Sonequa Martin - Green as Michael Burnham: A Science Specialist on USS Discovery. Burnham was First Officer of the USS Shenzhou, where she was referred to as "Number One '' to honor the character of the same name portrayed by Majel Barrett in the original Star Trek pilot "The Cage ''. Burnham is a human who was raised following Vulcan culture and traditions by Sarek, and was not made a starship captain, like the protagonists of previous Star Trek series, "to see a character from a different perspective on the starship -- one who has different dynamic relationships with a captain, with subordinates, it gave us richer context ''. Fuller deliberately gave the character a traditionally male name, which he had done with the female leads of his previous series. Doug Jones as Saru: First Officer of the USS Discovery, Saru was previously Science Officer of the USS Shenzhou. Saru is the first Kelpien to enter Starfleet. Kelpiens, a new species created for Discovery, were hunted as prey on their home planet and thus evolved the ability to sense the coming of death, giving them a reputation for cowardice. Jones based Saru 's walk on that of a supermodel, out of necessity thanks to the boots he had to wear to portray the character 's hooved feet, forcing Jones to walk on the balls of his feet. The producers compared Saru to the characters Spock and Data from previous series. Shazad Latif as Ash Tyler: Chief of Security of the USS Discovery, Lieutenant Tyler was previously held as a prisoner of war by the Klingons. Latif was originally cast in the role of Kol. Latif noted that Tyler 's PTSD would be explored in the show as he attempts to return to his Starfleet life, calling Tyler "a very complex and painful and deep character. '' The character explores these issues with different characters, including Lorca due to their shared military background, and Burnham with whom "there 's a chemistry, a relationship ''. Anthony Rapp as Paul Stamets: A science officer specializing in astromycology (the study of fungi in space). The character is inspired by a real - life mycologist of the same name. He is the first openly gay character in a Star Trek series, and the showrunners "wanted to roll out that character 's sexuality the way people would roll out their sexuality in life. '' Rapp noted that Hikaru Sulu was portrayed as gay in the film Star Trek Beyond, calling that "a nice nod. But in this case, we actually get to see me with my partner in conversation, in our living quarters, you get to see our relationship over time, treated as any other relationship would be treated ''. Mary Wiseman as Sylvia Tilly: A cadet in her final year at Starfleet Academy, assigned to the Discovery. She works under Stamets aboard the Discovery, where she becomes roommates with Burnham. The character was included to represent people "at the very bottom of this ladder '' of the Starfleet hierarchy. She is "the most optimistic... has the biggest heart '', and showrunner Aaron Harberts described her as "sort of the soul of our show. '' Jason Isaacs as Gabriel Lorca: Captain of the Discovery, a "brilliant military tactician ''. Isaacs described the character as "probably more f-d up than any of '' the previously seen Star Trek captains. He plays the character with a slight southern U.S. accent, and had initially wanted to ad - lib a catchphrase for the character feeling that all Star Trek captains should have one, coming up with "git'r done '' which the writers turned down due to it being widely used and trademarked by Larry the Cable Guy.
who plays the science officer on star trek discovery
Anthony Rapp