Paul Giamatti reveals how Star Trek role as villainous Nus Braka is a dream come true: "It is Shakespearean!"

This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine.

Paul Giamatti is the patron saint of passive-aggressive sad men — from 2004 breakout film Sideways, where he played a depressed failed novelist, to 2023 festive hit The Holdovers, which won him a Golden Globe for his role as a cantankerous professor.

But his next part couldn’t be more different. Now, the 58-year-old Oscar nominee plays the snarling half-Klingon space pirate Nus Braka, the villain of new Star Trek show Starfleet Academy. A surprising departure, perhaps?

You’re a respected indie film darling — how did you come to beam aboard Starfleet Academy?

I have made my interest in Star Trek known over the years. I probably said stuff while promoting The Holdovers about how all I’ve ever wanted to do is play a Klingon! I didn’t think it would lead to anything. But somebody caught wind of it and brought me a script and they had a couple of parts to offer. I said, “Oh, the bad guy looks interesting.”

As you’re such a Trek fan, how big an ambition was it for you to be in the series?

It was a fantasy. I never thought it was ever going to happen. I have been watching Star Trek since I was about seven years old. My father was a fan in the late 60s, and we watched together. I do keep pinching myself that I got to do this.

Your character, Nus Braka, is a deranged half-Klingon space pirate. What drew you to him?

Just the fact that he was a villain! A lot of the Star Trek parts that were attractive to me growing up were bad guys. He’s a low-life. He’s playing the clown but he’s not a fancy, high-end criminal. He’s drunk most of the time.

I’m surprised you didn’t choose a captain role. Surely you want to wear the uniform?

No! That’s like when I did Tim Burton’s Planet of the Apes movie. They said they had an ape part and my agent goes, “Oh, but surely you should play a human so people can see your face?” I’m like, “Are you crazy? Who wants to be a human in Planet of the Apes?!” I’m like that about Star Trek. I wanna be an alien! I wanna wear make-up! I want to have something fun and crazy going on!

You’re best known for quieter, more actorly roles. Is Nus Braka a chance to cut loose?

My roles have gotten quieter and quieter. I acted on stage for many years before I got film work. I tended to get cast in much more flamboyant roles and I missed doing that. So I was very happy to be able to play a big, performative guy. For good or ill, they didn’t put a cap on me.

A lot of actors would look down on playing a maniacal alien in Star Trek. Are you less snobby about “high” or “low” culture?

I’m associated more with these smaller dramatic-comedy things, but I started out doing studio comedies and action movies. So I don’t see highbrow or lowbrow divisions. I mean, there’s smarts to Star Trek. A lot of the actors on those shows were theatre actors. It is Shakespearean! It doesn’t feel like a downward thing for me.

Why do you think your love of Star Trek has endured?

From the second I saw it I loved Spock. There’s something about that character being at odds with himself which is so great. Most of all it was a really positive adventure. My father was a medievalist so I think he saw it as a Knights of the Round Table thing. And Kirk was such an inspiring, manly figure as a kid. You’re just like, “Wow! I’d follow that guy anywhere!”

Many Star Trek fans have a favourite captain. Is Kirk yours?

Actually my favourite captain is Benjamin Sisko from [acclaimed 1993–9 series] Deep Space Nine, which is my favourite iteration of the show. I don’t know if that’s controversial! It’s the one that establishes a different kind of tone for Star Trek and Sisko is such a great, complicated character.

You’ve said you haven’t had to audition for a role since Sideways. Could that in theory lead to you taking a part you’re not right for?

It sure can. It can be harrowing. I remember doing a movie and I showed up on the first day of shooting and the guy who hired me was like, “What the hell are you doing?” And I’m like, “Well, this is what I’m doing, man! You guys hired me!” I am happy not to have to audition any more, but I do oddly miss it. It gives you this chance to orientate yourself and know what footing you’re on.

And finally, I’ve heard your favourite thing to do while in London is take in a murder trial at the Old Bailey. Why is that?

I like true crime! I have a taste for that Victorian murder thing that you guys are so good at. And I find the British court system more interesting than the American one. The judges and barristers tend to be more eloquent; there’s more cut and thrust. The last time I was in London I saw a headline-y one about a couple who had set their nanny on fire. Terrible! I went enough times to that one that the guards on the door began to know me.

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Star Trek: Starfleet Academy begins on Thursday 15th January 2026 on Paramount+.

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