‘Paul Stamets’ Actor from Star Trek: Discovery Turns 50 Today

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Oct 27, 2021
May 5, 2019; Washington, DC, USA; Anthony Rapp answers questions on the red carpet at the The Creative Coalition’s annual gala. Mandatory Credit: Hannah Gaber-USA TODAY

A cast member from Star Trek: Discovery, Anthony Rapp, is 50 years old today.

For Star Trek fandom, Rapp is known for his portrayal of Paul Stamets in the Discovery spin-off. To date, Rapp has appeared in 42 such episodes.

In the series, Stamets and his partner, Hugh Culber, are the first openly gay regular characters in Star Trek. Stamets focuses on alien fungi in the show, called an astromycologist. In that branch of research, he helps develop the experimental Spore Drive, a revolutionary means of space travel, and one that would remain secret to the federation at large for an extensive period of time.

May 5, 2019; Washington, DC, USA; Anthony Rapp poses with Lynn Oxenberg on the red carpet at the The Creative Coalition’s annual gala. Mandatory Credit: Hannah Gaber-USA TODAY

Outside of Star Trek, Rapp has appeared in films like Rent (2005), The Other Woman (2009) — and as a youngster in movies like Far from Home (1989), School Ties (1992), and Twister (1996).

He’s a prominent player in Discovery, a series that has received noteworthy praise from critics. The show has a ’73’ from Metacrtic.

Season Four of Discovery hits Paramount Plus on November 18.

Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. His odyssey with Star Trek starts from beginning to finish, watching ‘The Original Series,’ all the way to the present day. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ and The Doors (the band).