Actress Michelle Hurd loves being on TV.
“I always say I’m a TV whore. I don’t know if that tracks correctly, but I’m built for television. I love the long hours, I love the intense work, I love being able to tell a story over a long period. I think you get to know the characters more fully than when you get to do film,” said Hurd, who’s married to actor Garret Dillahunt (Deadwood). They split their time between their homes in New York and Los Angeles.
The veteran actress – who’s appeared on Blindspot, Ash vs. Evil Dead, The Glades, Gossip Girl, Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Lethal Weapon, Malcolm & Eddie, 90210, Hawaii Five-0, and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit – currently plays Cmdr. Raffi Musiker on Star Trek: Picard, which recently completed its second season on Paramount+. The 11th TV series in the 56-year-old Trek franchise that was created by the late Gene Roddenberry, Picard has raised Hurd’s profile.
“It’s interesting because of how I look… It’s always been challenging for me to hide because I have this curly hair and this low voice. People will always recognize me when I’m out and about,” she said. “The writers have given me an opportunity as an actor to exercise my abilities unlike any show I’ve ever done. It doesn’t matter whether I’ve been on a procedural that has many accolades, this show has given me the ability to allow myself to grow as an actress, to challenge myself as an actress, and to share that with the world. I will forever be in their debt for that. People see me as more than just a bunch of curls on my head.”
A native New Yorker, Hurd is the youngest of three daughters to the late actor Hugh Hurd (1959’s Shadows) and psychologist Dr. Merlyn Hurd. She is a graduate of Saint Ann’s School in Brooklyn and Boston University. She also studied at London’s National Theater. Performing is in the blood for Hurd and her sisters.
“(My parents) met on-stage in a theater company,” recalled Hurd. “When the three of us were born, my mom decided to get a real job because (the family needed a steady income). She got her doctorate while I was in college. My second sister (Adrienne) is a dance teacher in Albany. My eldest sister (Denise) teaches acting, choreography, and stage combat.”
Ripped from the Headlines
Hurd made her Broadway debut in 1996 with the play Getting Away with Murder. Other stage credits include Hamlet, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and Othello. One of her earliest appearances on TV was playing ADA Reynolds on New York Undercover, which was created by Dick Wolf, creator/godfather of the Law & Order and Chicago franchises. Hurd also appeared on Wolf’s L&O and short-lived Players. From there, she went to SVU, where she portrayed Det. Monique Jeffries for the first two seasons. She left SVU because she felt Jeffries wasn’t getting enough character development.
“I enjoy Dick (Wolf). He’s a consummate professional. He knows exactly how to produce good content,” she said. “As a native New Yorker, I really appreciated him, especially back in the day when there had been strikes in New York and work had left New York. Dick was there. He kept his work there. He kept us all employed. For every New York actor, it’s almost like a rite of passage to do some kind of guest spot on (L&O). I had a great time with him. I enjoyed all the shows I’ve done with him and hope to work with him again in the future.”
Hurd laughed when asked what she thinks happened to Jeffries.
“I would like to put this out to the writers since we now have (Associate Justice of the Supreme Court) Ketanji Brown Jackson: Maybe Monique has a position as a Supreme Court justice. Wouldn’t that be cool?” she said.
Hurd isn’t surprised SVU is still on the air, 23 seasons strong.
“The thing about (L&O) is – this is my take – it’s user-friendly. When you tune in, you know you’ll see a crime, have a couple of suspects, maybe some red herrings, an investigation, a courtroom scene, and a conclusion. That’s very satisfying,” she explained. “Not only is it user-friendly, but there’s a placard in every scene to let you know exactly where you are and what you’ll see. You can literally sit down with the family… and know exactly what you’re gonna get. That’s tried and true. That is a tried-and-true formula. I’m not surprised at all that it’s lasted that long.”
She continued: “The sad part about it is it’s, as the mantra goes, ‘ripped from the headlines.’ Unfortunately, we will always have stories that will be in the headlines that you can make some incredible dramas about; that’s just human nature. Until there’s no stories being ripped from the headlines, I think there’ll always be a (L&O). That’s okay because (L&O) will tell those stories, then on Star Trek we’ll tell the stories about how we can fix that and come together.”
Space – The Final Frontier
Growing up, Michelle Hurd watched 1966-69’s Star Trek: The Original Series with her family. Nichelle Nichols’ Nyota Uhura is not only the first major female character (as well as the first Black female character) in Trek canon, but she’s also important to the African-American community as a whole. Nichols planned to quit TOS, but the late civil rights activist/leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. convinced her to remain because she played a character of color who is an equal instead of someone subservient. Former President Barack Obama is also an Uhura fan.
“I’m biracial – my father’s Black, my mother’s White. Back in the day when my eldest sister was born, there were still states that wouldn’t acknowledge my parents’ marriage,” explained Hurd. “As a family, my father knew it was really important to see his children represented in entertainment, and Star Trek was probably one of the only shows we as a family would sit down and watch together.”
