Summary
- The Progenitor Captain Burnham meets reveals ancient technology with the power of creation, and charges her with choosing its fate.
- A Nigerian actress portrays the Progenitor in Discovery's finale, presenting Burnham with a moral dilemma.
- Salome Jens played the original Progenitor, called an Ancient Humanoid, in Star Trek: TNG.
Who plays the Progenitor Captain Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) meets in Star Trek: Discovery's series finale? The USS Discovery's season-long search for the Progenitors' technology finally comes to a close in the series finale, as Captain Burnham literally comes face-to-face with one of the creators of humanoid life in the galaxy. Since Burnham has proven herself worthy by passing every test to acquire the power of creation, the Progenitor charges Michael with the awesome responsibility of choosing what to do with ancient and powerful technology.
First introduced in Star Trek: The Next Generation season 6, episode 20, "The Chase," the Progenitors are responsible for creating all humanoid life in Star Trek, in all its diverse forms. Written by Kyle Jarrow and Michelle Paradise and directed by Olatunde Osunsanmi, Star Trek: Discovery's finale, "Life, Itself," reveals a bit more about the Progenitors and their powerful technology. Although Burnham never learns exactly how the technology works, she discovers that it actually predates the Progenitors themselves. The Progenitor Burnham encounters reveals that there could be "a cycle of creators and creations, countless times over," going back who knows how long.
Who Played The Progenitor In Star Trek: Discovery’s Finale?
A new actress embodies the Progenitor.
Nigerian actress and model Somkele Iyamah-Idhalama played the Progenitor in Star Trek: Discovery's season 5 finale. Although the Progenitors and their technology have been at the center of Star Trek: Discovery season 5, much about their species remains a mystery. Iyamah-Idhalama's Progenitor has been waiting in a "liminal space-time" for someone like Burnham to arrive ever since Dr. Marina Derex visited centuries ago. This Progenitor offers to show Burnham how to operate the life-creating technology, but Burnham comes to the conclusion that no one should have access to that kind of power. The Progenitor reveals that she finds "meaning in embracing difference" and that the technology was originally used to create diverse beings to populate the galaxy. But Burnham notes that her galaxy is already home to countless diverse lifeforms.
Born in Nigeria, Somkele Iyamah-Idhalama has been acting since 2013 and has appeared in shows such as Gidi Up, Coronor, The Expanse, Station Eleven, and Titans. On the film side of things, Iyamah-Idhalama played Dr. Ada Igonoh in 93 Days, a Nigerian film recounting the 2014 Ebola outbreak in Nigeria. She won numerous awards for her performance. Iyamah-Idhalama has also appeared in 2018's Lara and the Beat and 2020's A Soldier's Story: Return from the Dead. Iyamah-Idhalama has been involved in some of the Nigerian film industry's most notable productions, and she manages the fashion brand, Andrea Iyamah, which was founded by her younger sister, Dumebi Iyamah.
In the 2023 film Orah , Iyamah-Idhalama portrayed Lace alongside fellow Nigerian actress Oyin Oladejo as Orah. Oladejo played Lt. Commander Joann Owosekun in 49 episodes of Star Trek: Discovery.
What Happened To Star Trek: TNG’s Original Progenitor Actor?
Salome Jens is currently 89 years old.
Back in 1993, actress Salome Jens portrayed the original Progenitor (credited as "Ancient Humanoid") in Star Trek: The Next Generation's "The Chase." When Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and the crew of the USS Enterprise-D solve a puzzle using different DNA samples, a holographic projection appears depicting an ancient humanoid played by Salome Jens. Although these humanoids were not originally named, Star Trek: Discovery has dubbed them the Progenitors. This Progenitor reveals that her people seeded planets throughout the galaxy with their DNA, as there were no other humanoid species in the galaxy at the time.
Actress Salome Jens began acting in the late 1950s and has appeared in numerous films and television shows over the decades. After TNG, Jens went on to portray the female Changeling in fifteen episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Jens' last performance was a voiceover role for the animated film Norm of the North in 2016. She is currently 89 years old. Although the Progenitors remain a mysterious ancient humanoid species, Star Trek: Discovery revealed more about their history and technology. Somkele Iyamah-Idhalama became only the second actress to portray one of these enigmatic beings, following in the footsteps of Salome Jens.
