Today, we are continuing our ongoing series of SNAPSHOTS from the Trek Long Island 4. I have decided to save this interview for today because it’s our guest’s birthday!
Now, ladies and gentlemen, as you probably know, I am a commanding officer of a Starfleet International chapter in Maryland. However, one thing I will never tolerate is someone sitting in my Captain’s chair. However, I will make an exception of our guest, because this wonderful person stepped into the captain’s chair in the season one episode The Serene Squall of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.
Let’s welcome to SNAPSHOTS, Jessie James Keitel!
How are you doing today, Jesse?
Hi, I’m doing great. I’m having such a fun time here at Trek Long Island.
Yes, especially since you grew up around this area, correct?
I did. I’m a Long Islander from Manorville; it’s like 45 minutes from here.
Nice. So, you were in one-episode, The Serene Squall, in the first season of Strange Worlds, but yet it’s such a wonderful episode, and yet you played kind of two characters, you played Dr. Aspen and then switch to your real identity of Captain Angel. Tell us about getting the role and being on the set.
I booked it while I was living in Canada, in Vancouver, shooting Big Sky Season One as an ABC show, and it was a dream come true. I’ve always dreamed of being part of an iconic sci-fi series, getting to play just a space baddie. And getting to be in Star Trek was even better, little bit of a Trekkie myself, and truly just feel so over the moon, lucky and grateful to be part of the Trek family.
Well, that’s great to hear. So, of all the Trek, what is your favorite? How did you get into the world on Star Trek?
I’ve always been aware of Star Trek. It’s been.. it’s so pervasive in the culture. It definitely has influenced a lot of other media I’ve consumed over the years. I mean, this is the 60th anniversary, it’s been around for longer than I have. My first introduction was The Next Generation. Even while filming, while I was prepping to film, because it was peak COVID. I had to do a two-week lockdown, and what did I do? I read my script and watched Star Trek. I really went back and re-watched The Next Generation. It’s just fun.
Wonderful, I grew up on Next Generation myself. My mom introduced me when it first came out. My favorite character is Geordi La Forge. What’s your favorite character?
You know, I’ve always had a soft spot for Wil Wheaton.
Oh, really?
Yes. And when we’re getting to do The Ready Room, I also, after I took over the Enterprise on Strange New Worlds, I took over the Ready Room. It was such a pinch-me moment. I think, as actors, you getting to do something like this truly does feel like once in a career opportunity. I hope it isn’t a once in a career opportunity. I hope I get to revisit Captain Angel; we need to. There’s a lot of stories left to be told, and I think people are excited to learn more.
Absolutely, as I mentioned at the earlier, you’re one of the few villains to sit in the captain’s chair on screen. Tell us, what went through your mind taking the chair?
I mean, truly surreal, and getting permission to not just sit in it, but to lounge it. I think I won. We did a take where I stood in it on the show. I think you didn’t. I did stand on it. When I shot Spock, I did sit in it. You know, getting to do all that hard to believe that I was real. I remember doing it, felt like we were doing a play, every single scene that we filmed on the bridge, we did all at once, so it was forgetting, maybe six scenes.
We shot it all in one take. Thank goodness I was as prepared as I was, because there’s “boom ba boom boom boom”, and getting told to “go bigger, go bigger, go bigger!” I was like, “okay, here we go,” it was truly just fun.
As we mentioned just moments ago, Star Trek is getting ready to celebrate sixty years. Why do you feel that Star Trek has endured six decades, multiple generations, several TV shows, several movies, and beyond?
I think because the beauty of Star Trek is it looks to the future with an optimistic lens, and it gives a little bit of element of hope mixed in with the fun. I think with sci-fi, with fantasy, it can be easy to dip into dystopian, and Star Trek doesn’t do that. It actually, in many ways, kind of does the opposite, especially as real life starts to feel a little dystopian at times. Having Star Trek to look to with a bit of a ray of positivity, it’s fun.
My last question is this: if you were on the bridge, since you were on the bridge, your character got to sit in the captain’s chair, but for you, Jesse, what position would you be on the bridge?
I’d be captain, so the same.
If you feel that’s all the SNAPSHOTS from TLI, we have more in store!
See You…. Out There!!
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