She continued: “I actually had a real flashback moment once I got this job… It brought me back to how smart (my father) was and how much he really got it – what (Roddenberry) was trying to put out there. It’s important to tell the stories of people who don’t necessarily have the voice and the platform. It’s important for us to be inclusive when we’re entertaining and trying to impact and change the world. It was a beautiful full circle for me when I got (the part). The first thing I thought was my dad’s probably so happy and so proud of me right now.”
Complicated Relationships
In Picard, Sir Patrick Stewart reprises his role as Capt. Jean-Luc Picard from 1987-94’s Star Trek: The Next Generation and its subsequent four movies. His last appearance as Picard was 2002’s Star Trek: Nemesis before reprising it in the first season of Picard, which aired in 2020.
No longer in command of the U.S.S. Enterprise, Picard, who rose to the rank of admiral, has long left Starfleet and living in retirement on his family’s vineyard in France. He is deeply haunted by the death of Data (Brent Spiner) in Nemesis and the destruction of Romulus in 2009’s Star Trek reboot.
However, he returns to the fold when he encounters Data’s apparent “daughter,” an android named Soji (Isa Briones), who’s on the run from the Romulans. Rather than reassembling the old Enterprise team (although Jonathan Frakes’ Will Riker and Marina Sirtis’ Deanna Troi appeared in Season 1), Picard handpicks a ragtag crew, including Raffi, mercenary Cristóbol Rios (Santiago Cabrera) and – most notably – Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) from Star Trek: Voyager.
When Picard and Raffi meet again, she is very mad at Picard (whom she calls “J.L.”). It’s revealed Picard and Raffi proposed a plan to evacuate and relocate the Romulans after the destruction of their planet. However, Starfleet rejected it and Picard resigned in protest. As a result, a distraught Raffi, who lost prominence in Starfleet, alienated her family, including her son Gabriel Hwang (Mason Gooding), and turned to alcohol and drugs for comfort.
“After (what) happened with the Romulans, she tumbled back into her addiction and held (Picard) responsible, which is not fair, but that’s what people do when they have addictions: You end up putting blame in other places,” said Hurd. “At the end of the first season, there is so much love and so respect, and she knows that Picard is part of the reason she has a life and a pathway forward. Picard and Raffi have a long history and a very strong bond that’s like… I don’t know if I’d say father-daughter or mentor-student – kindred spirits? But they’re connected. They’re absolutely connected.”
By the end of the first season, Raffi and Seven are romantically involved. Their road is rocky, but Hurd promises fans a satisfying resolution to their relationship by the end of the second season without giving too much away.
“Who would not fall in love with Seven? Just sayin,’ okay? Just sayin’. I quite enjoy how those two came to be these two strong, independent, passionate, crazy, driven but vulnerable and loving and gentle beings in the most powerful sense,” she said. “They were drawn to each other. Raffi sees Seven so clearly and honors her so much and just wants to be part of her life. She wants to be part even if… there’s not gonna be white picket fences and rainbows and unicorns jumping all over the place, but there’s a deep love and mutual respect and desire for each to be safe and loved.”
Hurd continued: “They want the best for each other. I think it’s a complicated relationship, but I think it’s also a (good portrayal of) a relationship between two women who have lived life. Honestly, I feel like it’s more relatable than a lot of relationships portrayed on television because it’s got all the cracks and flaws and you get to see them interacting in real-time with bickering and respect and a whole bunch of love.”
Back to the Future
In the second season, Picard has returned to Starfleet in the role of chancellor of Starfleet Academy. Picard encounters the Borg and dies, along with his allies. However, Picard’s old enemy, the godlike being Q (John DeLancie) returns, saves him, shunting them all into an alternate reality. In this brave, new world, there is no Starfleet, but the Confederation of Earth, a xenophobic, totalitarian empire that has either systematically enslaved or eradicated alien species. Picard is the greatest military leader of the Confederation. To save the future and restore the timeline, Picard and his allies must journey into the past to 2024 to erase the pivotal event that leads to this dark future.
One highlight for Hurd from the second season is working with Back to the Future star Lea Thompson, who has branched into directing in the last several years. Thompson directed two back-to-back episodes and even made a cameo in another episode.
“Lea was great. She directed a couple of heavy ones for me – I had the car chase (scene), as well as Elnor’s (Evan Evagoria) passing, so those were heavy ones for me. First, I had to get over the whole thing of ‘Oh my god, it’s Lea Thompson from (BTTF)!’ because you can’t help it. She’s really sweet, funny, self-deprecating.”
According to Hurd, Thompson’s an actor’s director.
“She knows how to talk to an actor, she knows how to communicate what she needs for the camera from the actor, she knows how to keep a set focused. The whole car stuff took three days for us to shoot. She was on top of these rigs that were on top of the car, in front of the car, on these trucks. She was like a boss! She was just phenomenal! In those emotional moments with Elnor, she was great and emotional. She would come back from video village crying. She was able to guide me through what we needed to do in those scenes. It was just a gift. She’s a real amazing director and a real cool lady.”
