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Jun 15, 2023 · The Australian native returns as Nurse Christine Chapel, who in this incarnation is an openly bisexual character—but still with the hots for Spock. “I would like to see [sexuality and gender]...
- Dawn Ennis
- “The Universe Is Punking Me”
- “How Do You Fly A Starship?”
- “She Doesn’T Have to Put A Label on It”
- “It Was The Most Talked About Episode All Season”
- “The Payoff Will Be There”
Because Ortegas wasn’t already a part of “Trek” history like Uhura or Nurse Chapel, Navia was clued into everything about the character for her first audition. “The name was right there in the breakdown,” she said. “She’s a pilot. Combat veteran. Latina.” Navia watched “Star Trek: The Next Generation” as a kid — “that opening with Patrick Stewart a...
When Navia stepped onto the eye-popping set of the Enterprise bridge with her castmates, she remembered everyone else standing agape at the polish and detail of the production design. “And I was just like, ‘How does this all work?'” she said. “I still remember heading back to our chairs after like our first setup, and googling, ‘How do you fly a st...
Navia is fully aware that Ortegas’ androgynous appearance — not to mention her chemistry with male and female crewmates alike — has suggested to many LGBTQ+ “Trek” fans that Ortegas is queer. It’s a perception she’s played into happily. “I’ve been playing Ortegas to be very much, like, she’s super loyal to her crew and she also has a crush on proba...
One day early into shooting Season 1 of “Strange New Worlds,” Navia visited the costume department for a fitting and someone there asked her if she knew how to sword fight. “And I was just like, ‘Well, I have a martial arts background and I’ve done sword fighting stunt work for a film before,'” Navia recalled. “And they were like, ‘The writers have...
Navia knows that while Ortegas has often had a big role to play throughout Season 1, she’s never been given a showcase episode in the way that the rest of her castmates have. And she’s fine with that. “The biggest storylines in Season 1 are not me,” she said. “My thing is, like, I’m flying a ship. I don’t have time to have all these emotional conve...
- Adam B. Vary
Jul 5, 2023 · In an interview with Variety, when asked about her pronouns, the Colombian-American actor and writer Melissa Navia revealed her gender and the pronouns she uses. Melissa smiled and faced the Zoom camera, and said, “She/her.”
Aug 20, 2022 · Melissa Navi, who fans know from "Strange New Worlds" as Lieutenant Ortegas, talked about her hair, Twitter and her defense of LBGTQ people in the face of bigotry.
Part of Ortegas’ identity is her sexual orientation. As a middle aged straight male, I don’t fully understand the importance of that to many. I am learning and trying to understand better what that means to others, especially those who feel like they are under represented or even worse persecuted.
The character’s androgynous appearance and undeniable chemistry with multiple members of the cast of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds have caused viewers to speculate about her sexuality, and Melissa Navia has spoken up: don’t put a label on it.
Jun 8, 2022 · Star Trek: Strange New Worlds has brought in its first nonbinary character for an episode that already featured major LGBTQ+ representation.
