NEW YORK, Sept. 3 (UPI) — Flight of the Conchords, Our Flag Means Death and Jumanji icon Rhys Darby once again plays the havoc-wreaking Trelane on Thursday’s melodrama-themed episode of the Star Trek prequel, Strange New Worlds.
“It was an amazing opportunity to return for my character,” Darby, 52, told UPI in a Zoom interview this week.
“This time, he is a little bit more mature. Rather than just being a mischievous trickster, he’s doing something for his education. He’s still having fun with humans, but he’s doing it in a way that actually ends up being quite good for them, because they open up their emotional [sides] by being part of this soap opera. So, it’s quite good all around in that regard.”
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The childish, reality-twisting character was originated by William Campbell in the 1960s flagship series, but Darby started putting his own spin on the role in Season 3 of Strange New Worlds.
This week, Trelane manipulates the crew of the star-ship USS Enterprise into behaving as if they are in a daytime drama — complete with ludicrous medical emergencies, paternity revelations, much too long pauses in dialogue and cameo by Deirdre Hall — as part of a project project he is working on.
“After seeing the show myself, the original Star Trek with Trelane, I can see why he’s a legacy character and where it leads to and all the fan theories about the Q Continuum [alternate dimension],” he explained.
“Of course, because those fan theories become canon, means that the fandom are going to be very happy. I was just very happy that they were happy that I’m OK being in that role. It was a good fit.”
Darby said he didn’t have any connections to the Paramount+ show and got the job through meeting with a casting director.
“I just got cast the old-fashioned way — ‘Hey, Rhys, do you want to do this?’ ‘Yeah, sure, I’ve got nothing on Thursday,'” he recalled.
“Casting directors, they pick the right people. That’s why they’re now getting big awards, as they should. It’s a tough job, but if you nail it, you actually make the show perfect. That’s what it’s all about. And, so, luckily, I was in the running for it.”
The actor and comedian thinks there is a simple reason the Star Trek franchise has lasted for six decades.
“It has the general message of universal goodwill, exploration, kindness, adventure. It’s all the things that I think we stand for as humans and it’s the ultimate goal of us all to sort of get along and to explore the universe, to befriend people, species, beings that we don’t know and gain knowledge,” Darby said.
“The reason it’s still around is because it raises us up. It lifts us up and it gives us hope about where we could be, if we keep going the right way,” he added.
Strange New Words keeps that spirit alive, while forging its own path.
“It harks back to the old original series,” Darby said. “It’s a prequel, of course, so it leads into that, but it really searches and actually nails the beginning of it all and how we can be our best, if we try our hardest.”
Darby, who also recently was heard voicing characters in Monsters at Work and The Sheep Detectives, will soon be seen in the final Jumanji movie, Open World.
“You can’t have Jumanji without Nigel Billinsgley,” Darby said, crediting writer-director Jake Kasdan for finding a fresh way to continue the beloved franchise begun by star Robin Williams and director Joe Johnston in 1995.
“[Kasdan] made it even bigger than it ever was and the cast are so funny. The scripts are great. It’s an adventure family movie and it always comes out at Christmas, so it’s something really special to look forward to,” Darby added.
“I’ve got fans of all different ages, but the young people always know me as the voice of Nigel Billingsley, the NPC. So, as soon as I just start talking and say, ‘Welcome to Jumanji,’ the kids love it.”
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