Summary
- Isa Briones reveals that she had to differentiate between her multiple characters on Star Trek: Picard and was not given detailed directions on how to make each character distinct.
- Briones incorporated Data-like mannerisms for her character Soji, such as his head tilt, and Brent Spiner (who played Data) helped her by demonstrating his mannerisms.
- Briones was instructed not to copy Data but to have the legacy of the character within her, allowing her to create different characters like Dahj and Sutra, who were both distinct from Soji.
Star Trek: Picard seasons 1 and 2 tasked Isa Briones with the challenge of playing multiple roles, and she explains the process of differentiating her characters. Briones was introduced as Dahj, a synthetic whose murder spurred Admiral Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) into action in season 1. Picard's mission became to protect Dahj's twin sister, Dr. Soji Asha, from Romulan assassins. Briones then played other synthetics like the golden-skinned villain Sutra and Jana. In Picard season 2, Briones played Kore Soong, the daughter of evil 21st century geneticist Dr. Adam Soong (Brent Spiner), who was revealed to be a clone.
Speaking to Bleeding Cool about her new hit Disney+ and Hulu series Goosebumps, Isa Briones was asked about her multiple Star Trek: Picard roles, and whether the showrunners gave her directions on how to make each character distinct, especially with regard to Soji being Data's (Brent Spiner) android daughter. Read her response below:
It was up to me to create these characters and make them different. I wasn't totally coached through exactly what it should be, but one thing I do know is that for Soji, in the beginning, we made sure to add in Data-like mannerisms like his head tilt was the one thing that we had talked about beforehand. When I met Brent [Spiner], I was talking to him about it, and he was helping me. He would demonstrate what he did. I would watch all of those and try to mimic what he was doing.
Other than that, it was because they made sure they were like, "You're not supposed to be Data. You're not supposed to be copying him in any way, but more having and knowing the legacy of him and having that within you." Having that basis then allowed me to create a bunch of different characters that were all different enough that I also felt like Dahj and Soji were so different. You also don't see a lot of Dahj but assume if you're playing two characters, that makes them so wildly different, but at the end of the day, these characters. Sisters have a lot of similarities, and they also have a lot of differences; you can play the nuance of that, but Sutra was fun to play because she could feel so different from Soji and Dahj.
Related
Star Trek: Picard season 3's cast includes several new characters and the return of some of the biggest names and iconic characters in Star Trek.
How Isa Briones Can Return To Star Trek
There are a few options for Soji and Kore Soong to come back.
Star Trek: Picard ended with season 3, but there are a few options for Isa Briones to reprise her characters, Soji and Kore Soong, in Star Trek. The most organic way would be if Paramount+ greenlit Picard's proposed spinoff, Star Trek: Legacy, which would be about the 'next next generation' of Star Trek: The Next Generation aboard the USS Enterprise-G. Despite not appearing in Star Trek: Picard season 3, Soji would naturally fit into Legacy, and she could finally meet her father, Data. Soji was last seen as an ambassador for the synthetics on her homeworld of Coppelius at the start of Star Trek: Picard season 2, and her story remains an open-ended question.
Unfortunately, a plan to have Soji meet Data in Star Trek: Picard season 3 couldn't happen due to time and budgetary concerns.
Isa Briones' other primary character, Kore Soong, has even more options available to her after Wesley Crusher (Wil Wheaton) recruited her into the Travelers at the end of Star Trek: Picard season 2. As a Traveler, Kore can transcend time and space and appear in any era of Star Trek, and that includes animated series like Star Trek: Lower Decks and Star Trek: Prodigy. Meanwhile, if the Star Trek: Section 31 movie starring Academy Award-winner Michelle Yeoh involves time travel, as some fans speculate, Soji and/or Kore could potentially factor into the return of Emperor Phillipa Georgiou. Soji, in particular, might be a prime recruit for Section 31 as a super-intelligent and powerful android. Isa Briones' time with Star Trek: Picard is over, but there are certainly creative ways for her to continue to be part of Star Trek.
Star Trek: Picard is available to stream on Paramount+.
Source: Bleeding Cool
