There’s nothing I take pleasure in greater than talking to Star Trek actors who have been followers of the franchise earlier than becoming a member of it, and Dawnn Lewis is undoubtedly that. Many years earlier than she’d voice Captain Carol Freeman on Decrease Decks, she was watching lots of the exhibits — which at the moment are streamable with a Paramount+ subscription — after they debuted on TV. She additionally managed to befriend a number of TOS actors all through her profession, together with the late Nichelle Nichols, all of which she spoke about throughout a current interview with CinemaBlend.
I had the honour of talking to Lewis concerning the ultimate season of Star Trek: Decrease Decks. As soon as we talked concerning the present and her showing in upcoming Trek exhibits, I needed to ask about her being a fan for many years earlier than lastly becoming a member of the franchise. I discovered lots about her previous, and I like that she was so prepared to share what this franchise has meant to her all through her life.
Dawnn Lewis Has Been A Trekkie Since Childhood
Like many others her age, Dawnn Lewis’ love of Star Trek began when she watched the unique sequence as a baby. The veteran actress instructed me she was drawn to the present by Nichelle Nichols and defined what it meant to her seeing Nichols’ Nyota Uhura on TV in the course of the tense occasions in america:
I noticed myself within the present in Nichelle Nichols and noticed the potential of every kind of various individuals from every kind of various locations working collectively, respecting one another, collaborating with one another. And that is not what I’d see after I would watch another present or notably the information rising up in, within the sixties.
Dawnn Lewis wasn’t the one particular person impressed by Nichelle Nichols’ function. In reality, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. famously prevented her from quitting Star Trek after telling her what an inspiration she was to Black kids and adults in america (per StarTrek.com). Years later, Lewis would get to speak to Nichols herself, which I am positive her childhood self most likely may’ve by no means imagined.
Dawnn Lewis Turned Associates With Nichelle Nichols As soon as She Turned An Actress
When wanting again on the varied legends who honored Nichelle Nichols at her loss of life, and it is easy to see she meant lots to many individuals. Dawnn Lewis was one of many few not solely to be a fan but additionally to turn into associates with the late actress. Having turn into acquainted with Nichols as soon as she started appearing, Lewis instructed me about their first assembly and the way they turned shut through the years:
After I first met Nichelle Nichols many years in the past, I did not know what to say. I obtained actually emotional, and he or she simply hugged me. She knew my identify as a result of she had been watching A Completely different World and Hangin’ with Mr Cooper. I could not consider that she knew my identify. After which we turned associates, going to dinner and museums and live shows and events at one another’s homes. And whenever you would go to a Nichelle occasion, you bought to satisfy Walter [Koenig], you bought to satisfy all people. And it was a bit mind-blowing.
I can solely think about how hyped I would be as a Star Trek fan to hang around with different solid members casually at a celebration. Fortuitously, due to her roles on the 2 sitcoms she talked about, Lewis was a well known star in her personal proper. So possibly even among the actors have been excited to satisfy her. As somebody who has appreciated her outspoken advocacy for Black actresses in Hollywood, I do know I used to be thrilled to be talking to her, albeit remotely.
Dawnn Lewis Snuck Onto The TNG Set Whereas Working On One other Present
As if being associates with Nichelle Nichols and plenty of different Star Trek solid members wasn’t sufficient, Dawnn Lewis even confessed to me that she took a uncommon alternative to go to the set of The Subsequent Technology. She was filming a present proper subsequent to it and, as a fan who had witnessed many nice and WTF moments on the Enterprise, she needed to see it for herself. Here is what she cherished about it:
I used to be working at one level in the identical studio the place they shot The Subsequent Technology. I went on the set, and I sat within the captain’s chair. I went by all the things. The Holodeck! I used to be in all places. I used to be like an enormous child in an amusement park. These sorts of issues simply by no means get outdated. So, no. I’ve not stopped geeking in any respect.
As somebody who was emotional simply seeing the unique chair from TNG in particular person, I am envious that Dawnn Lewis may stroll the entire set when she had the prospect. I am much more envious that she’s been capable of proceed geeking out voicing Carol Freeman on Star Trek: Decrease Decks, and I do hope she’ll stay part of the franchise sooner or later. I am simply saying I feel we would all like to see Freeman seem in a live-action manufacturing in some unspecified time in the future! Regardless, Lewis deserves her flowers for carving out her personal area in Trek lore, after being a faithful fan.
Stream new episodes of Star Trek: Decrease Decks on Paramount+ on Thursdays. We’re about midway by the ultimate season as of writing, however there’s nonetheless loads of time for everybody to catch up and watch the ultimate installments as they air.