Ashlei Sharpe Chestnut joined the Star Trek family in more ways than one in Star Trek: Picard Season 3. Like all of her co-stars, she’s now part of the family of actors who played roles in the Star Trek Universe. More specifically, she’s Sidney La Forge, helmsman of the USS and daughter of Star Trek: The Next Generation‘s Geordi La Forge, played by LeVar Burton, who returns in . Those are big shoes to step into, but fans have responded well and are eager to see her and the rest of the Titan crew continue to fly in the (thus far, entirely hypothetical) .
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ComicBook.com had the chance to speak to Chestnut about joining the Star Trek and La Forge families, flirting with the son of Jean-Luc Picard and Beverly Crusher, synchronized fight scenes, her hopes for a Star Trek: Legacy spinoff, and what to expect from the final two seasons of Star Trek: Picard Season 3. Here’s what she had to say:
What was your level of familiarity with Star Trek going into Star Trek: Picard Season 3? When they asked you to play Geordi La Forge’s daughter, did the gravity of that immediately hit you, or did it take some time?
Ashlei Sharpe Chestnut: No, no, no. Geordi La Forge has been my Instagram profile picture for years, so I was already fangirling, and plus too, my mom was a huge Trekkie growing up. She called me Number One, so I was definitely familiar with the world. And then I watched the movies as well, so I definitely had a base knowledge of this world, for sure.
Is it just Star Trek? Or are you generally a fan of sci-fi and stuff like that?
I think just a general fan of sci-fi. Also, I love horror too, so I think I’ve always been outside of the niche with that. I’ve loved exploring things outside of our, I guess, our basic human realm, if that makes sense.
Sure. Next question: how do you fly a starship? I know Wil Wheaton and Brent Spinner have talked about how they were very particular about getting the mechanics of that dashboard down and consistent. Was that something you had conversations about on the Star Trek: Picard set, or did they leave it to you to figure out?
They left it to me to figure out. I think in the beginning, you see all these buttons on the console, and then you get in a rhythm and a pattern. When they say, “Go into warp,” you remember, “Oh, this is how I did warp last time.” And I think it just depends, but for the most part, I have my own hand choreography for different movements, yeah.
What can you tell me about how Sidney was described to you when they first started talking to you about playing the character? What was it about her that hooked you into it?
I think she was initially described as the daughter. I don’t think I remember. I don’t think I was told that this was actually Star Trek. It was just a vague casting breakdown, but they said that she was intelligent, the daughter of a legacy character. I don’t remember if they said tenacious, but something along the lines of strong, intelligent, and charismatic. Those were the core adjectives to describe Sidney, so I was like, “Ooh, easy. Let’s jump into this.” Obviously, I didn’t know at the time it was Geordi La Forge’s daughter, but that’s what initially hooked me.
Did you have any inkling? Did you have any guesses when they were like, “It’s a legacy character’s daughter in this franchise,” or were just going with it?
Well, I knew it would have to either be Michael Dorn or LeVar Burton, but I didn’t know which one, but I’m definitely thrilled to still be Sidney La Forge.
I found it really interesting that they had Sidney be the helmsman because that feels like a callback to Geordi being the helmsman in the early season of Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Yeah, that first season.
Was that part of the conversation you had about her character and how she relates to Geordi? It seems to me, especially after these most recent episodes, that she represents something of Geordi that maybe Geordi moved away from as he grew up. I’m wondering if that was something that you all discussed when you were discussing the relationship.
No, that actually never came up during shooting. No.
It’s possible I’m reading into things that aren’t there. It wouldn’t be the first time!
No, but you’re making a valid point. I think that’s the subtext of it, for sure, yeah, but we just never talked about it on set, no.
You’ve done television before, and you’ve done big productions, but this is the first full sci-fi, heavy special effects type thing. Was there an adjustment period for you? I talked to Celia Rose Gooding from, which is her first television show, and she mentioned something about being worried that the moving cameras were going to hit her in the face on her first day. Was there any learning curve for you coming onto the Star Trek set?
No, I think the biggest learning curve for me was working with the green screen. I’ve done a little bit of green screen work, but not to this extent, no, because I’d be around moving cameras and stuff, but I think interacting and using my imagination more so because I think in the other things that I’ve done, it’s been more human dynamics. “Ooh, let’s just talk back and forth.” But this, sometimes you’re interacting with something that you can’t see, so it’s been definitely a learning experience on that, but a fun one, fun experience.
What was it like integrating into the Star Trek cast? There are a lot of legacy characters in this season and they are well-known for having such tight-knit relationships. Was it immediately? instantly becoming part of the family, or was there an adjustment period there?
I’d say immediately a part of the family. I think by default when you join the Star Trek franchise, not a lot of people can say that, and so I feel like there’s this innate friendship that naturally forms. I mean, even with the TNG cast too, they embraced me with open arms from jump, from the moment I hit the set.
