A Filipino family space affair
When STAR TREK returned to television with STAR TREK: DISCOVERY, it wasn't long before another show was announced. This time, a pseudo-sequel to the beloved THE NEXT GENERATION, centered around Picard as a French vintner solving murders across the galaxy.
I'm kidding, but I'd watch the hell out of that show. STAR TREK: PICARD was about a semi-retired Admiral Picard still helping save the galaxy, tho'. The producers cast a daughter and her father, both of whom are Filipino!
Isa Briones as Data's twin android daughters and Kore Soong
Briones is another member of the Mestizo Mafia, with a Filipino father and Swedish/Irish mother. She comes from an acting family. Her father, Jon Jon, and brother, Teo, are also well-known actors. More on Jon Jon in a bit.
As a child, she began acting in 2008 in several TV commercials and feature films. Skip ahead 10 years, and she appeared alongside her father in an episode of THE ASSASSINATION OF GIANNI VERSACE: AMERICAN CRIME STORY.
But then came STAR TREK: PICARD. At the time, she was with the touring company for HAMILTON, playing two characters, which would come in handy for the multiple roles she'd end up portraying in PICARD. She landed the role of Data's twin android daughters—Soji and Dahj—after sending in a series of audition tapes.
But that's not the only pair of synthetic twins Briones would play. She'd later, in the first season, get painted gold like Brent Spiner's Data in TNG to portray Jana and Sutra. And in season two, she'd play yet another character — Kore Soong, daughter of 21st Century genetic scientist Adam Soong, an ancestor of Data's creator. It's all a little headache-inducing to track.
PICARD's third season took the series in a different direction and reunited the entire TNG cast, so Briones didn't return. Recently, she's played Dr. Trinity Santos in the highly-acclaimed THE PITT on HBO MAX (that's it's name again, right?).
Jon Jon Briones as Confederation Magistrate
Jon Jon Briones was born in Quezon City in the Philippines and is best know for his work in musical theater in the West End and Broadway. He was part of the original London production of MISS SAIGON, traveling with the production around the world. His work on a revival of the production earned him a Laurence Olivier Award nomination for best actor.
When the second season of AMERICAN CRIME STORY depicted Andrew Cunnan's killing spree that lead to Gianni Versace's murder, Briones played Andrew's father, Modesto.
In the second season of PICARD, he portrayed the husband of Seven of Nine in an alternate timeline where the Federation was a fascist, warmongering empire known as the Confederation of Earth. With a snap of his fingers, Q transported the PICARD characters into this bleak future.
Seven discovers she was never assimilated, so is only known as Annika Hansen. Um, President Annika Hansen, leader of this cruel imperial state. Oh, and she's in a loveless and potentially sexless marriage to Briones' character, known only as the Magistrate. When Picard and the others make a daring escape to restore the timeline, the Magistrate is killed.
Unfortunately, Briones didn't share any screen time with his daughter Isa. He has since appeared in many other shows and has returned to Broadway.
Okay, I think I got 'em all! Let me know if my old memory banks are on the fritz again!
Next week: More STAR TREK artifacts!
