Star Trek icon Kate Mulgrew has opened up on her challenging new role in a gritty new crime series that’s worlds away from the USS Voyager.
The actress is best known for portraying the fearless Captain Kathryn Janeway across several series of the beloved science fiction franchise.
In Apple TV+’s new miniseries, Dope Thief, Mulgrew portrays the stepmother of Ray (played by Brian Tyree Henry) who, along with his friend Manny (Wagner Moura) impersonate DEA agents to rob local drug dealers.
Ray and Manny soon find themselves in the midst of a violent turf war when they realise they mistakenly targeted one of the biggest narcotics operations in the area.
Speaking exclusively to Express Online and other outlets, Mulgrew previewed: “Theresa is a working-class, even lower South Philly, which is why [showrunner] Peter Craig asked me to try and do the accent.
Star Trek legend spills on ‘trickiest’ part of new role (Image: APPLE)
“And it was my great pleasure to dive in. I had a good coach.”
Based on the novel of the same name by Dennis Tafoya, Dope Thief will hit screens this Friday (14th March) and immerse viewers in the harsh realities of gang violence over the next few weeks.
Mulgrew is practically unrecognisable in her role, especially thanks to her broad, regional accent which she admitted was a challenge to pin down.
“But it’s a very tricky accent because it borrows from the north and the south,” she shared. “And in many ways the east and the west, it’s all over the place.
Check out Apple TV ‘s unmissable new crime drama this Friday (Image: APPLE)
“Even one word if you go the wrong way it can inform the rest of the sentence, and then you’ve screwed up.
“So the work on the accent had to be done separately and constantly. It never left my mind, it seldom left my hand, meaning the book. And I would work with the coach as often as I possibly could.
“In the shower or in the bath, on the street, in restaurants, shopping, I would use it, just so I could have it. I think I’m the only one with the broad, South Philly accent in the [show], but it’s every actors’ pleasure to take a shot at an accent.”
The Star Trek legend also got the chance to work with Mission: Impossible and Pulp Fiction star Ving Rhames, who portrays Ray’s father, Bart.
He begins the series incarcerated, but Mulgrew teased an eventual reunion between the pair later on in the season.
Star Trek legend Kate Mulgrew portrays the stepmother of Brian Tyree Henry’s Ray (Image: APPLE)
“He’s the great love of Theresa’s life and he’s snatched from her early, but he leaves behind his son,” she explained.
“Which, in many ways, is Theresa’s way of loving Bart while he’s away from her through his son, Raymond, whom she develops a very genuine and very deep love for.
“Ving Rhames is an extremely intense and present actor,” she added. “So when I finally got to work with him, I think in the sixth episode, it was a surprise.
“And fascinating to work with him. He presented a different kind of canvas than I’ve ever experienced with another actor. In a way I was grateful for it because it proved to be challenging and in the end, gratifying.”
Make sure to catch this all-star cast, which also includes The Umbrella Academy’s Marin Ireland and The Blacklist’s Amir Arison, when the first two episodes of Dope Thief premiere this week.
Dope Thief premieres with two episodes on Friday, 14th March on Apple TV+.