Star Trek: Picard’s Santiago Cabrera loved the psychology of his character, Rios - and his emergency holograms

Santiago Cabrera as the many holograms of Captain Cris Rios in Star Trek: Picard

They say if you travel far enough, you will eventually meet yourself. Do that a few times, and you might just have a crew. In Star Trek: Picard, Santiago Cabrera plays Captain Cristobal Rios - and the crew of his ship, the La Sirena.

People who’ve seen the series know what I’m talking about. For those who’ve not, it’s not too much of a spoiler to say that the crew of the La Sirena is composed almost entirely of holograms - each fashioned in the image of Rios himself. Though the situation offers humorous moments, Cabrera didn’t want the multiple parts to come off as a gimmick. In an interview with Syfy Wire, the actor said: “The whole thing with the holos was, it couldn’t just be for the sake of it… There had to be substance to it. What hooked me and what I loved about it was the psychology behind a man who is alone and happens to be with these versions of himself. It's better when you can reveal something about a character without saying too much.”

Interestingly, Cabrera also does a lot of his work without seeing too much. No flashing lights and big red buttons for the La Sirena controls. They too are meant to be holographic. But the technology - or lack thereof - doesn’t change the starship captain’s approach. He told Syfy Wire, “[Show lead] Patrick [Stewart] was inspiring, but working with him was also liberating to me. His approach to it is character and story. He doesn’t have a different way of doing it just because it's Star Trek…It's all about embodying character and story. With Rios, it's all about the life he led, and the effects of consequences, and the things that happened, him being alone in the ship, and this world.”

You can watch Cabrera tackle at least 6 versions of his character Rios in Star Trek: Picard, now streaming on CBS All Access.