Star Trek: Discovery’s Blu del Barrio on representation: “Non-binary people have always existed...people need to know who we are”

(L-R) Sonequa Martin-Green as Michael Burnham, Doug Jones as Saru, and Blu del Barrio as Adira in the Star Trek: Discovery

This time last week, the world was only just getting used to the idea of a new non-binary character and actor on the next season of Star Trek: Discovery. It had been announced earlier in the week that non-binary actor Blu del Barrio, as well as trans actor Ian Alexander, would be joining the cast as the franchise’s first ever non-binary and trans characters.

We learned that the new characters, Adira and Gray, respectively, were developed with the actors and with the help of GLAAD’s Director of Transgender Representation, Nick Adams. Executive producer Michelle Paradise said the aim was to “bring their stories to life with empathy, understanding, empowerment and joy.”

Also last week, Adams interviewed del Barrio for GLAAD about their new role, since Discovery will be their first after drama school. In the interview, they covered what del Barrio’s early experiences were like on set, some details about their new character, and how Adira’s coming out in the show mirrored their own coming out.

Del Barrio described Adira as “wonderfully complex”, saying it’s “mainly because of this duality they have within them: they’re astonishingly intelligent and yet they’re still a kid.” They later go on to explain more of Adira’s backstory. Del Barrio explains, “When we meet Adira, they’re suffering from memory loss. They remember nothing from their past, and very little about themself. They know they’re non-binary, of course, but coming onto Discovery they’re cautious about sharing that information with anyone.”

Del Barrio also described how when Adira does finally talk about who they are, it mirrored their own experience in the real world. “When I got the call that I’d been cast as Adira, I hadn’t yet told the majority of my friends and family that I was non-binary,” they said. “Just after I told people in my life, so did Adira. Definitely not the most common coming out story, but it was scary, special, and life changing (as they usually are).”

In addition to their insights about the character of Adira, and their own coming-out journey, del Barrio also spoke about why non-binary visibility is so important to them. “Non-binary people have always existed,” they said. “People’s immediate response is often that they’ve never heard the word non-binary and therefore question its validity. [...] It's not only important that we're talking about our experiences, it's necessary. People need to know who we are and be able to empathize with us in order for change to take place.”

Outside of just talking specifically about their character and identity, del Barrio couldn’t speak highly enough of their experience on the Discovery set. They were “absolutely terrified” to tell their castmates about their identity, but, they said, “I was stunned to find that this massive group of strangers wholeheartedly accepted and validated me. [...] It was clear on the Discovery set, the producers, directors, writers, cast and crew were equally committed to writing these wonderful characters in Adira and Gray, and creating a safe and healthy work environment for me and Ian. Hopefully in the future, every film and television set will be like this.”

Catch your first glimpse of Blu del Barrio as Adira in the new official trailer for Star Trek: Discovery season three, and catch up on the first two seasons of Discovery on CBS All Access, before the new season premieres on October 15th.