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emergency alarm! This interview contains spoilers Star Trek: Picard Season 3 Episode 6, “Bounty”.written by Christopher Monfett and director Liu Dan“The Bounty” is now streaming on Paramount+.
Daniel Davis He played the role of Hologram Professor James Moriarty for the first time. Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 2 episode “Elementary, Dear Data”.he later reprized the role TNG “Ship in a Bottle” Season 6. Despite appearing in just his two episodes, the character cast a long shadow over the franchise.And now Davis is back in the franchise Picard “Bounty” in Season 3.
The Beat took the opportunity to chat with Davis on Zoom. Trek Ask him about his memorable convention experiences 30 years later, and find out where he thinks our favorite perceptual holograms could appear next!
This interview has been edited for clarity and length. Cover image: Picard Season 3 teaser trailer.
AVERY KAPLAN: How did you get involved? Picard Season 3?
Daniel Davis: In November 2021, my agent called me and said: Star Trek’ And I said yes. And he said, “Don’t you want to know what it is?” I said Yes, it doesn’t matter.”
I think they were thinking about involving Moriarty in the episode, but they started writing and thought, ‘Better find out if he can come back before we write this. I was. Yeah twist my arm Of course you can get me! So when I said yes, they worked on the script.
But they hid the script from me. i have never seen that. They keep a close eye on things because things have a way out. It makes them very unhappy.
So all I got was my page I was trying to shoot. And I couldn’t make a head or a tail for it. I said, “This is not Moriarty, at least not the way I remember him.” Threats and dangers have passed, so we thought in “Ship in a Bottle.” We had gotten over that aspect of him — and had gotten over it long before that.
But I didn’t know who I was in “Bounty”. Furthermore, Riker (Jonathan Frakes)’s words: This is not the self-aware Moriarty we used to know. enterpriseSo I was confused and there was no one around to answer my question, so I did what actors do: I just said the words.
And when CBS asked me to start these interviews, I said, almost. “So they sent me a screener and watched yesterday’s and today’s episodes and said, ‘Oh, okay. If there’s a callback to Data (Brent Spiner) and Riker’s first encounter. And you have a crow And then there’s Moriarty, who has a strong connection with Data. There’s a song that strongly reminds me of Riker…and Riker says, “Oh snap his fingers. The data is somewhere around here.”
And the last scene I didn’t read, but saw, had Riker saying, “He wasn’t trying to hurt us, he was trying to lead us.” And I was like, “Oh! That’s why I was there.”
But you do what actors do: You say the words and hope it all works together when they cut it – and it did! I think whatever functions his android brain still has should be some version of Data to guide them to him. That’s why it wasn’t Arty.
KAPLAN: Would you consider it? Picard Is Moriarty’s incarnation a manifestation of Data’s subconscious?
Davis: It’s possible…it could be the version of the data. So he’s the most schizophrenic android in the history of androids and has so many personalities. Because that’s when Data achieved consciousness in the episode. They are not yet integrated. Therefore, it is very likely that Moriarty is part of Data’s personality.
But what’s interesting is that it was Jordy Laforge (lever burton) programmed Moriarty to be as good as Data. I think Data, Geordie, and Moriarty are all intertwined in their respective psyches.
The only problem was that we didn’t get to see Geordie, even though he was in the episode, and we didn’t have a scene together. Patrick StewartFor I had an illusion in my mind that Picard was being recalled to settle a broken promise to get me off the holodeck. But it didn’t. So I’m still somewhere in that holodeck! Floating with Countess Bartholomew (Stephanie Beacham).
KAPLAN: Does your personal interest in the Sherlock Holmes canon extend beyond this role?
Davis: Well, I went back to my youth and read books. In high school, I think I read all the short stories and books. At the home theater of the American Conservatory Theater (ACT) in San Francisco, bloody crossI played Dr. Watson on the other side peter donat As Sherlock Holmes – and Moriarty was not a character in that play.
I think that’s what makes the fans happy.you have Sherlock Holmes and you have Star Trek: You have put together two of the great myths of our culture into two and now have three episodes. Very exciting.
KAPLAN: Is the role of Hologram Moriarty something you’ve considered or been in? Picard A return to the past for you?
Davis: Well, it was both. It’s been 30 years since we made Ship in a Bottle, so it was a throwback to the past. It’s also the 30th anniversary nanny Since it started, I have all these anniversaries in my head.
But it was what I wanted. It was my hope to return to Moriarty.when Picard The first thing that started, I mean, the first thought was, are they going to bring me back? So it’s a very nostalgic time in my life. I never thought it would last this long. But what was I thinking? Of course, it will continue while the fans maintain it.
I’ve been to tournaments, and I’ve had cameo requests to be Moriarty. So very lively. it doesn’t go away. It’s part of me now.
KAPLAN: Do you have a memorable experience at a convention?
Davis: Oh, I’ve had so many wonderful encounters with people. I met someone who I still keep in touch with. A few years ago, I was going to do a play in New York with a Scottish accent. And a man came to the table with his wife, and he was obviously Scottish, and I said, ‘May I go into the little room and record our conversation together? Is it?” he said. I happened to have the script, and I said, “Can you read these lines for me?” He actually became the inspiration for my accent when I did plays.
Then, one day, a couple appeared. They unrolled a canvas poster and on both sides had pictures of me as Moriarty. So it stretched out like 9 feet. And they asked me to sign. And of course I said, “But where are we going to put this?” And they showed me a picture of the barn they had and all of us hanging from the rafters of this barn. All these giant, nine foot long posters of all the characters they can pose.
And now I have met people from all four corners of the earth. I have fans in Australia, I have fans in China, I have a lot of people in Europe, I have a lot of fans in Italy. So I came into contact with the world at large. I don’t know where between this and Niles I’m not recognized. “Oh, you’re Moriarty.” “Are you Niles?” And it’s great! I don’t mind at all.
Kaplan: Like many others Star Trek Actors, especially Shakespearean stage experience. I would like to know if you have a favorite Shakespearean role that you have played.
Davis: I have been very lucky in my career. I was classically trained when I was younger, so I was interested in attending theater. The movie was something out there and I couldn’t figure out how to do it. When I was a kid, when I was trying to be an actor in theater, theater people didn’t make it to television. Theater people didn’t film. Movie stars didn’t do plays. There were walls between all aspects of our profession. And they fell a few years ago.
But I’ve been in so many Shakespeare plays – over 30. And I’ve been Hamlet 6 times, played him 4 times. I played Macbeth.played Benedict in fussplayed King Lear a few years ago. I wanted to play King Lear while I could finally pick up Cordelia.
So no more bucket list of Shakespearean roles. I did everything I wanted to do. Given all of them, Hamlet is probably my favorite. Because I played Hamlet at his four different stages in life. Each time I played, I used my experience and knowledge from the last five years to interpret the role.
and God bless him, Ian McKellen just did HamletHe’s about 80 and just done. Hamlet to London again. So I was like, ‘If Ian can do it, I can do it. When you’ve had enough life experience to play good roles, you’re too old to do them.
KAPLAN: In addition to live-action on-screen performances, he has also appeared in several animated shows. Would you consider returning as an animated version of Hologram Moriarty?
Davis: i actually talked about this Kate Mulgrew (Lt. Gen. Janeway) About a month ago. We had dinner together in New York.As one of the producers Picard “Moriarty shows up everywhere.” Yes, I do that in a heartbeat.
I think Janeway and Moriarty got married in anime heaven, so let’s see!
new episodes of Picard You can stream it on Paramount+ on Thursdays.
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