Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Star Reveals Secret to Playing Scotty

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds star Martin Quinn has successfully taken on the role of an iconic Star Trek character. Quinn first appeared in the Strange New Worlds Season 2 finale as Montgomery “Scotty” Scott -- the chief engineer made famous by James Doohan in Star Trek and later played by Simon Pegg in the Kelvin Timeline movies.

The Scottish actor was made a series regular ahead of the third season of Strange New Worlds. Now, in a new interview with ScreenRant, Quinn is opening up about what makes it easier for him to play Scotty -- especially compared to another legendary Star Trek character.

“It’s not as bad as for Ethan [Peck], because I feel like Spock can't even put any hesitation in," Quinn said, "whereas I can kind of like scratch myself and ums and ahs, you know, lots of hesitation, but not as tricky."

While Peck must maintain precision while delivering his lines -- reminiscent of original Spock actor Leonard Nimoy -- Quinn said he has a bit more leeway when it comes to playing Scotty. He'd previously spoken about how the character has "a long way to go" before he resembles the Scotty who was a fan-favorite on The Original Series.

“He’s got a lot of learning to do," Quinn explained. "And he’s not quite the miracle worker, quite yet."

Ethan Peck Has Been Nervous Playing Strange New Worlds' Spock

Quinn's comments support Ethan Peck's own reflections on playing Spock. Though Peck has received plenty of praise for his portrayal of Spock on Star Trek: Srange New Worlds, the actor has also been honest about his challenges in the role. "Portraying Spock's emotions is a constant source of anxiety," Peck said before the Season 3 premiere.

"I think the writers did a great job of putting me, the actor Ethan that plays the character of Spock, in really uncomfortable situations. At the same time, I relate to what they’re doing to Spock in these situations on the Enterprise, so there's a lot of art imitating life."

Season 3 includes an emotional subplot for Spock, as his former love interest Christine Chapel has a new man in her life. Chapel is romantically involved with Dr. Roger Korby, and it's already been confirmed that Spock and Korby will have to work together during the season. As for Scotty, he and Pelia (Carol Kane) continue to collaborate in Engineering.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is now streaming on Paramount+