Star Trek: Discovery season 3 casts franchise's first non-binary and transgender characters

Star Trek: Discovery season 3 has cast the intergalactic franchise's first-ever non-binary and transgender characters. Blu del Barrio will play the non-binary Adira, while Ian Alexander – who you may recognise from Netflix's The OA and who performed motion capture as Lev in The Last of Us Part 2 – will play the trans character Gray.

"Adira is a wonderfully complex character," Barrio teased of their role to GLAAD. "Mainly because of this duality they have within them: they're astonishingly intelligent and yet they're still a kid. They experience their emotions at a heightened level, like most teenagers. That's what makes them so fun to play. 

"I like to describe them as cerebrally brilliant and emotionally a puppy. Adira is an introvert, but they keep a few people close to the chest, which I definitely resonate with. I don't want to say too much and get in trouble, but all in all, Adira is a uniquely strange and beautiful character."

Barrio added that we will first meet Adira when they are suffering from memory loss.  "They remember nothing from their past, and very little about themself," Barrio continued. "They know they're non-binary, of course, but coming onto Discovery they're cautious about sharing that information with anyone. They're a private person, so they aren't going to divulge a lot about themselves to a ship full of strangers. It's not until Adira has found a place of comfort with Stamets and Culber that they feel they can talk about who they are."

Alexander's character, Gray, is being kept under wraps. Star Trek: Discovery season 3 returns later this year on October 15, 2020. We learnt a fair bit about the new series at Comic-Con earlier this year – get the rundown here.