Star Trek Discovery: Exclusive interview with Saru star Doug Jones on the Blu-Ray launch

STAR TREK: DISCOVERY

August 22, 2024 at 07:30

“Star Trek: Discovery” Season 5 is coming to DVD and Blu-Ray. To celebrate the release, we spoke exclusively with Saru actor Doug Jones in an interview.

Doug Jones is known from films such as “Pan’s Labyrinth”, “Hocus Pocus”, “Crimson Peak” and the Oscar-winning film “The Shape of Water”, in which he plays the water monster. The man whose face is almost always hidden behind a mask also plays in “Star Trek: Discovery” – behind a mask, of course.

As Kelpian Saru, Doug Jones quickly won the favor of fans and is now one of the most popular characters in the series. “Star Trek: Discovery” only came to an end this year with season 5, and this final season will be released on DVD and Blu-Ray on August 22, 2024. To celebrate, we spoke exclusively with Doug Jones in an interview!

“Star Trek: Discovery” star Doug Jones in exclusive conversation with Netzwelt

Networld: Congratulations on the seven-year adventure that was Star Trek: Discovery, and if I remember correctly, the series has been filming for two years. How does it feel to return to the series for interviews after such a long time?

Doug Jones: That’s right, we finished shooting season 5 in November 2022. And why it took so long to release the season was because we found out in the meantime that it would be our last season.

We then had the chance to return for a few more days of shooting to film an epilogue that would follow on from the last episode to give the series a rounded conclusion. That was in April 2023.

Even since then, it has been more than a year and … it’s a bit like I always have to go through it in my head: “Okay, what was the series about again, who am I playing in it?” Because of course we [als Schauspieler] then always jump into the next project.

But let me tell you: Star Trek: Discovery is hanging over me so heavily, in the best sense, because I spent seven years working on five seasons. And the reason it took us seven years to do five seasons is because the show took eight to nine months of work for each season.

In one year, it took eleven months because COVID impacted that, so I spent a lot of time in my life in Toronto, away from home, in a Saru mask, bringing him to life for you fans.

So I’ve experienced and lived a lot with him, if you will. He’s become a part of me – like every character I’ve played, but Saru will definitely stay with me forever.

Networld: And this end of Saru will leave a void for us fans. And to fill this void, if you could pitch a film or series from the “Star Trek” universe, what would that pitch look like?

Doug Jones: My pitch… um, yes! I think my character Saru got such a happy ending, [was gut ist, wie es ist]. He was a lonely science officer, worked his way up through the ranks to become a captain and then an ambassador at the very end of the series… and fear, he lived in fear and faced it, which has allowed him to be brave and confident, even building a love life.

And he ends up marrying a wonderful, diplomatic president of a planet, T’Rina, played by Tara Rosling. So things are good, he got a wonderful “and they lived happily ever after” ending. So what would I pitch for him? I don’t know.

The new Star Trek: Starfleet Academy series that is currently in production is probably the place for a cameo – maybe – because he’s part of the Federation and is stationed at headquarters a lot. And could he make a cameo here and there? Yes! And he speaks 94 languages, so he could teach a language seminar as part of cadet training, who knows. Who knows!

A few people have thrown a Discovery movie into the ring. That might happen, who knows. There are so many shows that have movie potential, so I’m not sure. I haven’t had a call yet.

If the call comes, I definitely won’t say no!

Networld: That’s nice to hear. And you also worked with Jonathan Frakes [Will Riker in “Star Trek: Picard” und “Raumschiff Enterprise – Das nächste Jahrhundert”] who has often returned to “Star Trek” as a director. Would directing be a step in your career that you would dare to take?

Doug Jones: No, I never had any desire to direct or produce. For me, being an actor and playing one role is stressful enough. As a director, you have to juggle so many balls at once… and Jonathan Frakes does it with such tact and lightheartedness, or at least he doesn’t show it when he’s stressed.

And because he is an actor from a former “Star Trek” series, he has a special understanding of how to direct and help us. He does a lot of television and film as a director, but with a “Star Trek” episode he does it from an understanding from his own acting days and when he hears, for example, that we are having problems with a paragraph that contains a lot of technical terms without much emotional depth, …

… then he knows exactly how to guide and inspire us and get the best out of us. He is a shining example of what I can never achieve and don’t even aspire to.

A notice: The interview has been adapted and condensed for reading comprehension purposes.

With the DVD launch on August 22, 2024, all seasons of “Star Trek: Discovery” will be available physically, but also available to stream on Paramount+. You can also buy and rent the series on Amazon Prime Video. Despite the end of the series, fans can still look forward to new “Star Trek” releases in Paramount+’s new releases program.