lve been bouncing around because it's such a huge universe, they said. And I think that's really beautiful. I only wore the color blue, and I refused to wear anything else, for like two years. But unlike Blue, the trans girl who made headlines four years ago this month when she fought the Pentagon, and won the right to use a girls bathroom at a military school, del Barrio decided to drop the e.. Welcome Blu del Barrio and @ianaIexander to the #StarTrekFamily! Adiras intense curiosity and inexplicable familiarity with the 930-year-old vessel annoys and then intrigues Lt. Although they grew up in Topanga, Calif., about 25 miles from Hollywood, they film their episodes 2,500 miles from home in Toronto. [5][6] Being cast as a non-binary character in Star Trek: Discovery helped them come out publicly as non-binary. Commander Paul Stamets (Anthony Rapp) and Dr. Hugh Culber (Wilson Cruz), the first same-sex couple in "Trek" TV . Their resolution of that feeling was for Adira and del Barrio to grow in confidence together, as filming progressed. Barrio is around 25 years old as of 2020. They were such huge fans that it sort of trickled down to me and influenced my childhood a little bit, said Alexander. When it has, it's been with mixed results. "It feels weird because I've never been off the grid like that," he says. When we meet the xBs (ex-borg) in Star Trek: Picard, they are, according to Hugh, the most despised people in the galaxy. Blu Del Barrio was born on September 15th, 1997, in Topanga, California, United States. Blu del Barrio is the child of Argentinian parents who have studied in the UK and have walked up to the acting stage. Required. Commander Paul Stamets (Anthony Rapp) and Dr. Hugh Culber (Wilson Cruz). "I was stunned to find that this massive group of strangers wholeheartedly accepted and validated me," they told GLAAD. During the final year at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, the actor's audition for the role took place, as reported by Deadline. That's why it's so interesting to see Star Trek: Discovery attempt to bridge that gap between allegory and reality in its new season with the introduction of the non-binary human Adira (played by non-binary actor Blu del Barrio) and the trans Trill man Gray (played by trans actor Ian Alexander). Stay tuned!". Adira was last seen planning to accompany Gray to the Trill home world. [4][5][6], Del Barrio has expressed a desire for a role in any Tim Burton film and would like to collaborate on relatively smaller budget independent films. Speaking with Adam B. ", Things are changing in the television and film industry, but slowly, says Alexander, who's been acting professionally since 14, a year after coming out as trans. Jemison told an audience in Milwaukee in January that she watched Star Trek on TV when she was growing up in the 1960s. ", BLU in SARAH REGENSBURGER Top JACKALOPE LAND Neckpiece RAT BETTY Ring SARAH REGENSBURGER Skirt DR. MARTENS Shoe. Together, they travel to Earth, hoping to learn why their interstellar alliance no longer exists in the 32nd century. The series was Launched in 2017. Star Trek: Discovery, which streams on CBS All Access every Thursday, introduces del Barrio Thursday with its third season episode, People of Earth. Because I'm different! The Star Trek universe's first non-binary character is Adira, played by Blu del Barrio. Del started acted in short films and theater at the age of seven. Yet another version of this is present in the writing for the augments. The American actor has not talked much about her personal life. In fact, there are seven in the current cast of Star Trek: Discovery: In addition to Alexander, del Barrio, Cruz, and Rapp, there are Tig Notaro, Mary Wiseman, and Emily Coutts, all featured in this issue. She was born around 1996 in Southern California to parents who are Argentinians. Ian Alexander (born April 20, 2001) is an American actor, known for their [a] roles as Buck Vu on The OA, Lev in The Last of Us Part II, and Gray Tal on Star Trek: Discovery . Blu del Barrio (left) and Ian Alexander CBS. "They've had conversations with their parents about their gender identity because of our characters. The named personality has an estimated net worth ranging from $100,000 to $1 million. But especially for people who are trans, they are so happy to finally see our stories being reflected in mainstream media. She is 25 years old as of 2022. Further efforts to find out more about their family and parents were not successful since no such information is made public. Discovery respectively, engineer Paul Stamets and Dr. Culber. As a member of the LGBTQ+ community, Blu knows what it's like to feel different. "There's a lot of queerness within these shows, and we're accepting that and going with it, which makes me really happy to be a part of it, that we can talk about it like this and have these conversations about it. They were introduced in The Original Series Space Seed as bad guys, but their identities became more sympathetically handled through DS9s Julian Bashir