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Nichelle Nichols made Star Trek's Uhura well-rounded, but the original series didn't give her much to do due to social climate says Celia Rose Gooding
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Celia Rose Gooding says the Original Series didn’t let us explore Uhura’s character because of the social climate
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When you’re talking about some of the most groundbreaking characters in television, Star Trek’s Nyota Uhura is an important part of that conversation. The character, who was played by Nichelle Nichols in the original 1966 Star Trek series, was one of the first African American women in a non-stereotypical role on American television.
Today, Celia Rose Gooding continues Nicols’s legacy by playing Uhura on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. For Gooding, it’s an honor, as she feels the current social climate allows the writers to explore the character in a way the 1966 series couldn’t.
“I’ve been so fortunate to get to play a really well-rounded character,” Uhura actress Celia Rose Gooding tells Popverse’s Ashley Victoria Robinson at New York Comic Con 2025. “I think the only shortcoming of Uhura in the original series was that we just didn’t get to know her very well because of the social climate of the time. People just weren’t interested in hearing from black women, and I think that in Strange New Worlds we get to sort of color in the lines that Nichelle Nichols left for me to sort of play within.”
“The infinite galaxy is the limit, and there is no limit to infinity. I’ve been able to cover all the bases. I’m so excited for fans to see Uhura just continue to grow and blossom into a version of herself that is recognizable, but also unprecedented. It’s so good. I’m so lucky.”
In fact, Gooding teases that there’s a big surprise ahead for Uhura, but we have to wait until season four begins before we find out what it is. “There was something that I really wanted her to do, and then she gets to do it in season four, so I won’t talk about that.”
For more on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, check out the full interview below:
Space may be the final frontier, but there's no end to Popverse's love of the Star Trek universe. Hop aboard the starship Enterprise with our Star Trek watch order, explore strange new worlds with our upcoming Star Trek TV shows and movies list, seek out the new life of the franchise, and boldly go where no Star Trek film has ever gone before - with Quentin Tarantino?
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