Because it was first introduced final yr that Oscar nominee (and this week’s Golden Globe nominee) Paul Giamatti was becoming a member of the brand new collection Star Trek: Starfleet Academy because the villain, it was clear he would relish the chance. As a fan, he had usually talked about how a lot he needed to play an alien in Star Trek and his enthusiasm was clear when he appeared on the CCXP occasion in São Paolo, Brazil over the weekend, debuting the primary clip from the present. He appeared on stage for 2 completely different brief panels, throughout which the actor mentioned among the first particulars for his Nus Braka character.
Half Klingon, half Tellarite, all unhealthy
CCXP is the largest popular culture occasion in South America and Paul Giamatti made an enormous splash for Paramount+ who have been selling quite a lot of completely different properties on the occasion. The veteran actor was the only real consultant for the Star Trek franchise. He appeared on each the primary “Thunder Stage” briefly, after which had a little bit of an extended chat on the “Omelete Stage,” the place he confirmed that for him it was extra enjoyable taking part in a villain. He then talked about how he crafted Nus Braka:
“You’re speculated to have extra enjoyable taking part in a nasty man. They usually got here to me and mentioned they needed me to be actually excessive, and I’m taking part in a half Klingon, half Tellarite. And people are actually, actually aggressive aliens. So I mentioned, I’m going be REALLY excessive, are you okay with that? They usually mentioned, certain. So I’m actually excessive. I had quite a lot of enjoyable.”
Giamatti additionally talked extra about about how being a Klingon/Tellarite hybrid influenced his efficiency:
They mentioned to me, you possibly can’t be a full Klingon, as a result of we’ve got a full Klingon. So that you’re going be half. So one factor I actually bear in mind… they talked about how Klingons don’t have any sense of private house. So I used to be all the time too near all people. I’d get method too near all people on a regular basis. That was the large Klingon transfer that I needed to have. And the Tellarites are extremely argumentative, so there was that. However he’s attention-grabbing as a result of he’s not totally both a kind of issues, and he’s his personal kind of aggressive hybrid. So I used to be free to truly make up quite a lot of what I used to be doing.
Starfleet Academy contains a forged of younger actors taking part in cadets on the titular college. As the primary villain, this places him into battle with these cadets, and Giamatti provided some perception into how this reveals one thing about Nus Braka:
“Yeah, he’s very imply to the youngsters. I feel he envies the youngsters. I feel he needs he had individuals supporting him and being good to him the way in which all people is to those children. So I feel he hates and envies these children.”
L-R: Paul Giamatti as Nus Braka and Holly Hunter as Chancellor Nahla Ake in season 1 , episode 1 of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy streaming on Paramount+. Photograph Credit score: Brooke Palmer/Paramount+
A pirate… with mommy points
Now we have seen Giamatti’s Braka in trailers, pictures and clips, displaying us that he’s clearly the unhealthy man. Now in Brazil, Giamatti provided up some extra particulars on who his baddie is, and what’s motivating him:
“Effectively, he’s a pirate, form of. He’s somewhat little bit of a pirate. He’s a form of he’s obtained his finger in each form of prison exercise. He’s a smuggler. He’s a trafficker, of all types. And he leads a gaggle referred to as the V’Nari Raal [sp?], who’re pirates, principally. So he’s been everywhere in the galaxy. And he’s a lowlife. And he’s a no one who thinks he’s a any individual. And he likes to clown round and play the idiot and stuff. However he’s a really harmful psychopath beneath all of it.”
Now we have additionally seen proof of some historical past between Nas Braka and Holly Hunter’s Captain (and Chancellor) Nahla Ake. In Brazil he provided up a little bit of a analysis of Braka and his relationship to Ake:
“He’s a really broken human being. I feel he has mom points. I feel he wants a mom, which is why I’m fixated on Holly Hunter a lot. I’ve a wierd fixation on Holly Hunter.”
