In the current episode of Star Trek Online, Commander Landry from the Netflix series Star Trek Discovery plays an important role. Therefore, we were able to entice the original actress and voice actress Rekha Sharma to a little interview.
Warning: The following text contains spoilers for the first season of Star Trek Discovery!
Who is Rekha Sharma? Rekha Sharma is a Canadian actress of Indian descent. She has appeared in several sci-fi films and series, including Battlestar Galactica, V – The Visitors, The 100, and Aliens vs. Predator 2.
Who is Commander Landry? In Star Trek Discovery, Rekha Sharma played Commander Landry, the tough chief of security of the Discovery and right hand of Captain Lorca.
Unfortunately, Commander Landry’s appearances are very few. The brave woman soon falls victim to a giant tardigrade and is brutally torn apart.
Later in the series, Landry appears again as a counterpart in the mirror universe, only to meet a gruesome end there as well. In the current episode of Star Trek Online, Landry is still alive, as everything takes place before the events of the series.
Currently, everything in the MMORPG Star Trek Online revolves around Discovery. As in the series, the character is also voiced by Rekha Sharma in the game.
Interview with Rekha Sharma (Commander Landry)
MeinMMO: Do you play online games or MMORPGs? And if so, have you ever played Star Trek Online and how did you like it?
Rekha Sharma: I haven’t played it yet. I game very little … I prefer to perform for other people. I enjoy it so much that I’ve made a career out of it.
MeinMMO: Are you a fan of Star Trek or science fiction in general?
Rekha Sharma: Yes, I am! I discovered the original series as a child through my brother. I grew up as a little non-white girl in a very white neighborhood, and the series made a lasting impression on me. I am an idealist, a dreamer, and an Aquarius.
That was the first time I saw the vision of a future without racism or other forms of discrimination. I was thrilled. I have seen a lot of ‘The Next Generation’, then DS9 and Voyager. That stopped when I got older and ‘cooler’ … now it’s really a relief to be totally UN-COOL again! HA HA!
MeinMMO: What can you tell us about your role as Commander Landry? What is your personal opinion of her? Did you enjoy playing her?
Rekha Sharma: I think Landry was a good soul full of hope and visions, which is why she joined Starfleet. I think what happened on the Buran was traumatizing. It was war (Battle of the Binary Stars), so she could never really process it.
And while she was in such a weakened state, she was further manipulated and misled by Mirror-Lorca. She had SEVERE Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
It is always an honor to embody another soul … no matter how painful that can sometimes be. She was also fun: She’s tough, never gives up, and has a dark, dry humor.
MeinMMO: How did you feel when you first heard about her final fate?
Rekha Sharma: I was traumatized myself! LOL. It was shocking. For all of us! We all understood each other so incredibly well that we didn’t want to say ‘Goodbye’ … but at least we will always have that connection, and maybe one day I can return in some way.
Star Trek is truly a family. I am grateful to be a part of it.
MeinMMO: How did you feel when you heard that you could play her again after her part in the series ended?
Rekha Sharma: EXCITED!
MeinMMO: What are the differences between Commander Landry on television and in the game?
Rekha Sharma: She is open, naive, in love … and then she has PTSD and has to deal with it and survive. When we see her on the Discovery, she is trying to do this with tireless discipline.
MeinMMO: Do you have any cool anecdotes from the Discovery set or the recordings for the game?
Rekha Sharma: STO treated me so well … there were donuts for me in the recording studio! Ha ha!
Here are more Star Trek interviews: We previously interviewed a voice actor from Star Trek Online. Find out here why the actor behind Dr. Bashir doesn’t play Star Trek Online:
