EDITOR’S NOTE: This article contains spoilers for Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, Season 1, Episode 7, “Ko’Zeine.”

The latest episode of Starfleet Academy gives audiences a glimpse into a new species in a grand tradition that echoes through the last 60 years of Star Trek history, with interplanetary lore and themes of identity and duty at its core. As the cadets arrive at their first school holiday, the episode sees George Hawkins‘ Darem Reymi ceremonially kidnapped back to Khionia for an arranged marriage to his royal childhood sweetheart. When Jay-Den (Karim Diané) boldly follows him through the portal, Darem is forced to re-evaluate whether the destiny that was chosen for him at birth is something he’s ready for or if his real future lies among the stars.

I recently sat down with Hawkins to dive deep on this episode and break down Darem’s Khionian culture, duty, and sacrifice. During our conversation, he spoke about what it’s like to walk in the footsteps of Star Trek legends like Leonard Nimoy and Michael Dorn as he introduces a new species to the franchise. We also spoke about the deliberate choices he makes as an actor to portray the layers Darem and the duality of the two worlds he’s torn between. This episode also further explores the burgeoning relationship between Darem and Jay-Den, and Hawkins revealed how he and Diané have been able to craft such compelling and magnetic chemistry between their characters. Hawkins gave major props to the costume department for the stunning new outfits Darem wears in this episode and revealed how they also worked to inform his character choices. Finally, he shared some forward-looking moments to keep an eye out for in the Season 1 finale and the soon-to-be-wrapped Season 2. You can read our full conversation below.

George Hawkins Did His Homework Before Joining Star Trek

“You’ve really got to understand Star Trek to understand the value of that moment.”

Image via Brooke Palmer/Paramount+

COLLIDER: I’m so excited to talk to you about this episode. It was such a good one for your character. Star Trek is such a massive franchise that’s been around for so long. What was your relationship with the franchise before you got the part?

HAWKINS: Wow. It was very little. I had very little experience with Star Trek. I was not a Trekkie. I was not part of that part of this world. But I was aware of it. I was very aware of it. And it’s quite hard not to be aware of it. Which gives it testament, right? It has its own Emoji. It’s crazy. So I had a lot of work to do when I came onto this project. And the most important thing was to know the value of things. Something happens in this season, at the end of this season, where you’ve really got to understand Star Trek to understand the value of that moment, to be like, wow, that’s really impressive. That’s really important. So I think that was my homework, to know the significance of things, to know, “Oh, that’s really important. That person’s really important. Their relationship is really important, or that’s not important.” So yeah, I had a lot of homework to do.

You and a few of your co-stars on Starfleet Academy are introducing entire races of aliens to the franchise for the first time. In this episode, we get a little glimpse into Darem’s species and community. What’s it like to sort of walk in the footsteps of Leonard Nimoy and Michael Dorn, to be introducing an entire race of aliens to Star Trek, and that, hopefully, they’ll refer back to you in another sixty years when the franchise is still going?

HAWKINS: Oh, wow, wow. No one’s ever made that sort of reference before. I would — yeah. That’s incredible. It’s amazing. It’s such a privilege. It’s such a privilege to introduce a species not just to Star Trek, but just as a performer. Right? Just general. Even outside of Star Trek, it’s actually a freeing thing. It’s very freeing. I can imagine it was very difficult for some of our cast members or past cast of previous shows to pay homage to already existing species that you’re not actually a part of. So you’ve got to really invest in it. I think it was very freeing. It’s a very freeing experience to know that what I do sort of paves the way for that species. You’ve got to just let go. I think just let go, be truthful to the character, be truthful to the circumstance that the scene finds you in, and enjoy it. I think when you watch on screen, you want to watch someone enjoying themselves, and you want to watch a performer really commit to the world that our showrunners have so wonderfully made. So it’s a testament to our showrunners, to be honest, and our writers’ room, who have done an amazing job on this character.

Absolutely. I think this show is absolutely firing on all cylinders at all times. And I love that.

HAKWINS: Thank you so much, Samantha, thank you.

Playing Darem Pushed Hawkins Out of His Comfort Zone Early on in ‘Starfleet Academy’

“If someone walks into the room, their energy doesn’t have as much of an effect on Darem as it does on me.

We get a lot of Khionian in the lore in this episode with the kidnapping ritual and the matrimonial moon. What’s something that we don’t necessarily see on screen, but you maybe did in your character work for Darem, that fuels your performance?

HAWKINS: Oh, yes! Actors love to talk about their own process. I really had to work on slowing down, I think, which is really funny because I feel like I talk quite quickly, and I’ve got quite an intensity to myself. Darem is a lot slower; he turns to see something a lot slower than I do. Or if someone walks into the room, their energy doesn’t have as much of an effect on Darem as it does on me. So I did a lot of physical work on the king caricature, where they are slower in temperament, and they move, they cut through the air. Something I really loved about playing with Darem is when he moves, it’s almost like he cuts through the air. So I just wanted to slow down. I think I wanted to slow down and allow status to rise and to inflate in someone’s ego. And what does that feel like, to be full of confidence in a moment? You see Darem in a few moments in this season, like when he becomes the captain, and he’s being paraded around on the chair. That for me was really hard. That was really difficult for me to do. Having loads of people just staring at you, and you have to, like, flaunt yourself like that. I had to really, really build some adrenaline up for that. It was just about taking up space. How do you take up space and feel confident in that, and like, really breathe into that? Yeah. Not the easiest thing to do for sure.

