Holly Hunter has finally admitted that she enjoyed being barefoot on Star Trek: Starfleet Academy.
The 67-year-old American actress is playing Nahla Ake, chancellor of the newly relaunched Starfleet Academy and captain of the school’s field exercise starship the Athena, in the recently released television series created by Gaia Violo.
Her character has many of the same qualities as Picard, Captains Kirk and Janeway, and other commanding officers in the science-fiction franchise.
Nahla goes a little cosier, such as walking barefoot around her starship and bending herself like a cat in the captain’s chair.
Speaking to PEOPLE magazine, Hunter revealed that her character loves kicking off her shoes even when on duty.
The Oscar winner laughingly quipped, “I thought was really fantastic. That’s fun, because it’s the antithesis of what you should do – people are wearing protective footwear – boots, maybe with steel toes.”
“And there I am completely unprotected and trotting around, loping around, lazing around. Yeah, I like the opposition of it.”
“Because I’m the Starfleet chancellor as well as the captain, I wanted to avoid rigidity. I wanted to avoid formality and kind of a more militaristic posture. I wanted to be adaptable and leaning into them and curious and playful. And I wanted to be approachable. I wanted to lead with some humor,” Hunter explained.
Before concluding, it is pertinent to mention that Star Trek: Starfleet Academy debuted with two episodes on January 15, 2026, on paramount+. The ten-episode series will conclude in March of this year.
