Interview: Blu Del Barrio On Adira’s ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Journey And Why It’s Fun When Jonathan Frakes Directs
Blu del Barrio joined the cast of Star Trek: Discovery for season 3 in 2020, playing Adira, the first nonbinary character in the franchise. A lot changed for Adira by season 5, like becoming an ensign, and in the latest episode (“Lagrange Point“), they go on a dangerous undercover mission. TrekMovie had a spoilery chat with the actor about what it was like getting to do some action, especially in one of those Breen suits. Del Barrio also talks about being directed by Jonathan Frakes again, how they feel about their and Adira’s journey though the series, and their hopes for the future.
“Lagrange Point” was a big episode for Adira. What do you think it says about them and their journey since being introduced in season 3?
Something I realized after-the-fact was how much they joke around in this episode, how comfortable they are on this mission that they probably would not have been trusted to do in the past two seasons. This probably wasn’t a responsibility they would have been given. I think the difference is just a lot of security. I think they feel their value. I think they feel their worth as a part of this crew. And I think that we can sort of see that in the way that they communicate and talk back and forth to Discovery while they’re on this mission.
Blu del Barrio as Adira and Anthony Rapp as Stamets in “Lagrange Point” (Michael Gibson/Paramount+)
When you got the script and saw Adira was going on a very dangerous mission towards the end of the season, was there any worry they might kill off your character? Do you ever worry about that kind of thing?
I am an anxious person, so all the time. From the second I started working on Discovery to the moment I finished there was a “I’m going to get fired tomorrow” mentality. But actually, no, not for this episode. I think because there was just a lot of excitement and we were very buzzy about the finale. I was just really excited to have a part in such a big mission towards the end of the season, which wasn’t something I was expecting. I was excited for the responsibility and to be like a little action hero for a minute.
What was the biggest challenge or the most fun, as an actor?
The most fun was definitely the fighting, the combat. I came up in theater so I’ve done more stage combat than is necessary for anybody, but that is something that I was always very comfortable with and really wanted to do on the show. It was really cool to have actual combat rehearsals. The fact that I got to do it before it ended, I was really happy about. It was incredibly nice and fun to do it with Patrick [Kwok-Choon]. The only thing that made it harder was those Breen suits, which are like 70,000 pounds and very constricting. [laughs]
Going in disguise is classic Star Trek. But did you feel that Adira stood out compared to those big guys they have playing the Breen?
Yeah, that was the first thing I asked. [laughs]. When I saw all the other Breen, like I am just five foot, two. I am like the size of a shoe and they are all sky high. I was like, “This doesn’t make sense?” [laughs] I think they hid it/shot it in a really smart way. They made it so that the thing that would give Adira away is their physical tendencies. I feel like that’s what would give them away, more so than their height, maybe, in terms of how we filmed it. But yeah, if you were there in the room, you could absolutely see that I was way shorter than everybody else.
Blu del Barrio (R) with Patrick Kwok-Choon, disguised as Breen in “Lagrange Point” (Michael Gibson/Paramount+)
You talked about Adira’s confidence, but we have also seen them questioning themselves this season. What do you think is driving this new confidence? Is it Rayner? Is it their space dads?
I think I think probably some of it just comes from growing up a little bit, getting a little bit older. I think it definitely comes from their space dads. I think it comes from probably feeling a little bit of the weight to get more comfortable and confident after going through a breakup and you know, not having their partner right beside them all the time. Like after a breakup, you feel, “I need to have a glow up!” I need to be doing really well, I need to be really strong in my presence here and this is the path I chose, so I want to be confident. Rayner was also a really good challenge for them. I think it was it was very fun to play on off Callum [Keith Rennie] for all of that. That definitely sent a little bit of a shock into Adira. Tilly was also really helpful and nice.
When you are doing a scene with Wilson Cruz [Culber] and Anthony Rapp [Stamets], are you playing it like a child with parents, or a junior officer with their superior officers?
Definitely more on the side of a child and their parents. I think that that relationship just went into that dynamic so seamlessly. I think that me is the actor, I forget that they’re sort of my bosses. I forget that and I think Adira does as well.
Speaking of guys in charge, your first-ever episode [“People of Earth”] was directed by Jonathan Frakes, as was “Lagrange Point.” Can you talk about how he set the table for you back then and how the dynamic has changed these years later?