I love the insight that we get into Darem in this episode. As a queer person and also a people pleaser myself, I found him very relatable. For you as an actor, when you’re diving into these two sides of who he is, how did you go about reconciling this sort of double life he’s been living?

HAWKINS: I think, firstly, there’s nothing to reconcile. I think there’s something that we all see in ourselves where we live in a certain sense, like a double life, where we believe this thing and we say this thing. I want to say this, but I do this. And we have these two minds, and I think that’s where anxiety comes from, is these two places, like a conflicted mind. I think it’s about being kind and compassionate towards Darem. I think that’s sort of why I was cast as Darem, is that I didn’t really want to approach him as just this surface level, sort of cocky guy that’s just going to have sex with everything that moves and sort of just wants to be worshiped by everyone, but actually to understand that where that deep ambition comes from is a longing and a running away from something. So in every moment where I saw Darem show these huge moments of confidence and bravado, I wanted to fill that with some sense of humanity. And to know that no matter how confident someone comes off and no matter how assured and comfortable someone comes off in a scenario, there’s an equal sense of anxiety, and fear, and running that they’re doing at the same time.

You do such a good job of that duality because both parts of his personality are true. You’ve woven it in very beautifully through the season.

HAWKINS: I appreciate that.

Another thing that I really loved about that storyline was that even though marrying Kyra isn’t what’s right for him anymore, you can see why he would feel such a strong sense of duty to her and to his people. Because there’s so much love there. How do you think abdicating will affect his relationship with his parents and his people moving forward?

HAWKINS: I think you see it. You see it in the moment where Kyra gives Darem permission to live the life that he wants to live, or live the life that feels truer to him. Because I can imagine for Darem, there’s a sort of purpose, and there’s fulfillment in actually being the king and actually living the life with Kyra and leading that life out. But it’s just that moment where you see everyone turn around, where Kyra expresses to everyone and sort of lets everyone know what’s happened. And you see his parents turn, and that’s the moment. That’s what I was envisioning when in Episode 3, where we talk about the moment where he’s playing the Belaklavion, and he misses a note, and then his parents leave. That sort of judgment that he gets from his parents, where his value was found in what he could do and what he could achieve and uphold and be, instead of living, for being alive, for being who he was. This episode is really special. It’s really, really special. And it’s really important for Darem’s story, to see what he’s running away from. And what he’s trying to define himself as.

How Hawkins and Diané Crafted Darem and Jay-Den’s Will-They-Won’t-They Chemistry

“He’s an answer to a lot of empty space for Darem.”

Photo Credit: Brooke Palmer/Paramount+

I also really love the burgeoning relationship between Darem and Jay-Den. The tension between those two is really good, and it feels like there’s a little thread of jealousy between Darem and Kyle.

HAWKINS: [Laughs] Just a little bit.

I would love to hear about how you and Karim went about crafting that dynamic.

HAWKINS: Karim is such a beautiful human being, and we get on really, really well. We come from such different backgrounds, and it’s such a lovely thing to see two completely different people come together and sort of create chemistry. Karim was the first person I had chemistry reads with to do this project, to play this character. And he was the first person I met in my auditions who was playing another character. So he is sort of the person I held onto, and he’s like a staple in this job for me. Karim is a sweetheart. Karim is such a sweetheart. So it’s quite hard not to, he’s just a great person. My family loves him. My friends love him. He’s a sweetheart. And he’s an incredible actor. He’s incredible to work off of. And actually watching Karim create Jay-Den, and then seeing the end result…Jay-Den is so powerful because of his stillness. It’s like he’s rooted to the ground, I think, and that’s just an admirable thing. I think that’s a really admirable thing for Darem to witness, is someone standing still, confidently saying what they love, saying what they want, and saying what they believe. Because that’s just such an absence of what Darem has had in his life. He’s like an answer. He’s an answer to a lot of empty space for Darem.

I love that so much. We have to take a minute to talk about the incredible costumes that you guys got to wear in this episode. What was it like to finally get out of the cadet uniforms and into such stunning looks?

HAWKINS: You know what — the costumes, big up to Avery [Plewes], our costume designer. She’s incredible. And the robe that I get to wear in this episode was incredible. The way it pins your shoulders back, your head up, your neck up, so you can’t help but hold some sort of regality to it. And that’s what the cadet uniforms do as well. They do half the job for you, because they pin you in this position, and you can’t really pull your arms up, but you feel the authority, you feel the status. You feel what you’re trying to uphold. And there wasn’t much difference in the Khionian wedding costumes because they were heavy. Like, oh, my gosh, this thing has alligator skin on it. It’s deep, deep fabrics, thick fabrics. It was incredible. So you’ve just got to let it do its work. You’ve got to allow the costumes to play a part in the story themselves. They’re a character in their own right. It was beautiful. It was a beautiful experience.

