okay THIS WAS A BLAST thank you for all the questions! i am so sorry i couldn’t answer every single one i have to run to set now but feel free to dm me on IG @team_karim if you want to ask me anything else and i’ll try my best to answer!! 🖖
We’re live now!EDIT: Big THANK YOU to Karim and to everyone that left a question!! I think this went really well for our little instance and hopefully can inspire future AMAs all over the Fediverse!❤️
Also because this thread is understandably getting a lot of attention, here is a link to our Patreon. A few people have requested a higher tier, so we’ve finally added one🖖
Is that the UTC-0500 one?
I wish more people would use that format. It’s much easier to relate to your own time zone.
Depends… I grew up with TV stations advertising shows in Eastern/Pacific time zones while I lived in neither.
I’ve also driven to both of those time zones and can picture how many time zones away they are in my head.
Either one of those is easier for me.
There’s an entire world of timezones that aren’t the US.
It’s easier for you to remember your timezone in ± utc than making everyone else on the planet look up whatever the fuck est is every time we need to.
Well I don’t live in the US, so yeah I know. Anyway, my point is that “easier” is subjective and very much based on a person’s experience.
I’ve looked up UTC compared to my time many times and it just doesn’t stick. I don’t know what the current UTC time is but I could tell you what time it is in Newfoundland no problem. 🤷♂️
30 more minutes! God I’m excited!
aww well this is kind, haha thank you for your enthusiasm!! i really appreciate it
Omg he responded to me twice! ☺️
yoooo, a celebrity on the fediverse? let’s goooooo
Sorry I’m late guys, i’m locked in now! About to go crazy responding to all these questions lol
I just want to tell you how much I liked the episode that explored Klingon honor and how that hunting scene kept being recontextualized.
The show reminds me of Lower Decks in that it’s different but it’s the same. Cant wait to see more.
Whoa, Lemmy is going places! I never expected to see a Reddit-style AMA to appear here. I don’t have any questions for you, Mr. Karim but I do wish you the best!
thank you!
Right? This makes me stupid happy to see.
Yeah, I feel like I’m just spamming upvotes on everyone because I’m just so jazzed to see this.
I upvote everything here to encourage activity.
I also comment useless shit just to add activity.
This place is pretty much like Field of Dreams rn; people come, you just gotta build it first.
I don’t even watch Star Trek or know who this actor is, and I’m excited too! I wish I had a question!
hahaha well thanks for stopping by!
Hello Karim! How does it feel to be the first (or at least one of the first) celebrities to do an AMA on Lemmy?
looooool! It’s an honor!! 🖖
It’s an honor to have you.
It’s really refreshing to see a gay relationship happen organically on screen in a context outside of the contemporary stereotypes - and indeed, outside of human culture altogether. I realize Trek has done this a bit in the past with Culber/Stamets, and Reno - have you had to think about how LGBT culture exists in a multi-planetary society in the 4th millennium? Is it just plainly a utopia to strive for, for everyone? Is Jay Den’s family’s Triad House a non-issue in Klingon Society post Qu’onos, or was that something that happened out of necessity to preserve Klingon culture?
in the future literally no one cares who and how you love. like whether you love a guy, girl, nonbinary, or trans person, or if you’re in a monogamous, or polyamorous relationship… its not a big deal like it is now in the 21st century. in the future, As long as you are being true to yourself and you’re not harming yourself or others, literally no one cares lol. It just is. that’s why i love on the show its just presented naturally, there’s no big moment about it, it just exists and that’s it. a triad house is completely a non-issue and no one even bats an eyelash at it.
Is this the thread for questions?
What actor from Trek’s past, that primarily wore lots of makeup and prosthetics, do you look up at as a acting role model?
Doug Jones!!
This is the thread for questions!
Hi Karim! Thank you for your work on Star Trek: Starfleet Academy! I’ve thoroughly enjoyed your work in particular on the show!
The character of Jay-Den has broken with what many fans have considered to be canonically or at least, stereotypically Klingon, and the show has drawn some criticism for this.
Others have praised the writing and your acting as Jay-Den for redefining or at least recontextualizes what being Klingon ultimately means in a Universe that embraces and cultivates people of infinite diversity in infinite combinations.
I was wondering if you could speak to the challenges you may have had in the endeavor to portray Jay-Den given this context?
