Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Actor Reflects On Beto Ortegas Becoming Uhura's First Love Interest

Luken understands the importance of playing Ensign Nyota Uhura's first canonical love interest, a fact that was evident in the interview. "How cool is that, right? Again, it was very vague, they wanted to keep it very secretive. So I knew that I was someone's brother, and I knew that I was going to be spending a lot of time with another character, but they didn't give me the names. So I was like, Okay, sure," says Luken.

I think that, acting aside, Celia and I got to know each other pretty well. We're very close friends. And so, when you get to set, those things just translate, or, you hope they do, and you just see what happens. You just leave yourself alone, and then you just see what happens. And I think, speaking strictly about Celia, the two of us just felt so comfortable with each other that things just naturally sort of grew, and it was just so much to play opposite her.

As far as Beto's newfound relevance in Star Trek history, Luken added, "I'm speechless, really, because you're right, that is a huge deal. And the fact that, obviously, I don't exist in The Original Series, but having this glimpse into Nyota’s life and how it was when she was younger, I think it's so cool. And the fact that I get to be a small part of her successful and awesome life is just something that brings me joy. And I'm just really glad that people have been receiving it positively, too. It's just awesome."

Beto Ortegas Had A Memorable Debut In Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

Luken fondly recalls his first scene in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: a brother-sister boxing match between Beto and Erica Ortegas. "So, my first day on set was the fight, right? Mel and I were sort of thrown into a situation where we had no other choice but to trust each other and to have fun with each other, and to just let it go and let it out, you know?"

"That's why we became close, because here I am. I just did my prep; I binged the entire series just to prepare. I just watched the series, and now I'm fighting Mel. It just felt a little surreal," Luken said. "And as we're fighting, and as we're trusting each other physically, just because we're really fighting, right? I think we just became tight, we just became close, because of that. And so it was such a joy, man. It was so cool to trust her. And when she gives me the haymaker, that was such a cool thing to shoot. And again, it was just full trust, just do whatever you've got to do."

Along with flirting with Uhura, Beto also danced with her in the episode's closing sequence. "The dancing we rehearsed," Luken points out. "And I remember telling Celia, ‘Look, I do not dance. I apologize right off the bat.' But Celia was so kind and so patient with me, and we just had so much fun doing the little dance sequence. It was so fun, man."

Mynor Luken Discusses Beto Ortegas' Pivotal Episode, "What Is Starfleet?"

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3, episode 7 is not only uniquely presented in the style of a documentary, but it's also Luken's spotlight episode, as it is filmed from Beto Ortegas' point of view. "They allowed me so much freedom," Luken raved. "When you're working on a TV show, you don't really get a lot of freedom when it comes to your lines, because you kind of stick to the script. But this time around, Sharon [Lewis] and I, before shooting, we would sit down with the script, we'd read it through, and then we would improvise a whole bunch of stuff, a whole bunch of it. And the fact that they allow me to do that, it was just such a blessing."

Luken revealed that much of the POV Q&A segments in the episode were improvised: "When I would interview the Starfleet team, we wouldn't tell him what we were going to ask him. And so those reactions that you see, those are happening right there. They never knew what we were going to ask, Sharon and I. It was such a blessing."

"It was also a deep exploration for me, for Beto as a character, but for me as an actor," says Luken. "It was a very emotional episode because it deals with my sister, and I have a bias because of my sister. It was just very refreshing and very awesome. I just cannot wait for people to watch it, and to see that sometimes, things like Starfleet that you think you know, when you have a bias, you’re like, ‘But what are they doing?’ When you get to know them on a personal level and on an emotional level, you know that they always have the best intentions, and so it's such a cool thing. “What is Starfleet?” People are going to find out. And it might change a lot of minds. And I'm really looking forward to that.

Mynor Luken & Christina Chong Collaborated On New Music

Luken may not dance, but the singer-songwriter was invited by Christina Chong to join her and her Star Trek: Strange New Worlds castmates in recording new music. Mynor co-wrote one track, "Baby Blue Day," and wrote and performed on another, "One of a Kind." Luken remembers, "We had a couple of sessions in the studio. It wa three or four of us from the cast there. It was so much fun."

As for how Luken and Chong became musical collaborators, Luken explained, "I brought my guitar to Toronto with me, just so I could be playing and writing and stuff. There was this song, I forget the name, but there's this song that I really love that Chrissy wrote. It's one of her songs. And so, one day, I think we were in between takes, or it was during lunch, or whatever, I learned a really cool little riff. And so, we're backstage, we're just sitting, and I'm like, ‘Hey, here's my guitar. I learned your song. Do you want to just sing for fun? And so, we just started singing for the cast, and it was really cool and sweet."

This inspired Luken to write a song for Christina. "One time, I was just hanging in my apartment, and I came up with this little melody. And I still have the videos. Like, I was like, ‘Hey, I wrote this for you. I don't know if you like it. If you don't like it, that's totally cool. But here it is.' And I send it to her," says Mynor.

"I recorded like, seven times because I'm a perfectionist and I have anxiety. And I sent her the seventh take that I recorded, and she really liked it," Luken explains. "We went to the studio, we put it down, and then next thing you know, we're at the studio, we're in the booth, and she's like, ‘Hey, how about you sing this verse?’ And I'm like, ‘Wait, no, no, I did not agree to this.’ She's like, ‘No, just go and sing it.’ And so I did. It's really fun, man. It’s a cool little song. It's acoustic, it’s intimate, it's vulnerable. That was really cool, because I didn't really get to work that much with her on set. So it was really cool that I got to work with her on her music."