This film is very much the Dirty Dozen of Star Trek — which is inherently tricky for a “utopian” franchise . . .
Rob [Kazinsky], my castmate, spoke to this so eloquently at New York Comic-Con. Of course, Star Trek fans appreciate the utopia — and the sheer mention of “Section 31” makes that feel a little tenuous. But in order to effect change, to get as close as we can get to a “utopia,” we have to go through mess. We have to spend time in the grey area . . .
Did the fact that you’re playing Rachel Garrett — a brief yet iconic character from Trek lore — stick in your mind as you prepped for this role?
My first audition-and-a-half, I didn’t know that’s who I was auditioning for. Upon learning, it became my obsession. So, I have seen “Yesterday’s Enterprise” — the episode that features her in TNG — many, many, many times. At first, I was like, “I’ve got to really honour what Tricia O’Neil did. I’ve got to do an impersonation. She says her R’s in a particular way.” And then, the more I sat with that, the more it was a mask. Talking to Olatunde [Osunsanmi], our director, he basically said: “I hired you because you’re you. I’m seeing all of the colours that can come through you — and that’s what I want.”
I hope you’re prepared for a lifetime of having fans criticize your “R’s” . . .
You know what? Bring it on! I appreciate the passion [laughs].
On the whole, it must be intimidating to enter a franchise with so many built-in expectations. Yet, as an actor, being a little afraid is probably a good thing . . .
Absolutely. It’s a litmus, actually, of if I’m moving in a direction that’s good for my art — if I’m intimidated by it, if I’m a little nervous about it . . . I’ve been able to discern between what is just a “No, thank you” and what’s poking something in me that I get to explore. If you’re not scared, then I think you’re dead in the water. You’re floatin’ . . . Fear and excitement are such close cousins. Sometimes, what I experience as a wave of fear is actually passion.
Rachel is the one character who does not belong on this ragtag team. How does she evolve during the film?
I think when we meet her at the top of the movie, she’s such a rule-follower. She’s such a stickler . . . But whoever was in charge of putting her there must have seen something in her to put her in Section 31. Somebody saw something that maybe was a little chaotic, that was a little bit rebellious, a little bit edgy, spicy . . . and over the course of the movie, she gets to see where it’s beneficial to put the rulebook down, where it’s beneficial to colour outside the lines. Where she ends up in “Yesterday’s Enterprise,” the sacrifice that she ultimately makes — there’s chaos in that, right? There’s bravery, but it’s also kind of chaotic to not be like, “No, I’m gonna stay on this ship and live, thanks!”
You worked closely with the great, recently Oscar-winning Michelle Yeoh here. What jumps out about her as an actor?
I’ve been describing it today as a “crackle.” She contains a crackle. She has this vital energy that she owns, that she’s in full possession of. There’s an exceptionalism that she expects of herself and the people she surrounds herself with — not in a way that makes anybody feel small. She goes, “I know you can do this really, really well — and I want you to — so let’s make it happen together.”
Star Trek: Section 31, streaming on Paramount+
MEMORABLE ROLES:
B.C.’s own Kacey Rohl got her break in 2013 playing a serial killer’s daughter/conflicted accomplice in NBC’s cult hit Hannibal. Soon after, she starred opposite SCTV legend Andrea Martin on family sitcom Working the Engels, and then led 2018 indie drama flick White Lie as a college student fraudulently claiming to have cancer.
CURRENT GIG:
Rohl plays future Enterprise captain Rachel Garrett in TV movie Star Trek: Section 31 — a Starfleet officer assigned to supervise reformed dictator Philippa Georgiou (Michelle Yeoh) and her brigade of fellow antiheroes as they do the Federation’s dirty work.