Tahir On Playing Captain Robau

TrekToday · April 29 2008, 05:56 AM

Character, rather than ethnicity, is what counts in Star Trek XI according to Faran Tahir.

As reported by Scifi.com, part of the appeal of Star Trek is not being judged on one's cultural or ethnic background. Tahir was honored to play the first captain of Middle Eastern ethnicity. "The thing that I love about that idea is that, to me, it gives a lot of hope that in the future all these racial divides and all these cultural divides will be non-issues," he said. "And that's the spirit of Star Trek, right? It's about moving forward with all of this. To me, as an actor, it was very freeing to be able to do that, where my character was not being seen through the prism of my cultural or ethnic ties. They were being seen as how competent or incompetent; through what kind of a captain I was going to be in that situation. What matters is the merits of the character, rather than what his background is."

Working on Star Trek XI was like revisiting childhood for the actor playing Captain Robau. "The first thing is that you all of a sudden go back to being nine years old when you realize that you're going to be in Star Trek as a captain," Tahir explained. "You walk onto the bridge and you see that bridge, and your first moment is not 'What is my line?'. Your first moment in yourself is 'Wow! I'm on the bridge of a Federation ship, and I'm the captain.' That's exactly what went on in my head. You have to get over that, and then you go, 'OK, now let's actually make him work.'"

Tahir will soon be seen in Iron Man, where he played the part of an Afghan insurgent leader, Raza, who is a villain. Iron Man will be opening on May 2nd.

To read more, head to the article located here.

Pioneer · April 29 2008, 01:00 PM

Since Star Trek is fictional, all we have is our movies and TV shows whether made professionally or not. So when Tahir steps onto the bridge, he can actually say "I am the Captain of a Federation Starship". That's about as real as it gets without actually being frozen for 300 years and defrosted. And then the Star Trek thing is unlikely to be the current reality even then. So he is in a very elite group albeit a fictional one. Very few people get to say: "I was once the Captain of a Federation Starship". Pretty cool.

And I'm soooo looking forward to Ironman.

Broccoli · April 29 2008, 10:02 PM

Pioneer wrote:

And then the Star Trek thing is unlikely to be the current reality even then.

Not with that attitude!

Pioneer · April 30 2008, 09:03 PM

Broccoli wrote:

Pioneer wrote:

And then the Star Trek thing is unlikely to be the current reality even then.

Not with that attitude!

Attitude had nothing to do with it. What I mean when I say "the Star Trek thing" is that in reality it is highly unlikely that we will have learned to travel faster than the speed of light if even such a thing is possible. Don't even get me started on technology such as the transporter. These are nice fantasies but that's about it.

Broccoli · April 30 2008, 10:49 PM

Pioneer wrote:

Broccoli wrote:

Pioneer wrote:

And then the Star Trek thing is unlikely to be the current reality even then.

Not with that attitude!

Attitude had nothing to do with it. What I mean when I say "the Star Trek thing" is that in reality it is highly unlikely that we will have learned to travel faster than the speed of light if even such a thing is possible. Don't even get me started on technology such as the transporter. These are nice fantasies but that's about it.

See...negative attitudes will never allow us to foresee our dreams of TV becoming reality! I, for one, will learn to fly one day. Granted, I've broken my collar bone seven times leaping off the roof, but I'll get it eventually. Just you wait and see!

Pioneer · May 1 2008, 08:45 AM

Broccoli wrote:

Pioneer wrote:

Broccoli wrote:

Not with that attitude!

Attitude had nothing to do with it. What I mean when I say "the Star Trek thing" is that in reality it is highly unlikely that we will have learned to travel faster than the speed of light if even such a thing is possible. Don't even get me started on technology such as the transporter. These are nice fantasies but that's about it.

See...negative attitudes will never allow us to foresee our dreams of TV becoming reality! I, for one, will learn to fly one day. Granted, I've broken my collar bone seven times leaping off the roof, but I'll get it eventually. Just you wait and see!

Broc, Broc, Broc, ye canna change the laws of physics!

Also, gravity is a harsh mistress!

April 29 2008, 05:56 AM	#1
TrekToday Rear Admiral	Tahir On Playing Captain Robau Character, rather than ethnicity, is what counts in Star Trek XI according to Faran Tahir. As reported by Scifi.com, part of the appeal of Star Trek is not being judged on one's cultural or ethnic background. Tahir was honored to play the first captain of Middle Eastern ethnicity. "The thing that I love about that idea is that, to me, it gives a lot of hope that in the future all these racial divides and all these cultural divides will be non-issues," he said. "And that's the spirit of Star Trek, right? It's about moving forward with all of this. To me, as an actor, it was very freeing to be able to do that, where my character was not being seen through the prism of my cultural or ethnic ties. They were being seen as how competent or incompetent; through what kind of a captain I was going to be in that situation. What matters is the merits of the character, rather than what his background is." Working on Star Trek XI was like revisiting childhood for the actor playing Captain Robau. "The first thing is that you all of a sudden go back to being nine years old when you realize that you're going to be in Star Trek as a captain," Tahir explained. "You walk onto the bridge and you see that bridge, and your first moment is not 'What is my line?'. Your first moment in yourself is 'Wow! I'm on the bridge of a Federation ship, and I'm the captain.' That's exactly what went on in my head. You have to get over that, and then you go, 'OK, now let's actually make him work.'" Tahir will soon be seen in Iron Man, where he played the part of an Afghan insurgent leader, Raza, who is a villain. Iron Man will be opening on May 2nd. To read more, head to the article located here.

April 29 2008, 01:00 PM	#2
Pioneer Captain	Re: Tahir On Playing Captain Robau Since Star Trek is fictional, all we have is our movies and TV shows whether made professionally or not. So when Tahir steps onto the bridge, he can actually say "I am the Captain of a Federation Starship". That's about as real as it gets without actually being frozen for 300 years and defrosted. And then the Star Trek thing is unlikely to be the current reality even then. So he is in a very elite group albeit a fictional one. Very few people get to say: "I was once the Captain of a Federation Starship". Pretty cool. And I'm soooo looking forward to Ironman. __________________ Looking to build Element #137 (Feynmanium)

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