It is obvious you did your research for the role beforehand and I can only imagine it must have been somewhat intimidating portraying a character on a major franchise that breaks with what some fans consider canon while also pushing the inclusivity of the Star Trek Universe forward.
I’ll reiterate my thanks in advance to you for doing this AMA.
the challenging part for me has not been the criticism. that will ALWAYS exist, no matter what role I decide to take. Plus, all of my social media accounts have been FLOODED with love from fans, its been overwhelming! Instagram, tik tok, threads, facebook, millions of clicks, THOUSANDS of comments and messages from people who are excited about my character. So it’s a bit tough to focus on any negativity when there is so much positivity. The CHALLENGING part for me was just transforming into the character in the first place. The prosthetics took 4-5 hours a day, 18-20 hour shoot days, learning how to do the voice… now that was the challenging part. but ultimately I am proud of the character that we created and i genuinely believe gene roddenberry would be too. even his son, rod roddenberry came to set one day and offered his support that was really cool!
That’s so cool! Thank you again for your answers!
What scene was the hardest to film? what made it so hard?
season 1 episode 4 all of the scenes out in the woods with my family. it was just HOURS away from where i live, i had to wake up at 1am to get to work, i was SO HOT in the like 10 layers of clothes, they had to install a cooling system underneath to regulate my body tempurature, my wig was itching, my contacts were so dry they were sticking to the back of my eyelids, my skin was breaking out underneath the prosthetics, i was still trying to figure out how to use the voice, and then i had to get emotional when my brother died i started crying partly because i was sad about the death but also because i was just going through so much physically lol
Hey bud! I just wanted to say I really appreciate your show. I’m a middle age guy who grew up on TNG/DS9 and this show really captures the soul of Star Trek. Keep up the great work!!
As for a question, were you a Trek fan before? If so, how’s that incorporated into your performance, if at all. And if you weren’t a fan before, are you now, and how does no prior exposure to Star Trek inform your performance?
Thanks!!
Your acting during the debate episode was incredible. My only question is this: How did you decide what your character would sound like? His “accent” gets “awkward young adult Klingon” across very well in my opinion, and I personally think you nailed it
Hi Karim! I really liking Starfleet Academy, especially the set designs. What’s your favorite set in the show?
thank you! its so hard to choose they are all so beautiful! Maybe the atrium? It just feels so large and cool when hundreds of aliens are walking around, really feels like i’m in school in outer space
That’s my favorite too!
I don’t know if it’s expired already, but what drew you into acting and the Starfleet Academy role? Were you into the series before hand?
Did you have any expectations that changed before and after taking the role on?
Is there something that surprised you in the role/show?
i’ve always been a singer and performer as a kid, acting professionally as an adult is just an extension of what i loved doing as a kid. the starfleet academy role came up as an audition with my agent, i sent in a self tape, and a few weeks later i was cast. it was pretty quick. this role and show is my first venture into star trek, i binged a lot of it after getting cast.
i didn’t expect the role to be so challenging tbh, there was no way for me to know until i did it. i quickly learned that filming sci fi take a LOT of energy. long days, long nights. i was surprised by how challenging the prosthetics process is. i researched a lot, jim carrey during the grinch, doug jones, colin farrell in the penguin, ALL of them have been vocal in interviews about how tough the prosthetics process is and i learned first hand
thank you for the reply! that’s something I definitely wasn’t considering either
Oh wow, I didn’t know this corner of the internet got AMA’s. 8O
Late to the party and not really a star trek fan, but still, good on Karim for popping by! 🤗
How did Jay-Den voice came to be? did you pull from any specific reference? also, is his voice modified in post? it has a very unique feeling
i auditioned in my regular voice, then like 10 days before filming alex asked me to drop it. i definitely watched a ton of worf just to know what people look to, but working with a vocal coach i learned to find my own voice. between voice coach and private sessions with alex kurtz i practiced the voice for DOZENS of hours. i made a video on my instagram @team_karim and my tik tok @team.karim if you wanna hear me doing the voice live
Great question! About the same, I would love to know about the care you have to do to deal with the extra strain in your voice, and what advice you have received about it.
its just like singing. just stay hydrated, and if you feel resistance take a rest. but if done healthily, i haven’t had any problems at all. its just like singing a long concert
