Canadian actor Elias Toufexis played L’ak, one of the two main antagonists in Star Trek: Discovery’s fifth and final season, out now on DVD, Blu-ray, and digital. A huge fan of the franchise, Toufexis originally appeared briefly in the show’s first season as a prisoner being transported alongside Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) when she was first taken aboard Discovery.
This time around, he plays a member of the Breen – the mysterious race first seen in Deep Space Nine – and gets to make Star Trek history by being the first member of that race we see in the flesh, free of the masks they’ve worn in all previous appearances. As a fan, Toufexis jumped at the chance to flesh out one of Trek’s most mysterious races. Season Five sees L’ak, alongside his partner Moll (Eve Harlow) become embroiled in a deadly race with the Discovery to uncover ancient technology that could change, or end life in the galaxy. We spoke to him to mark the release of the show’s final season on DVD and Blu-ray…
STARBURST: As a huge Star Trek fan, what was it like stepping into a big role on Discovery?
Elias Toufexis: It was pretty fantastic. I had played a small role on it in the first season [in the episode Context is for Kings]. The role I was offered was a lot bigger than it turned out to be. Not through anybody’s fault, just through the natural circumstances of writing and editing. So I was really disappointed, and because I’m such a giant Star Trek fan, the first thing I did when that role ended was ask the casting director if I could come back. Not necessarily as that character, but I just really wanted to be on the show again, and I didn’t want to have that be my only role in Star Trek. They said they would think about it, kept their word, and they offered me this role. I would have taken pretty much anything, and the fact that I was offered a major character, a history-making character. I got to go on the Enterprise, I got to have my own ship, I got to have my own phaser. Every day was a mind-blowing geeking-out day for me.
Appearing in both Seasons One and Five, you bookend Discovery really. Did you notice any major differences being on set at beginning and end of the series?
It was the first Star Trek show in a decade, so I think in that first season they were trying to find their footing and trying to find what worked. And I felt that, just as an actor on set, they were not really on solid ground yet. But the one thing that didn’t change was Sonequa and her kindness and her leadership. From day one on that third episode, she was fantastic, and that’s exactly how she was later on. Granted, she has a little bit more maturity and experience in the five years, but she is all about kindness, welcoming, and leadership. For Sonequa, that never changed. But by the time the fifth season came around for the show, you could really tell they knew what they were doing, and things were working a lot more smoothly than they were in that first couple of weeks of shooting. They were a well-oiled machine by the time I got back in the fifth season.
When did you find out that you were playing a Breen, and how did you go about fleshing out the species?
When they offered me the role, I didn’t know what it was. They just said you’re going to be under prosthetics. I was excited about it, and I went into do the mould, [to create the prosthetic] where they bury you in a cast. And right before I went into the cast I asked “can you tell me what this character is? What he’s going to look like?” And they showed me some concept art, and I said, “Oh, what is it a new race?” And they said, “No, it’s a Breen.” And being a Star Trek nerd, I said, “Wait a minute, Breen, never take their helmets off. Are you telling me I’m going to be the first Breen to take his helmet off?” And they said yes, and then I freaked out even more because now I’m making Star Trek history. In terms of fleshing it out, it was a lot of discussions with the writing staff, and actually, I even reached out to some of my friends that I know who wrote on Deep Space Nine. They didn’t invent the Breen – I think you hear them first mentioned on The Next Generation – but they fleshed them out in Deep Space Nine. But I asked Robert Hewitt Wolfe [who wrote for DS9 for five seasons] and a couple of other guys. I knew those guys from other shows, and I reached out to them and asked them, and they were kind and giving. And then I mixed that in with all the new writers were giving me, and we got to where we got, and I was really happy with it.
Talking of acting under loads of prosthetics, having acted under a mask, it’s very easy for them to bring you back in a different role. Would you be up for that, and if so, what show, and ideally, what kind of character?
You know that being a fan, I’m never going to say no. The prosthetic is not easy. The first week I thought “okay, I can do this.” And by the second week, it was really a lot more difficult than I thought it was. It’s not just the sitting in the makeup chair, it was the hours on set and trying to get through, especially with a character that you’re trying to get empathy for. It’s very difficult to get through those contact lenses and the makeup. It’s a big challenge, and I would love to do it again. I love Strange New Worlds. I’m really excited about Academy, and I think they’re just going to keep going. So, I don’t have a preference, so to speak. I just would love to bring what I can bring onto any show. I love the franchise.
Discovery has been one of the more divisive Trek series. We’re talking to mark the release of the final season on DVD and Blu-ray – what would you say to people who never tried it or didn’t like the series initially?
For me, as a fan, the series has parts where it peaks and wanes, but when it’s good, it’s great. There’s some great stuff in Discovery, some really good Star Trek-y stuff. Remember what I was saying about they didn’t have their footing at first? I feel like when they find their footing, they’re really, really good, and the divisiveness I think is based mostly on political and social ideals rather than story. And I mean, maybe I’m wrong, but I feel people like to go online and complain, and they’re welcome to, but I have no time in my life for hate, so I would much rather embrace the great parts of anything, and in Discovery there are some great, great moments. And I love season five. I’d just love it all the way through, if I were in it or not.
Star Trek: Discovery is out now on Blu-ray, DVD, and digital. The Complete Series, containing Seasons One to Five is also available.