That was really emotional for me to have him direct this episode and also have them direct on my first. I couldn’t have been luckier to have him direct on my first episode. For me, he is probably my favorite director I’ve ever worked with. That man is absolutely Looney Tunes, and also the smartest person in the room. He comes in with the attitude and the desire that he really needs everyone to have fun there, which is not always the energy that you get from a director. they have a bunch of weight on their shoulders and it can be really stressful environment, but it feels like his number one priority is that everybody have a good time which is wild to me. He somehow hides the rest of the inner workings and the mechanics of how he’s sorting it all out in his brain, which is like really kind and wonderful. So, yeah, it was terrifying having him for my first episode and I was very freaked out and nervous and self-conscious. And the flip side of having him for my second to last, just felt like a really big honor that I got to kind of close out that circle with him. I hope I get to work with him again in the future.
Jonathan Frakes directing Blu del Barrio and Phumzile Sitole in “People of Earth” (Michael Gibson/Paramount+)
Looking at Adira’s arc over these seasons and now that it is ending, do you feel satisfied or do you feel there are things you wanted to do in future seasons?
That’s a good question. I think that I am satisfied where Adira leaves off. When I think about it, it could have been much more of a cliffhanger and that would have been so much more upsetting. I think I got kind of lucky with how their story played out in season 5 and where they ended up. I think it’s a very positive note for them to end on. But of course, there was definitely a bunch of stuff that I wanted to do. I wanted them to be a part of a Mirror Universe episode. I wanted them to go on more way missions. I had a bunch of stuff that I wanted to do and you know. Trek is forever, so maybe in the future Adira can come back.
You mentioned the relationships with Tilly and we still don’t know if she is part of the new Starfleet Academy series, but if Adira were to appear in the new series, what would you like to see? As a teacher, a graduate student? Just visiting?
One of those future paths I had thought of for Adira was to follow in Tilly’s footsteps and start teaching. I think that would kind of make sense for them. I think they’d be a really fun teacher and interesting teacher to watch, because of how blunt they can be sometimes. While they are still younger, I think visiting Tilly would be something really nice to do.
There is a bit of connection as the new show is set in San Francisco, not at Starfleet HQ. One of the unique things about Adira is they are actually from Earth in the 32nd century. But we really don’t know much about that aspect of them. Did you ever get any backstory?
Thank you for asking that. That’s something that I always wanted to go back to. All I know is what was in those episodes in season 3 of showing that little tiny bit of history with Gray before The Burn. So there’s stuff that I had in my head kind of worked out. I was always hoping we would go back and maybe get a little bit more of that history of what their life was like before they went on Discovery, but nothing was ever written, so we don’t have any canon. [laughs]
Mary Wiseman as Tilly and Blu del Barrio as Adira in “Mirrors” (Michael Gibson /Paramount+)
In our interview before the season started, you talked about how important it was to you to talk to trans people and their families about how the character had impacted you. Recently, Sonequa [Martin-Green] and Tawny [Newsome] talked about feeling pressure to represent black women and being on the same high-profile show as one of the few non-binary characters on TV, did you also feel that kind of pressure to represent?
Of course, one hundred percent. All of my first season I had severe impostor syndrome and had so much anxiety around all of that and it took me a very long time to realize, well, no, that’s probably just because the representation that I’ve had on screen has not been a lot. And what I have seen is probably people who appear very confident, because you do feel that weight on your shoulders to be the best version of yourself that you can be. And then I started thinking, it’s kind of nice, maybe, for people to see someone who’s at just the beginning of their transition and going through that and going through the anxieties and the worries and difficulties of that. So as scary as it was, and kind of as vulnerable as to sort of come out on television and also go through a lot of my medical transition while I was on Discovery, I’m really proud that it’s out there for anybody who felt like me, who was at the beginning of that journey and really freaked out and maybe also had impostor syndrome. [laughs]
Here’s the Entertainment Tonight fluffy question, did you take anything from the set?
The only thing that I have—and I’m very happy I got something—because they keep so much of stuff for the archives and for fans and stuff like that. I didn’t think I was going to take anything home but I got the backing of my chair that says “Adira” on it. And I’ll keep that forever, and a bunch of my scripts and stuff. I wish I could have kept my badge, but those are apparently very precious and we could not take that. But I do have my chair backing and I love that.
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The fifth and final season of Discovery debuted with two episodes on Thursday, April 4 exclusively on Paramount+ in the U.S., the UK, Switzerland, South Korea, Latin America, Germany, France, Italy, Australia, and Austria. Discovery also premiered on April 4 on Paramount+ in Canada and will be broadcast on Bell Media’s CTV Sci-Fi Channel in Canada. The rest of the 10-episode final season is available to stream weekly on Thursdays. Season 5 debuted on SkyShowtime in select European countries on April 5.
