Clare McConnell Talks About Being Her Own Klingon On “Star Trek: Discovery”

(Photo courtesy of Maya Sherwood Photography)

Last week we reported four new actors were announced as part of the cast for Star Trek: Discovery. and now one of them is opening up (a little bit) about landing a job as a Klingon. Talking to Toronto’s Metro, Canadian actress Clare McConnell said that she was “very excited” to get the part of Klingon leader Dennas and she was glad she could finally talk about it after being cast last December.

She also revealed that she has been training with a dialect coach to help her with speaking Klingon, but noted she has some flexibility in how she approaches the role:

“Each series is such a classic thing, but also such an innovative thing,” she explained. “The actors have really been encouraged to make it their own. I’ve even been encouraged to make the Klingon language my own.”

McConnell is of course working on under the secrecy rules that surround the show so couldn’t give any details about her character or the plot of Discovery, but did describe some things in general with the article noting her views on how sets for the ships “looked incredible” and her Klingon costume was “very cool.” The article also adds:

McConnell said there’s an atmosphere on set that everyone wants to get it right, because Star Trek is such a beloved series.

A singing ukulele-playing Klingon

Star Trek: Discovery is McConnell’s big break as her first role in television. She only recently got into acting with only two credits to her name so far, including the upcoming independent film Dim the Fluorescents. One thing we do know about her is she can play the ukulele, as she has demonstrated with some interesting covers on her YouTube channel. Here she is doing her version of Nicki Minaj’s “Anaconda.”

Keep up with all the Star Trek: Discovery news at TrekMovie.

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Make it your own…as long as its familiar! lol

“Everyone wants to get it right, because Star Trek is such a beloved series.” — That’s great news!

Zachary Quinto also plays the ukulele. Maybe we’ll get a Klingon-Vulcan concert someday. :-)

This is all very well and good, but do the Klingons still look absolutely nothing like Klingons?

Well, the first Star Trek movie also had Klingons who looked absolutely nothing like Klingons, and those caught on.

Easier to accept those, than those Discovery is purported to involve. Yes, the armour is in keeping, but the hairless look wasn’t. Hopefully the wigs and beards just came off during their lunch break!

I bet they want to get away from the “wild viking” look with the beards and hair, because the airwaves are too crowded with viking stuff. They might want to go for even more “alien-ness”; a look like the enemy in “Enemy Mine”.

Their faces seem narrower , more carnivorous , maybe even Alien !!

They will find ancient Klingons(or future Klingons but I’m guessing ancient Klingons) who look really different are more touchy feely than TOS Klingons and will secretly work with the Federation to eventually destabilize the Klingon Empire. That’s speculation but I don’t know how else it explains those new Klingons unless they are a hybrid race or an offshoot.

Or a — wait for it — reimagining.

Is Clare playing the sensitive Klingon Troubador ?!

I’ll never understand how a first impression of an actor makes people assume that’s their entire scope. Even with people in real life, first impressions barely scratch the surface. But someone whose job it is to play all sorts of different characters, should be given the benefit of the doubt until the work is seen. I mean casting directors, producers, the studio, network, and directors wouldn’t pick her unless they saw some Klingon in her.

I’m sorry for typecasting too much , Eric !

Jesus — for moment there I thought the implication was that she would be playing the ukelele AS a klingon. Phewf!

Cool. She’s very attractive and seems to be charismatic as well. I like her already.

“eighty polyguttural dialects constructed on an adaptive syntax”

I noticed on IMDB she is listed as being in all 13 episodes. Most of the other Klingons are listed for only 2 episodes. Rain Wilson as Harry Mudd is listed as being in 8 and James Frain as Sarek is in only one episode. Does anyone know how accurate this type of information is on IMDB? I would be surprised if Mudd was in 8 episodes, but that is a pretty specific number so I’m assuming it comes from somewhere?

The information is listed by official sources associated with the Series . So it would be correct , and occasionally there will be errors . Very surprised to hear about Frain/Sarek . Maybe his role is in later seasons ?