Rhys Darby on Trelane's Fascination with Humans and Seeing a Piece of Star Trek History

Welcome to Warp Five, StarTrek.com's five question post-mortem with your favorite featured talent from the latest Star Trek episodes.

In ' third season, new life and civilizations await the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise. And, as seen in "," while taking stock of their past, present, and future during the Federation's centennial, our intrepid crew's festivities are interrupted by the appearance of an uninvited guest.

StarTrek.com had the opportunity to talk with Rhys Darby, who while never referred to by name specifically, played the Wedding Planner, aka Trelane, about his portrayal on the petulant, classic The Original Series antagonist and more!

On Making First Contact

Darby recalls several instances of Star Trek popping up in his youth, noting, "I would have been a kid. To be honest, I would've seen it onscreen, on TV, . That's how old I am. It was airing on repeat in New Zealand where I was brought up."

"I definitely remember going to see the movie [in theaters]," adds Darby. " back in my local cinema in New Zealand."

On Getting the Role

In "Wedding Bell Blues," Darby's character first sneaks among the complement of the crew by posing as a bartender. As Spock nurses his disappointment to seeing Christine Chapel return to the Enterprise with a new beau in the Port Galley, Trelane offers the science offer "something different, but better. Something you definitely want." At one point, when his ruse is exposed, Trelane proclaims, "I can do anything I want. I am the wedding planner. And I do not like it when people ruin my plans."

When approached with the role, Darby states, "It was an offer to be this character. I had to do some research and find out who this person was. I went back to watch the original series."

"I felt like I could really fit the bill of someone who's immature, but has immense power in real life," says Darby. "Of course I don't, but it would be nice to have these abilities. The icing on the cake was he's going to dress up in this amazing outfit, and then sort of take command of everybody. It was another little dream role for me. I guess, thanks to Our Flag Means Death, they probably thought, 'Well, you can fit the bill on this kind of regal person.'"

While speaking to StarTrek.com, executive producers Akiva Goldsman and Henry Alonso Myers confirmed this.

"He just looked so great in the costume for Our Flag Means Death; it just looked very Trelane-y," Myers remarked. "It made us say, 'Oh, you know who would be great for this?' He was a delightful, modern interpretation of a classic character that we thought would have his own flair. We were delighted that we could get him for the show. His comedy work is so much fun. It was really great to just drop him into the show. Some of the stuff he's done on other shows have been some of our favorite stuff. It was great to be like, 'Let's imagine someone who's played a werewolf. What would he be like on the Enterprise?'"

"Rhys was our first choice," Myers continued. "Sometimes you really, really hope for someone, and then it works out, and you're, 'Oh thank god.'"

On Trelane's Intrigue with the Enterprise

Providing context for Trelane's motivations in the episode, Darby explains, "He's got a lot of control. He's sort of escaped from mom and dad for a bit, and he's having some fun with these people that he can just mold and shape at his will and do stuff with. Ultimately though, the part I like is that he's learning from the actions of humans and that's going to make him a better being because, at the moment, he's just pretty naughty."

He points out that Trelane is inherently a young child-like entity, "I love that he loves humans. There's something abut it. It's their souls and how they can be really good, but they can also be bad, and the need to strive for the good. They're really important [to his development], even though they were kind of under his spell. He's growing and learning."

On Seeing A Piece of Star Trek History

During production of "Wedding Bell Blues," Rhys Darby was able to get an up close and personal look at the worn by William Campbell in "The Squire of Gothos," courtesy of the Star Trek Archive.

"They laid it out for me and I got to touch it," remarks Darby. "I had just rewatched the original episode days before, so it felt like a passing on of a sword, for me. It was, 'Wow. Now I get to do this and touch this and be a part of this.' It was an honor, a real honor. And it gave me the respect I needed to portray this character and be in this world because you're staring at the original icon, albeit just the jacket."

On Trelane's Father

The casting of his non-corporeal, glowing orb of a father wasn't locked in by the time Darby was in production for the episode. How did he react to learn that his character's dad was voiced by none other than Star Trek legend John de Lancie?

Darby comments comments, "Back in the day, I remember seeing some of []. He's so iconic. There are elements I see in him as well, so I get the casting. He's just super smooth and I'm not saying I'm super smooth, but he's mischievous for sure. You can see the glint in his eye, and that was something I needed to portray myself."