‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Casts Blu del Barrio & Ian Alexander First Transgender & Non-Binary Characters
Star Trek is continuing its commitment to Gene Roddenberry’s original vision of celebrating diversity and inclusion, as it is announced Blu del Barrio and Ian Alexander will join ‘Star Trek: Discovery‘ in Season 3 as the first regular non-binary and transgender characters.
Adira will be played by Barrio, and is the non-binary character. They are described as highly intelligent with a confidence and self-assurance well beyond their years. They will find a new home on the U.S.S. Discovery and form an unexpected bond with Lt. Commander Paul Stamets (Anthony Rapp) and Dr. Hugh Culber (Wilson Cruz). The transgender character called Gray, and will be portrayed by Alexander. Gray is empathetic, warm and eager to fulfil his lifelong dream of being a Trill host, but he will have to adapt when his life takes an unexpected turn.
“Star Trek has always made a mission of giving visibility to underrepresented communities because it believes in showing people that a future without division on the basis of race, gender, gender identity or sexual orientation is entirely within our reach,” commented Michelle Paradise, co-showrunner and executive producer. “We take pride in working closely with Blu del Barrio, Ian Alexander, and Nick Adams at GLAAD to create the extraordinary characters of Adira and Gray, and bring their stories to life with empathy, understanding, empowerment and joy.”
Blu del Barrio is a non-binary actor who uses they/them pronouns. A relative newcomer to tv, they were in their final year of studies at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art when they auditioned for the role of Adira. Del Barrio has been acting in theatre and short films since the age of 7, and they’re incredibly excited to make their television acting debut in season three of Discovery.
Ian Alexander is a 19-year-old actor who uses they/them and he/him pronouns. He is best known for their roles as Buck Vu on the Netflix series ‘The OA’ and Lev in Naughty Dog’s video game ‘The Last of Us Part II’. They are the first out transgender Asian-American person to act on television. They are also an advocate for transgender equality, racial justice and mental health awareness for LGBTQ+ youth.
‘Star Trek: Discovery‘ Season 3 will premiere on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2020, on CBS All Access in the USA. We still don’t have a confirmed UK premiere date from Netflix UK, which is a little worrying… If it follows the patterns of previous seasons, it should air Friday, 16th October 2020, however, there has been no promotion or mention of it at all from the UK arm of the streaming service, so officially, we don’t know if that will happen… We will let you know if we get a confirmation.