Is the TNG cast as raucous and playful as their reputation suggest? or have they mellowed out with some years?
No, no, no, definitely not mellowed out, at least from what I can see. When they all got together, it was fun mayhem, just seeing them crack jokes on each other, just to see the banter with each other and their own lovable family friendship that they have was really fun to see.
What was it like working with both LeVar Burton and his real-life daughter, Mica? Did it take some extra work to get your relationship with them to the point where it was as believable as there relationship is, or was that almost instantaneous as well?
I think that was instantaneous as well. I mean, it’s been so weird, but the way Mica and I have been able to just bond, actually have a sisterhood bond outside of filming, and I think it’s reflective in the series as well. But yeah, I mean, as soon as we met, we just hit it off. I remember when I first met LeVar Burton, I was coming out of my trailer. I saw him and I just yelled. I’m like, “Hi, I’m Ashley. I’m going to be playing your daughter,” and I just ran over and gave him a hug, and he was so nice and, again, welcoming, like everyone has been.
We’ve seen Syndey interacting a bit with Jack Crusher. There’s certainly been a bit of flirtation there, with even Geordi interjecting. Can you give us any insight as to what you think Sidney sees in him? Is it just pure charm or is there something else to that relationship, at least as much as you can speak to at this point?
I think so far we’re both the kids of these legacy characters, so I think that’s kind of the bond that we both have, and he is charming. He’s a bad boy. I think in any dynamic or potential relationship dynamic, you see the good girl that has a brief infatuation with this new outsider guy. I don’t know, but it’s been lovely to see both of these characters blossom on screen.
You’ve gotten to do some interesting and out-of-the-box things in Star Trek: Picard Season 3. For a minute there, you played the changeling version of Sidney and you had that really wild action scene with Jack, where he was in your head and you were mirroring things. For you, what has been the most interesting challenge that you’ve done on screen?
I think the most challenging thing for me was that fight sequence because a lot of it is me. I mean, shout out to my stunt double because she did the actual roll on on the ground, but for the most part, it was me ducking and dodging, being dragged by that huge changeling man, so a lot of it was me. And I think the challenging part was doing it so many times. I don’t think people realize how many “cuts” and “action,” how many times we actually do this while filming because they have to get different camera angles and we still have to keep it looking fresh. And that was my first time doing intense stunt work like this in general, so I would say that was the most challenging thing for me, just learning. It was just a new learning experience.
Were you surprised to get so roughed up on a Star Trek set of all things? I mean, it’s not without its action, but compared to some other sci-fi franchises, it’s considered pretty peaceful.
Yeah, I was definitely shocked, but I was down. I was definitely game for whatever they were going to throw at me because I mean, yes, Sidney’s at her console as a helmsman, but it’s nice to get some action, some stunt work in. It was fun.
The fan response to Star Trek: Picard Season 3 has been incredible. The last time I saw Star Trek fans react this strongly was when Anson Mount and those stars showed up on Discovery, which led to Strange New Worlds. Now those fans are looking for Star Trek: Legacy. Having done this season, should you get the opportunity to return as Syndey La Forge, is there anything that stands out in your mind as something you’d really like to do with her? Or are you more the type who’s happy working with whatever the writers have cooked up?
I think a mixture of both. I’m definitely happy because I think the writers this season have been phenomenal, so honestly, I trust their judgment, but I would definitely love to continue to see Sidney continue doing some fight sequences. I want to explore the relationships with Jack’s character, Alandra’s character, and continue the relationships with the crew and captains of the Titan. There’re vast possibilities and I’m open to any one of them.
Sounds like maybe you need to spend some time in Worf’s boot camp. You can get your Bat’leth skills down.
Oh my God. I feel like honestly, Worf should come along in the spinoff, too. I think just his fight sequences alone, Sidney could learn a lot.
I was not expecting to see him decapitate someone in the early episodes. That was something.
Right? Oh my goodness.
We’ve seen lots of cool stuff out of Sidney already so far. Anything you can tease about the last couple of episodes coming up and what her role might be as we approach the finale?
Sure. I think teasing wise, everyone will finally see what’s behind this red door and that will … Oh God, let me be careful. Let’s just say the journey isn’t over. These two episodes are going to be packed with some more action, I’ll say.
How to watch Star Trek: Picard
Star Trek: Picard Season 3 premieres new episodes on Thursdays on Paramount+. Star Trek: Picard‘s first two seasons are already streaming on Paramount+.
Star Trek: Picard streams exclusively on Paramount+ in the U.S. and on Amazon Prime Video in over 200 countries and territories. In Canada, it airs on Bell Media’s CTV Sci-Fi Channel and streams on Crave.
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