‘Star Trek: Discovery’s Doug Jones Compares Playing Saru to Playing Silver Surfer

Doug Jones plays Saru on Star Trek: Discovery and the character will have his origin story told on this week’s episode of Star Trek: Short Treks, “The Brightest Star.” It turns out Jones has played a similar role before, that of the Silver Surfer in the second Fantastic Four movie.

During an interview with Deadline, it was pointed out to Jones that, like Saru, the Silver Surfer was an alien who volunteered to explore deep space.

“Good gosh, that is brilliant,” Jones said. “I never thought about it until just now when you asked. That is just a beautiful parallel to draw and, yes, I had the pleasure of playing the Silver Surfer in the Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer and I did explore the comic books and his origins and I love connecting with characters like that. The ones that do sacrifice something, leave something behind for a greater cause and Saru was doing that exact thing, as you’ll find that out in the short film and you’ll see Saru’s curiosity looking to the sky wondering what else is out there and finding a way to break away from his people. But it comes at a cost and he has to leave the world he knows and leave the people he loves behind. Much like the Silver Surfer. With Saru he wants to be a part of keeping the universe safe and keeping the galaxy running smoothly so there is a certain heroic act there. Wow, that’s a great parallel, thank you!”

You can watch the trailer for “The Brightest Star” above.

Here’s the synopsis for the episode:

“Before he was the first Kelpien to join Starfleet, Saru (Doug Jones) lived a simple life on his home planet of Kaminar with his father and sister. Young Saru, full of ingenuity and a level of curiosity uncommon among his people, yearns to find out what lies beyond his village, leading him on an unexpected path.”

“The Brightest Star” is written by Bo Yeon Kim & Erika Lippoldt, who wrote the Star Trek: Discovery Season One episode “Into the Forest I Go,” and directed by Douglas Aarniokoski, who directed the Discovery episode titled “Lethe.”.

Are you excited about Star Trek: Short Treks, “The Brightest Star”? Let us know what you think in the comments!

Star Trek: Short Treks “The Brightest Star” will debut on CBS All Access on at 9:30 p.m. ET on December 7, 2018.

The first season of Star Trek: Discovery is available to stream in its entirety on CBS All Access in the U.S., through CraveTV in Canada and through Netflix in other international markets. The season is also now available on Blu-ray and DVD.

Star Trek: Discovery Season Two is now filming in Toronto and will premiere on CBS All Access on January 17, 2019.