Yahoo News Paul Giamatti Boards ‘Star Trek: Starfleet Academy’
Paul Giamatti is joining the Star Trek universe at Paramount+.
The Oscar-nominated star of The Holdovers has booked a major role in the streamer’s Star Trek: Starfleet Academy. The actor will have a recurring guest star role as the season’s central villain, described as a man with an ominous past with a connection to one of the show’s cadets.
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Ordered to series in March 2023, Starfleet Academy revolves around a young group of cadets who unite to pursue a dream of hope and optimism. Under the watchful and demanding eyes of their instructors, they discover what it takes to become Starfleet officers as they navigate blossoming friendships, explosive rivalries, first loves, and a new enemy that threatens both the Academy and the Federation itself.
“Sometimes you’re lucky enough to discover that one of the greatest actors alive is also a huge Star Trek fan, and meeting Paul was one of those miraculous moments for us. The sheer delight with which he dove in on Starfleet Academy is only surpassed by the gratitude we feel about him joining our incredible cast,” said co-showrunners and exec producers Alex Kurtzman and Noga Landau.
Giamatti becomes the second actor cast in Starfleet Academy and joins Holly Hunter, who stars as the captain and chancellor of Starfleet Academy.
The series hails from CBS Studios, which oversees the Star Trek universe for Paramount+. Kurtzman, who captains the Star Trek TV franchise for the streamer, exec produces via his CBS Studios-based Secret Hideout banner alongside Roddenberry Entertainment’s Rod Roddenberry. Gaia Violo, Aaron Baiers, Olatunde Osunsanmi, Jenny Lumet, Trevor Roth, Frank Siracusa and John Weber also exec produce, with Violo having penned the pilot.
Production on Starfleet Academy will begin later this summer.
Giamatti is fresh off a starring role on Showtime’s Billions and, with the Star Trek casting, will remain in the Paramount Global fold. The actor also recently signed on to star in a Hostel TV series from Eli Roth, Chris Briggs and Mike Fleiss, which has not yet been shopped to buyers. His TV credits include HBO’s Too Big to Fail and his Emmy-winning role in the premium cable network’s John Adams. He’s repped by UTA, Kipperman Management and Sloane Offer.
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