It is not difficult at all to
find a Filipino or at least a Filipino-American making a mark on the general
American entertainment scene. From the big screen that is the domain of
Hollywood, to the small screen of various TV networks, to even the stage of
Broadway, Filipinos and Fil-Ams are there. One such Fil-American active in
American theatre is Isa Briones, daughter of longtime Filipino thespian in the
US Jon Jon Briones. In 2018 she played Peggy Schuyler and Maria Reynolds in the
touring production of “Hamilton.” That is merely the beginning for Briones, who
now finds herself in an even bigger galaxy as the female lead of a “Star Trek”
TV show.
Inquirer.net has it that actress Isa Briones has hit the big time
playing a major character in “Star Trek: Picard,” a streaming sci-fi web series
available stateside on CBS All Access. The show might already have the
undivided attention of lifelong “Trekkies” thanks to it being the franchise return
of British actor Patrick Stewart reprising as Jean-Luc Picard from “Star Trek:
The Next Generation” and its tie-in movies. But while watching “Star Trek:
Picard” is difficult for Filipinos not subscribed to All Access in North
America and Australia, they can take pride in Briones’ accomplishment.
Briones portrays Dahj, seemingly
an ordinary woman living on 24th Century Earth, the heart of the
United Federation of Planets. But when assassins from the destroyed planet
Romulus appear to kill her, she discovers superhuman abilities and flees to
seek help from the now-retired Admiral Picard (Stewart). The former captain of
the Federation starships Enterprise-D and
-E discovers that Dahj might actually
be the unrevealed biological daughter of his late Second Officer, the android
Data. But the scientific process that made her also guarantees the creation of
twins, and unknown to them, Dahj’s twin (also Briones) is with the Romulans.
“Star Trek” fans might be eager
to get to explore the franchise’s Federation following the destruction of the
Romulan home-world, alluded only but instrumental to the creation of the
alternate “Kelvin” timeline where the
reboot “Star Trek” films with Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto are set. With Isa
Briones however, the British-Filipina (and American citizen) actress is in a
position to cement her presence in a major TV-movie franchise, following her 2018
casting in “American Crime Story” on FX as Elena Cunanan alongside her father
Jon Jon as Modesto Cunanan. This was in parallel to her being on the “Hamilton”
touring production the same year.
More of Briones can be seen in “Star
Trek: Picard,” debuting one season of 10 episodes, with new episodes streaming
Thursdays on CBS All Access.
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