It was recently announced that Stewart will reunite with the cast of TNG – Frakes, Sirtis, Spiner, Gates McFadden (Dr. Beverly Crusher), Michael Dorn (Worf), and Levar Burton (Geordi LaForge) – in the third and final season of Picard, which will debut in 2023. Ryan will return for the third season, too. Some actors won’t be returning, though, including Cabrera, Evagora, Briones, Alison Pill (Dr. Agnes Jurati), and Annie Wersching (the Borg Queen).
But what about Hurd?
“I believe I can say that I am in Season 3,” she said. “Yes, yes, I am.”
/Paramount+ © 2022 ViacomCBS)
Royal Flush?
When Hurd auditioned for Raffi, she didn’t know she was auditioning for Picard. In fact, she was under the impression it was called “Royal Flush” and her character’s name was Alanna, not Raffi. Further, she had to have foot surgery the next day.
“When I read the breakdown – I was in New York at the time – a next-day self-tape audition came into my email at 9:30 p.m.,” she said. “I thought, ‘Let me be a good actor and read what this is about.’ I read the breakdown of this character and just knew I had to give it a go because it was such a good, full, complete, complicated description of a perfectly imperfect human being, which I think we all are. I related to her immediately. I’m so very thankful because bringing her to life these last three seasons has been the best gift of my entire life.”
After reading the 11-page scene, Hurd realized it was Trek when she saw the names of the executive producers, including Stewart, Alex Kurtzman, and Akiva Goldsmith. Kurtzman is the one who oversees the franchise today.
“Then all of the sudden, you’re like, ‘Wait a second. Something’s up here.’ You start to think, ‘This has something to do with Star Trek.’ I didn’t know what that meant, I didn’t know it was (Picard), I didn’t know that Patrick was coming back. They didn’t tell me until after I was being considered for the part, then I realized it was Star Trek,” said Hurd.
The first scene where Picard meets Raffi at her trailer was also Hurd’s first day on the Picard set and her first day working with Stewart.
“I was so nervous. As you can imagine, I’m a big fan just like everybody else. I wanted to be calm and cool and seem like I was okay, but my knees were shaking that you could hear them. He just put me at ease immediately. He’s a beautiful soul. He’s been nothing but generous with me. He respects the show and the fans so much. The most important thing to him when we’re working is telling the story as truthfully and as authentically as we can in the most respectful way to Star Trek,” said Hurd. “I’ve learned so much by following his lead and being conscious of something that doesn’t ring true and (speaking) on it. Maybe there’s something that needs to be adjusted and if we do it, it’ll only make the story better.”
She continued: “I just love him. I really do… I’m giddy to say he’s on my phone. I can speed-dial him at any time. He makes me smile and the stories I could share with you about him between takes would bring you to your knees because you just don’t expect Sir Patrick Stewart to say these things. He’s wickedly funny and just a glorious person. I’m so honored that I get to call him friend. Not only do I get to work with him and share the screen with him, he’s now my friend. It’s a gift.”
Hurd also praised Ryan.
“I would work with her any day of the week. She and I are like two peas in pod. We clicked immediately. We work very similarly. She makes me laugh. Her little laugh is so infectious. She’s a perfectionist but not one in the way it’s crazy – she’s really good at what she does, she knows what works and what doesn’t work,” said Hurd. “I feel like I’ve learned from her as much as I’ve learned from Patrick. Bottom line: We really love working together. We have such a good time. There’s never any drama. We got stuff done. We make each other smile at the same time. I respect the heck out of her. She’s an amazing creature.”
She added with a laugh: “If anyone ever wants to do a ‘Star Trek: Raffi and Seven’ show, I’m in.”
“Unbelievably Liberating”
For Hurd, it’s not only surreal to go from being a Trek fan to being a member of the Trek franchise, but also an honor. And – at the risk of being redundant – a gift.
“I know I keep saying it: It’s been such a gift. I’ve been an actor for three decades now. Even starting in the Dick Wolf world, I did three different shows with Dick before I was on SVU. That was a pretty huge thing and I’ll always be known for the Dick Wolf world and whatever,” she said. “Stepping into – first off – the world of sci-fi has been unbelievably liberating. It’s an amazing world – it can reach more people I think than you realize. You can tell truthful stories… in a much more inclusive way than ever in any kind of procedural I’ve ever been on.”
Hurd is taken aback by Trek’s large, loyal, and vocal fanbase.
“The biggest difference I’ve found being on Star Trek and in this iconic world is our fans aren’t fans – our fans are family. It’s part of a collective,” she said. “My cheeks hurt because I’m smiling because I’m sitting there and receiving so much love and support. People tell me stories – especially because of Raffi and her addiction – about their journeys and their struggles. I value so much of what I’ve been a part of now. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever experienced, and I am a lucky, lucky lady that I get to work with this amazing cast.”
She continued: “This has been a gift that will continue to give for the rest of my life. I am incredibly humbled by it. I understand the importance of it… I think it’s because of what Roddenberry really wanted to do, holding a mirror up to society. The stories we tell in Star Trek are about hope, possibility, inclusion, diversity, giving a voice to voiceless people, being a platform where there’ve been platforms missing. It’s about coming together in this crazy little world that we might make a better place, a better planet for all of us by telling these kinds of stories. To be a part of that is a gift.”