On the Thunder Stage, Paramount+ confirmed the gang a video Giamatti being reworked into Braka, and Giamatti talked about how a lot he beloved the make-up course of, saying that despite the fact that it took two hours he by no means obtained board watching the artists at work. He revealed how the make-up (and equipment) helped him form the character:
“I like carrying that stuff. It’s, you recognize, makes you are feeling completely completely different. I look form of like a Klingon. I look form of like a pig, and it’s incredible. They let me have quite a bit to say within the character. So I needed him to have all these like–he’s obtained ritual scarring on his face, as a result of… he’s a pirate, principally. He’s been everywhere in the galaxy. And he’s obtained his ears clipped and formed. And he’s obtained these metal issues on his fingers from all these completely different alien cultures.”
Paul Giamatti in season 1 of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy streaming on Paramount+. Photograph Credit score: Miller Mobley/Paramount+
How Starfleet Academy works as Star Trek
Paul Giamatti additionally talked about having watched Star Trek since he was somewhat child. He was requested what was it about Star Trek that made him a fan and he had to consider it for a second, earlier than speaking concerning the franchise’s core values:
“What about it’s so interesting? I do know that after I give it some thought now, it makes me really feel good. It feels very comforting. I really feel very protected after I watch it or give it some thought, and I all the time have. It’s journey, nevertheless it’s optimistic journey. It’s good, it’s respectable. All of the values are proper? I simply feels comforting to me, each side of it. It’s good, respectable values. And I like that.”
He additionally talked about how the brand new collection faucets into these values, and works for brand spanking new followers:
“It’s a very good entry level, since you don’t must know an entire lot. You’ll be able to watch it while not having to know quite a bit, and also you’ll study quite a bit. Starfleet Academy–all through all the opposite collection–is the idea of all the things concerning the Federation. All of the values of the all of the adventuring and boldly going. All of these items comes from Starfleet. So that you’ll study the entire [franchise] should you watch it. But it surely’s its personal factor. So it’s a very good entry level.”
Paul Giamatti speaks throughout a panel of the CCXP Sao Paulo 2025 at Expo Sao Paulo on December 06, 2025 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. (Photograph by Alexandre Schneider/Getty Photographs For Paramount+)
Paul and SFA at CCXP in Brazil
Right here’s a brief video launched by Paramount+ Brazil from Paul Giamatti’s on the Thunder Stage at CCXP 2025.
Paramount additionally had an Academy expertise for CCXP attendees. Our mates at Trek Brasilis have been there to movie this brief video of what it was wish to board the united statesAthena in Brazil.
MUITA ATENÇÃO, CADETES! 🖖🏼🚨
Representar a Frota Estelar é um grande desafio — e o @paramountplusbr trouxe para a CCXP 25 a experiência de ser um cadete da Frota a bordo da USS Athena, a base da Academia da Frota Estelar! pic.twitter.com/zj29DZl6KA
— Trek Brasilis (@trekbrasilis) December 6, 2025
Trek Basilis additionally caught a second with Paul interacting with followers at CCXP.
ELE FOI PRA GALERA! 🖖
Estrela de Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, o ator Paul Giamatti tirou um tempinho pra encontrar os fãs no estande do @paramountplusbr antes do painel da série no palco Thunder da CCXP! Se liga: pic.twitter.com/oL79COKvCx
— Trek Brasilis (@trekbrasilis) December 6, 2025
Extra from Paul in Brazil
We could have some extra from Paul from CCXP quickly courtesy of our mates at Trek Brasilis, who helped out with this text as properly, so keep tuned.
And in case you missed it, right here once more is the clip he introduced with him to debut in Brazil.
Starfleet Academy will premiere globally with 2 episodes on Thursday, January 15 on Paramount+, and in Japan on Tuesday, January 23.
The collection will likely be accessible to stream completely on Paramount+ within the U.S., the U.Okay., Latin America, Australia, Italy, France, Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Japan. The collection can also be accessible on Paramount+ in Canada.
Sustain with information concerning the Star Trek Universe at TrekMovie.com.
