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Star Trek: Lower Decks’ Jack Quaid on character’s sexuality and wanting Doctor Who role

"He definitely could be"

By Alastair James

Words: Alastair James; pictures: Twitter/@JackQuaid92 and @sailordeath

Jack Quaid has said in a new interview that his character in the animated series Star Trek: Lower Decks could be queer.

The actor voices the role of Bradward Boimler, a junior officer with Starfleet, in the show.

Speaking to SFX for their new issue, The Boys star was asked outright about Boimler’s sexuality and said: “He definitely could be.”

“I’m not gonna rule it out”

The star added: “That’s what I love about Star Trek, it’s an aspirational future and sexuality is a spectrum.”

He continued: “I would not rule it out. I don’t know if we explore that with him this season as much, but maybe in the future. I’m not gonna rule it out.”

In one scene from the eighth episode of the second series, Boimler can be seen with his legs spread akimbo and some beefy-looking guys behind him… Quaid later tweeted he didn’t know that shot existed until he watched the episode.

(Although said moment may actually have something to do with a virus making people go crazy and have sex with one another…)

Quaid’s comments come after the showrunner, Mike McMahan discussed a bisexual character from the same show, Beckett Mariner.

In 2020 he confirmed that Mariner would get a female lover in the show’s second season, which is currently streaming on Paramount+ in the US. In an interview with Variety, McMahan said: “Every Starfleet officer is probably at the baseline bisexual, in a way,” but also admitted things could have been stated more explicitly.

Quaid, who will be taking on the role of Superman in a new animated series, was also asked about other iconic franchises he’d like to add to his collection. He said Ridley Scott’s Alien franchise, explaining: “I just think every movie in that canon of films is just interesting to me.”

The actor also indicated his interest in taking over the role of Doctor Who saying: “I’ll buff up for Doctor Who and I’ll have the worst British accent any of you have ever heard, and you’ll all be so mad at me!”

We’ll see how that one pans out. As we understand, the current Doctor, Jodie Whittaker, is due to step down from the role next year after a six-part series and three special episodes, which is expected to culminate in the Doctor’s regeneration. 

It’s already been confirmed that Russell T. Davies, who brought the show back in 2005, will be returning from 2023.

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