‘Star Trek: Picard’s Michelle Hurd Has a Personal Connection to Her Damaged Character

If you needed proof that Star Trek: Picard is darker than any other iteration of the franchise, look no further than Michelle Hurd‘s Raffi Muskier. Introduced in Episode 2, Raffi is a sharp-tongued former ally of Jean-Luc Picard (Sir Patrick Stewart) with a complicated past. At a press event that included other reporters at the Television Critics Association’s 2020 winter tour, Hurd spoke to Decider about Raffi’s unexplored demons and why becoming part of the Trek universe was personally important to her.

“She worked with Picard back in the day, after Next Generation. She has a very complicated relationship with him and an even more complicated relationship with the Federation,” Hurd explained. The actor described her sarcastic hacking genius as the most developed characters she’s gotten to play in her 30 years in the industry. Much like everyone else in this darker take on Trek, Raffi is haunted by the decisions she’s made in the past.

“She relies on some vices,” Hurd said. “But I like to clarify that, because it’s not like she’s just getting drunk or stoned. She is trying to greet the day.”

Hurd and her family have been lifelong Star Trek fans. But when she was offered the role, there was a very specific reason why Hurd was excited to be added to the iconic franchise. “I’m biracial. My father’s black, and he was an actor back in the day. It was really important in our household that we would watch things that were inclusive so that we could see ourselves represented instead of excluded,” Hurd explained. “This was one of the shows that our family, as a family, would happily sit down and watch. When I got this job that was the first thing I remembered was sitting with my mom and dad and two sisters and watching this show.”

For Hurd, Star Trek means telling the stories of people who are “other-isms.” “It’s about how we all live in this, not world, this galaxy together. And why in the fucking galaxy do we still have to like take things from each other and fight each other,” Hurd said. “It just really brought me back to understanding that Star Trek is more than just a show. It’s a place where we can all be seen and represented. It makes me so proud to be part of it.”

And Hurd’s Raffi Musiker has already been fully adopted into the Star Trek universe. Raffi has appeared in a few of the Star Trek: Picard comic books that were released prior to the show’s premiere. “[My sister] has gotten me a couple of the [issues], isn’t that crazy?” Hurd said. “She’s much curvier than I am. That’s perfectly fine. I was like ‘Oh wow, all right. Work it out.'”

For the actor, being in Star Trek: Picard and depicting its questions about humanity is more than just a job. “Being a biracial person and not always represented on screen, we are definitely trying to bring a window to those people who aren’t seen and aren’t represented. And to talk about the value and importance of every life — every life. At what cost do we do the things that we do?” Hurd asked.

New episodes of Star Trek: Picard premiere on CBS All Access Thursdays. 

Watch Star Trek: Picard on CBS All Access