and the augments from the episodes Statistical Probabilities and Chrysalis. These characters were forcibly altered as children because they didn't fit with accepted normative society. They will be playing Adira, Star Trek's first non-binary character, and Gray, Star Trek's first transgender character in #StarTrekDiscovery Season 3. That is so incredible!. ), and the interesting phrasing in Body Parts when he's forced to transfer the O'Briens' baby into Kira: I had to find another womb for the baby and the only two people available were Major Kira and myself.. What difference does that make? We still want to have you on the show, Alexander recalled, adding that the producers had in mind another character, that he said was shape-shifted into the one he now plays: A Trill named Gray. Trills are bespotted humanoid beings, some of whom are surgically implanted with a long-lived symbiont, which shares their decades of memories and experiences with its host. They recognize the impact of having another regular character on TV who identifies as a member of this marginalized group appear week after week. Del Barrio (they/them) and Alexander (he/they) now both identify as trans and nonbinary; they do not identify with the sex they were assigned at birth or an exclusive gender. And it's amazing. Dr. McCoy (Pille), Captain Kirk, Spock (vorn); NN, Chechov, NN, Uhura, Sulu (hinten))- 1972 (Photo by ullstein bild/ullstein bild via Getty Images), 'Star Trek,' c. 1968. [4][5][6], Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812, "Join us in wishing a very Happy Birthday to @bludelb! She fulfilled a lifelong dream in 1993, when she became the first actual astronaut to appear on Star Trek: The Next Generation. Much of this weeks episode centers on the crews effort to help Adira recall repressed memories that could hold the key to their future, now that the U.S.S. It was very challenging and difficult and stressful, and not the way that I expected to come out, del Barrio said. What Adira doesnt let on, at least not right away, is that they have secrets, involving their identity and their memory. Blue, the trans girl who made headlines four years ago this month when she fought the Pentagon, and won the right to use a girls bathroom at a military school. 0 references. Del Barrio felt a resonance with the highly intelligent, introverted character with, what they consider to be, puppy-like emotions. Actor. Those most recognizable as existing outside of societys norms are often linked with fear synthetics are banned, holograms who argue for autonomy are fanatics, clones work for the antagonists, and the Borg are, well, Borg. I like being alone. "But I was absolutely terrified to tell dozens of total strangers when I started filming Star Trek in Canada," they said in the GLAAD interview; they agreed to play the nonbinary character of Adira before they were ready to make that leap in real life. Alexander said thats just like in real life. They believe "non-binary people deserve to live in a world where they fit. In fact, the show posits that society is right to fear them. Actors Anthony Rapp and Wilson Cruz play engineer Paul Stamets and Dr. Hugh Culber on Star Trek: [+] Discovery, It feels incredible, Alexander gushed. You don't have to engage. Star Trek: Discovery announced Wednesday that the franchise would be introducing its first ever nonbinary and transgender characters in Season 3 of the series, premiering October 15 on CBS All Access. Previously, Alexander made history as the first out trans Asian-American actor on TV, in Netflix's The OA. In a first for the "Star Trek" franchise, characters who are gender non-binary and transgender will appear on the third . [3][2] They came out as non-binary in 2019 and as of February2022[update] uses they/them/theirs pronouns. I had to come out to myself and to my friends and to my parents. This week, like last week, the series writers did not introduce either Adira or Gray as LGBTQ. Actor Ian Alexander of Star Trek: Discovery on CBS All Access. Blu del Barrio and Ian Alexander will board the U.S.S. [1] They are of Argentinian origin through their parents, and were born in and raised in Topanga, California. Blu del Barrio, a non-binary actor who uses they/them pronouns and will be making their television debut on "Star Trek," will play Adira, a non-binary character. And I think that's wonderful, in my opinion, because it's just sort of the same way when meeting any trans person, you wouldn't just, right off the bat, be like, Oh, I'm trans, by the way, here's my entire transition history. So, you know, you might take some time to get to know someone before diving into the history of their medical transition, if they have or have not transitioned medically.. . "And it wasn't until I got into high school that I started seeing trans people on YouTube posting about their transition. The work of Indya Moore, Bex Taylor-Klaus, Theo Germaine, Asia Kate Dillon, and Brigette Lundy-Paine also inspires del Barrio. 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