Many of our favorites at Star Trek: Discovery have gone through strange things, weird things in three seasons, but few had the Lieutenant journey – now Captain“Saru did.” But this week’s episode, “Su’Kal”, throws a curved ball from hell to our friend Kelpien … and to Doug Jones, the actor behind the makeup who found himself in a totally stranger than normal challenge.
“Su’Kal” sees Saru, Dr. Culber and Michael on a mission to the planet that Discovery believes it could be the source of Burn – the mystery that Michael has pursued all season, a cataclysmic event that detonated Dilithium at the heart of each active warp core in a 100-year-old starship before the events of the third season. And it may be the far strangest mission on the show so far. It wasn’t just the planet they were radiating unlike anything they expected, it was radically altered by powerful holographic simulations to create new environments for its equally mysterious inhabitant.
It did more than that: holograms also radically altered the appearance of our Outside Team. Michael became a Trill. Hugh became Bajoran. And Saru, the only alien between them? Well … suddenly he became a very human person Doug Jones. To learn more about how Jones approached a completely different vibe than Saru, io9 spoke to the actor – check out part of our interview below!
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James Whitbrook, io9: How was it for you when you received the script for this episode and realized that, suddenly, you are not wearing a lot of Kelpien makeup, you are … human!
Doug Jones: When I first saw this in the script, I had two reactions at the same time. One was, ‘Oh, good!’ The other was, ‘Oh, noooo!‘ You can imagine! The good part was: ‘I don’t need to use silicone rubber on my face. I can get my own snacks from the craft service table. I can undo my pants in the bathroom. There are so many good points, right? So the ‘Oh no’ part was, I played humans many times in my 35career year but never played Saru like a human. It’s scary. Can I do that? Will fans buy?
All these questions and fears were there with me. And another thing too, in this age of social media … I didn’t want to face an attack by … [Jones adopts a shrill, dramatic voice] ‘Ew, is that what he looks like ?! Ewwwwww! He’s much scarier without the makeup!‘ Do you know? All of that, you get it. But I thought, ‘OK, OK, like us?’ Like us…[sighs] I just had to try and move on with this human version of Saru.
io9: There is as much physicality in your performance as Saru on the show. How was it in the early days, when you were just trying to get in the mood of how to modulate that performance, realizing that you didn’t have the kind of mask you usually wear on the show to work?
Jones: Well, what was working in my favor was that I had lived and breathed like Saru for many years. Saru is a part of me. I know him very well. So, without looking, I can still channel your insides – your heart, your soul, your intention and your voice. The speech pattern was the first starting point. This could remain almost the same. What was the biggest change, it was OK… how I stand, how I walk, how I hold myself, how I gesture – not exactly the way I am when I am Saru. The biggest change is footwear. Those hoof boots from Saru change my posture, put my hips a little forward and my arms a little back. And my walk: everything changes! So, with my heels on the floor, I had to unite Kelpien and humans to take a walk that was still a tip Saru is there somewhere. Heels on the floor, you must be a little human by now. I wanted to slide like a supermodel on a catwalk if I could … but, I had to think to myself ‘Make uscapable for a guy with normal boots. ‘
io9: We have a rare chance to really see an emotional side of Saru that he doesn’t reveal often – he is facing the idea that there is a member of his species in grave danger and needs to reach that childish figure in Su ‘Kal. What was it like to explore this very vulnerable side of him, when he realized who Sa’Kal is and what was the situation with him?
Jones: I turned 60 this year, in my real life. The older I get, the more nostalgic I get to the house, the family … Saru is kind of on that same journey. He left home twice now, in his life – first, going to Starfleet in the beginning, to hear that he can never come back again. We went back there [in season two] when they are ready to bring us back, so that I can free the Kelpiens and fight the Ba’ul and live in harmony and repair my planet Kaminar. So, at the end of the second season, we say goodbye again, let’s jump into the future. So, he suffered an emotional loss and tried to keep her dignified all the time. So many times.
Now that he hasn’t seen another face from Kelpien, and the chance to see one again, and be useful to them … and maybe return to Kaminar’s home world – ‘Is there any potential for me to go to Kaminar? ‘All of this is pulling at your heart very, very. There is no way he [deal with it]… so Michael Burnham says [to Saru this episode], ‘Are you emotionally committed?’ She knows him very well, better than anyone else on the team. And she can see that yes, he is absolutely experiencing huge amounts of nostalgia and heart-wrenching into his home world. It affects your decision making now.
Star Trek: DiscoveryThe third season is currently airing on CBS All Access. Stay tuned for more news from our chat with the wonderful Doug Jones soon!
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