Being in Star Trek seems generally awesome, but sometimes it’s a little too much fun. Zoe Saldana revealed that her time on Star Trek was utter joy – to the point that performing in Star Trek movies took a good deal more effort.
“Chris is really good at improvising, so it makes it really hard for you to stay in character, for sure,” Saldaña told BBC Radio 1. “But I also remember, because of the three Star Trek movies that I’ve done, that being in the same room with Simon Pegg, John Cho or Anton Yelchin. Sometimes Chris Pine, whenever he wanted to jump in. Zachary Quinto was hysterical.”
You’d expect nothing less from Pegg, who made both one of the best comedy series in Spaced, and then went and made at least two of the best comedy movies in Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz (c’mon, At World’s End is debateable at best). Cho, Yelchin, Quinto, and Pine strike us as dark horses within the Star Trek cast – people you probably wouldn’t think are funny, but then they just own the material.
That’s what Saldaña indicates, anyway. “These are very educated individuals, and they’re masters of words, and they would whip out little jokes here and there,” she adds. “That was really hard, to stay in character and improvise with them, but I don’t improvise. I do in Spanish but not in English.”
Jonathan Frakes, of the Star Trek: The Next Generation cast, recently mentioned they had a similar problem. Everyone just got along too well, and filmmakers would have a little bit of resentment stepping into that dynamic.
That just makes for a stronger bond, and you can always feel that sort of chemistry through the screen. Right now, we’re looking toward the Star Trek 4 release date, however that whole project has been up in the air for some time now.
Meanwhile, check out our Star Trek timeline and Star Trek Legacy release date guides for more on Starfleet’s finest, as well.