Paramount Isa Briones
Actress Isa Briones portrayed three separate people in the first season of “Star Trek: Picard.” While the audience didn’t know she was an android, they soon learned when the first version of the character, Dahj, reached out to Admiral Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) for help.
The twist of Picard was that there were Soong-type androids walking around who were not aware of their artificial origins. Briones’ first android was killed, and she returned to the story as a second synthetic life form named Soji. As the plot thickened, Briones was back again, this time as a golden-skinned android named Sutra, who was not fond of humans, Romulans, or any other humanoid life.
Isa Singing for ‘Picard’
Briones is back for Season 2 of “Picard,” but only as Soji. Briones participated in a call with the media, promoting this upcoming season of the show, which begins airing on March 3, 2022, on the Paramount+ network. Briones would not say too much about Soji’s role this season, but she did say that the ideas for the show in this script were “really surprising.”
“It’s really lovely as an actor that we get to continue to explore new facets of our characters with our new … plotlines and the new bumps in the road that we encounter,” said Briones. “We are continuously peeling back the layers of our characters. And I think that you will see quite a bit of that character development from everyone in this season.”
Briones said that becoming a part of the “Star Trek” family has been a good experience. According to behind-the-scenes Trek lore, when a new actor joins a show that Jonathan Frakes is involved with, he pulls them aside to welcome them personally.
Isa with Sir Patrick on ’Picard’
In a 2020 interview with Trek Report, actor Dominic Burgess explained how Frakes inducts new group members. Burgess played the reptile-like Mr. Vup during Season One.
“I went up to the studios where they were filming for a prosthetic make-up test, and following that was the first time that I met Jonathan,” Burgess said in the interview. “That man just exudes warmth and excitement; he threw open his arms and said, ‘Welcome to the family!’ Afterwards, I secretly wept happy tears.”
Briones worked with Frakes when he directed Season One episodes “Absolute Candor” and “Stardust City Rag.” While the work within the family is one thing, encountering the millions who are suddenly fans of hers is another. Briones says that there have been many memorable experiences with the fans.
“I definitely have been many meaningful interactions with fans at conventions and over Instagram,” said Briones. “It’s just been very touching to see, and I feel like this is true for any character because, in the very diverse world that we live in, any number of people are going to gravitate towards different characters.”
“With me seeing fellow young women or femme folks that really identify with my character and feel kind of seen in the … and discovering who they are and figuring out their path,” said Briones.
“Figuring out what their purpose is and how it’s given them more confidence to see someone like them, and see someone who is going through the same things as them, and also a fellow mixed kid … fellow half-Asian kids who are feeling represented in that way … it reminds you that this is a big part of why I do this.”
Jon Jon and Isa
Something noted during the call was that Isa would appear on “Picard” with her father, actor Jon Jon Briones. Isa did not reveal the role for her dad but did say that he enjoyed revealing that he’d also be on “Star Trek.”
“It’s actually not the first time that I’ve worked with him,” said Briones. “I actually played his daughter before on Netflix’s ‘American Crime Story: Assassination of Gianni Versace.’”
“He surprised me — I didn’t know that he was going to be with me in it,” she said. “I came over to their house, and my dad was like, ‘Oh Isa, I just booked a new job!’ He kept dropping these names!”
As Jon Jon described the role, Isa realized that they would be working on “Picard” together.
“My heart was very full getting to see my dad playing with all my friends,” said Briones.
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