Star Trek: Picard, Jean-Luc’s son arrives
The new generation of Star Trek has arrived and has the face of Ed Speeler. The 34-year-old British actor – formerly known for roles such as Jimmy” Kent in Downton Abbey and by Stephen Bonnet in Outlander – is experiencing a particularly happy moment in his career. The beginning of 2023 sees him protagonist of two much loved series: the fourth season of You, in which he plays self-made man Rhys Montrose, and the final act of Star Trek: Picard.
If his involvement in the TV series with Penn Badgley was known well in advance, the casting of Speelers in Star Trek Picard it was announced almost quietly, a handful of days before the debut of the third and final season. The reason was discovered in the episode available from February 24 on Prime Video and Paramount: Ed Speelers lends his face to Jack Crusher, the son of Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden) and Picard (Sir Patrick Stewart) that Jean-Luc did not even know of having.
It is when the revered Starfleet admiral responds to a call for help from Beverly Crusher that Jean-Luc finds himself coming to terms with a son whose existence had been kept hidden from him for more than thirty years. Jack is nothing short of histrionic, even if the sense of adventure – and a certain protagonism – he certainly inherited from his father. “Playing this role was a great gift. Some parts come at the right time, and when I was asked to take part in Star Trek Picard I was pondering which path I wanted to take with my career. I feel I’m in the right place, and there hasn’t been a single day of this experience where I haven’t felt privileged,” Ed Speelers tells Tvserial.it.
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For more than twenty years the actor has been cyclically returning to science fiction and al fantasy – his debut in 2006 was with Eragon, not very successful film in which he played a dragon rider -; Was there ever a fear of being pigeonholed into this genre? “It’s a question I’ve asked myself, but the truth is that I never back down when there’s a role that I feel I can give authenticity to. And so it was with Jack Crusher tooEd Speelers replies confidently.
At the opening of the post you will find the complete video interview with Ed Speelers. The third season of Star Trek: Picard is available to stream starting February 17 with one episode a week on Paramount+ and Amazon Prime Video.