Paramount+ is gearing up again to boldly go where no one has gone before with the premiere of the highly anticipated Star Trek: Discovery spin-off series Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. Set in the years prior to Star Trek: The Original Series, the show will explore the adventures of the U.S.S. Enterprise under the leadership of Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount). Pike was first introduced in The Original Series, along with Number One (Rebecca Romijn), Spock (Ethan Peck), Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding), Doctor M’Benga (Babs Olusanmokun), and Nurse Chapel (Jess Bush), though the roles were originated by different actors. Strange New Worlds is set to introduce new characters as well, including La'an Noonien-Singh (Christina Chong) and Erica Ortegas (Melissa Navia).
During this 1-on-1 interview with Collider, Anson Mount chatted with us about where Pike is mentally after the time crystal allowed him to see his grim future, working with different directors on each episode, the horse he rides in the premiere, and why he loves Data (Brent Spiner). As with most of our interviews, you can choose to either read the interview below or watch it in the video player above!
COLLIDER: In the second season of Discovery, Pike gets this glimpse into the future. Obviously, that's going to be kind of a shocking thing. Do we see some of that come through into Strange New Worlds, and where is he mentally when we reunite with him?
ANSON MOUNT: Yeah, we knew very early on that we couldn't really do the show without dealing with that question at the top. There was no room to deal with it in the 13th and 14th episodes of Season 2 of Star Trek: Discovery for very clear situational plot reasons. But we had to deal with it here. We also knew that rather than sort of mention it and sidestep it or deal with it quickly and move on, we decided, or I should say Keith and Henry decided very wisely to jump into it and attack it in a way that feeds into the development of the character and the show itself. I'm very pleased with how they did that, right through the entire Season 1.
Excellent. We have a mutual friend in Dan [Liu] who directed, I believe it's Episode 4 of Season 1.
MOUNT: Oh yeah. He's here right now.
Oh, excellent.
MOUNT: He's doing Episode 6 of Season 2 now.
I also know somebody, another person who directed for Season 2, but what has it been like getting to interact with different directors for this and getting different approaches to Star Trek through them?
MOUNT: It's been amazing on this show more than any other, because we're actually encouraging our directors to come in. Because we're episodic, and we want each episode to be its own thing, we've been encouraging the directors to come in with their own visions. Not only in terms of lenses or style, but what genre do you want to do? What do you want to see? What do you want to see on the Enterprise that you've never seen? And let's see if we can make it happen for you.
What episode are you most excited for fans to see in Season 1?
MOUNT: Oh, man.
I know it's a hard question.
MOUNT: That is so hard. Well, I'm very excited about [Episode] 4, actually. Dan knocked it out of the park. And it's not just me saying that. I mean, other directors were mentioning this episode and how good it is. And it was not an easy episode for reasons that-
I can't spoil.
MOUNT: Right. It was a tough episode. Man, did he do well with it. Yes. That's why we have him back.
I've got to ask. In the premiere, you get to ride a horse. What is the horse's name? And did you feel like you were reliving Hell On Wheels?
MOUNT: No, because the horse's name was Pretty.
Oh my gosh.
MOUNT: I'd asked for Pike's horse that we were introduced to in the original pilot was a fawn. We couldn't find that. They didn't have a fawn available. So we got a black horse, but she was great. You just got to be really careful when you're working in this snow with horses, because they get tired out really quick. But man, she was super sturdy and obedient and liked to look into herself in the mirror. They have these mirrors in the equestrian center where we were working, and she would constantly get distracted with her own image. I guess that's why they call it Pretty.
Oh, I love that. And then for a final fun question, if you could switch roles with any other character in Strange New Worlds, who would it be and why?
MOUNT: Oh boy, it wouldn't be Strange New Worlds. It would be the Next Generation. I've made no secret of this, and I've told them before. Data is I think maybe the most imaginative, interesting character in Star Trek canon. He's Pinocchio in space. Such an actor's dream to play a non-sentient being that has to learn what sentience is. I was so jealous as a young actor, watching him get to do that.
Oh, that's excellent. Well, thank you so much.
MOUNT: Thank you.
Have a great rest of your day.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds begins May 5 on Paramount+.