I think it was a bit of a surprise, both for Jay-Den and the audience, when we got to Khionia’s moon, and it’s a very dry climate. I know they have the explanation that it dried up, but I am curious if, at some point, we will get to see Khionia in its aquatic glory or if we’ll see Darem’s fish form again in Season 2, perhaps?

HAWKINS: You know what, I can’t say anything about Season 2, because I’ll get sniped. Man, Khionia is such a beautiful place. And it’s such a perfect opportunity to show a different culture. So, I hope so. I really, really hope so. I really hope we get to dive deeper into the Khionian culture, because it’s a beautiful thing to be a part of. And it’s a beautiful thing to play. I really hope so.

I know you can’t share spoilers, but you guys were gearing up to film the finale when I spoke with you guys last, at the beginning of January. Have you wrapped yet?

HAWKINS: We wrap on Saturday. […] We’re almost there.

Working With Holly Hunter on ‘Starfleet Academy’ Was a Tremendous Honor for Hawkins

“For me to collaborate with Holly is a really big thing.”

Photo Credit: Nino Munoz/Paramount+

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Also in this episode, just a little thing that I caught onto potentially coming back in the future, we learned that Darem can be sort of knocked unconscious with a little boop to the forehead. Is that going to come back at any point? That seems a little dangerous for him!

HAWKINS: I know! They’ve given him a secret, it’s like Kryptonite. I would like to believe that that’s only a Khionian warrior sort of thing that can happen that they can do to people. It’s not necessarily something you can just happen to Darem, but it’s something that Khionians can do. So I actually want to see Daram use it. I want to see Darem use against other people.

Like the Vulcan nerve pinch!

HAWKINS: Exactly. That would be good.

Star Trek is such a wide-ranging thing in terms of tone and genre. You can be doing hard sci-fi and drama one week and be doing camp and comedy the next. What’s something in Starfleet Academy that pushed you as an actor and allowed you to grow and your craft further?

HAWKINS: Wow. Wow, wow, wow. I can’t speak for all actors, but I think something that’s really powerful and really fulfilling is being a part of a story that means so much to people and has something to say. And there’s a lesson. I think what’s helping, and what I’ve learned and what I’m learning, is a lot of doing this show is how to hold a message. It’s almost like Shakespeare, really. As an actor, you want the text to sort of do its job for you. Or to do its job for you, but to do its job. And there are deep lessons, psychological lessons, and moral lessons in our show. So it’s about giving yourself over to a story. That’s what I’ve loved doing, is knowing that there’s something so much bigger going on than me, and I’m a part of a franchise that really cares about its audience and really cares about the message that it’s giving. So yeah, just being subservient to a story and being subservient to a message has been a really, really lovely lesson. How to give myself over.

Lastly, is there a particular moment, either in this episode or in the season in general, that you are especially proud of? Maybe it was challenging to get there, or just something that, when you got there, it just unlocked something for you.

HAWKINS: Oh my gosh. Yeah. Something that comes to mind is that there is a moment in Episode 10. It’s not really it’s not really a scripted moment, but there’s a moment between my character, Darem, and Nahla. It’s just a lovely moment of connection. It wasn’t really in the script, but it made so much sense. And Holly Hunter is who she is, right? She holds the authority that she has every right to hold. And for me, who does not have the same authority, for me to collaborate with Holly is a really big thing. That’s a huge thing for me. And I had an idea for one of our scenes, and she was so receptive to it. It was risky, because she could have very easily been like, “Who are you talking to? Who do you think you are?” But she was so, so receptive, and it was such a beautiful lesson of sharing ideas, sharing personal beliefs.

In that moment, in that scene, it shows a moment of courage and unity, and we get to see Nahla Ake being who she is, and why she’s such a good captain is because she comes down to the cadets’ level and really — she, like, kneels. It’s almost like when you meet someone who’s really great with kids, they get down to the child level, and they become an equal with that child. In a, in a sense, sort of like a holistic, symbolic way, I think that that interaction with Nahla in that scene really feels like she’s like a humble leader, I guess. […] I really hope they keep it in. I haven’t seen Episodes 9 and 10, so I really, really hope. Because I was at dinner with Holly the other night, and we were speaking about it. I really, really hope it’s in the show, because it’s a beautiful moment.

Episode 7 of Starfleet Academy is now streaming on Paramount+. Stay tuned at Collider for more.

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Release Date

January 15, 2026

Network

Paramount+

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Showrunner

Alex Kurtzman, Noga Landau

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Directors

Douglas Aarniokoski

Writers

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Alex Taub, Tawny Newsome, Kirsten Beyer, Jane Maggs, Kiley Rossetter

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