah. Absolutely. Absolutely. Oh, gosh. I got to get in the booth. I got to get writing. We got to make it happen before someone else takes my idea. So, all season, we've watched her mentor Asha and then feel like she failed, only to succeed in mentoring herself.

[00:55:56] How was it working with Bianca, and what did you learn about yourself working on this season? Bianca was and is such a generous collaborator. She was so into working out the relationship between the two of them because while we established in episode one that this mentorship was going to be a huge part of her journey, we don't actually spend a lot of time on it.

[00:56:21] And so, it was really in orders of magnitude where we establish just what type of mentor Uhura is. And Bianca was so willing to play Asha as someone who, almost out of the ordinary for Vulcan, someone who was a little green. Making, making, making, like, kind of easily identifiable mistakes, especially when it comes to combat.

[00:56:51] You don't stand all the way up and shoot your face with a straight elbow. You got to get low. And, like, stuff like that. It was just really exciting to play with someone who was so willing to step outside of the ordinary when it comes to representation of Vulcans, especially on our show. We play them as very, like, serious, professional, genius, brilliant, like, almost, like, savant-type characters. So, I loved playing with Bianca. I loved getting to know her. I loved getting to collaborate with her.

[00:57:20] She was actually getting ready, or she'd either just shot her scenes on Heated Rivalry or she was just getting ready to shoot her scenes on Heated Rivalry. It was talking to us about, like, I'm doing this, like, hockey show. I don't know if it's going to land. It's, like, this Crave original. And I was like, okay. And then it was Heated Rivalry, and my makeup artist, Julia, and I were big Heated Rivalry fans. Huge Heated Rivalry fans. And so we were like, that's me. She was on our show. And so, yeah, I loved working with Bianca.

[00:57:49] Shout out Cadet Shaw. Shout out to the work that she did. I think she did that character such justice. And I wish we – all I could have wished for is just more time with her. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Mm-hmm. All right. So I've got some geeky questions I just have to know about. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Let's do it. Rapid fire, mommy. The last episode, we got to see a whole bunch of the animated series Aliens walking around in the background. What was it like working with them? So cool.

[00:58:16] It was – was it the cat one who was voiced by Michelle Nichols? Oh, yeah, yeah. Yeah. Just to see them in real life, I was like, why haven't we been doing this the whole time? Mm-hmm. But it was really cool to see them practically. I think with the animated series, there's so much that, like, just because it's animated, you can really come up with anything. And so the fact that we got to take those characters and establish them in live action,

[00:58:45] that's the word, it was really cool. I caught myself staring at the cat because the cat – hey, guys, do you want to say it? Sexy cat. Sexy cat. And I was into it. The bird with a giant – the wings looked so much bigger in person. It was just so much – I love when we get to bring practical effects to our show because

[00:59:09] a lot of it exists in AR, on the AR wall, in CGI, in After Effects. And so to have those practically there was very cool. Very, very cool. Well, and speaking of that and bringing the science fiction onto the set, I mean, it's on the AR wall, but you are able to stand there in the shuttle bay and look out at a black hole. Like, what – Yeah. What's that like? Does that help the performance? Does that help the immersion? It's gotta. Totally. It does. As an actor, it was really helpful.

[00:59:38] As a person who gets, like, seasick and nauseous sometimes, it was kind of tough because when the camera moves, all the screens and the perspective moves. And there's a screen on the ceiling that reflects on the floor that's often mirrored. And so it's like when you're staying still, everything around you is moving. That can be a little, like, tough on the tummy. But as an actor, I was so happy that we got to see it in real time and play opposite it and not just look at a tennis ball and a stick, which we have to do sometimes. Yeah.

[01:00:06] And then finally, we get the return of Queen Nev and she's everything we could want. And on top of that, Celia Rose Gooding, you are now a dragon. Yeah, man. What is that? It was amazing, not only because I am a huge fan of the dragon in Shrek. That was sort of where I took a lot of inspiration from. Okay. Love dragon. Hot dragon. Absolutely. Sorry, guys. Yep.

[01:00:32] But I was so excited that we got to break some pretty established rules of science and be like, yeah. Why don't you just breathe fire in space? Sure. I think that was one of the times where we really asked our more science aware fans to sort of suspend disbelief for a moment for the sake of the story. But I just thought it was so cool. To see the costume, I was already blown away.

[01:00:57] And then to see how they were going to translate it into the actual dragon, I was blown away. I was so excited. I love getting to turn. And I'm very much a creative actor. I love just stretching the realm of possibility, suspending disbelief to the upteenth degree. I was really excited about it. Amazing. So were we. Yes. It was gorgeous. I was so pumped. Celia, thanks so much for joining us again.

[01:01:28] It is great to see you and talk with you about Uhura's season. Season four of Strange New Worlds. And we are looking so forward to season five. Oh, thank you, guys. Thank you for taking the time to have a conversation with me. I was so excited we were going to do this. And thank you for waiting. I hope it was worth it. Absolutely. It would have been a crime not to. From this side of the screen, we had no doubts it would be. Yes. Oh, thank you all. Thank you so much. Thank you. All right. Thank you.