On Star Trek: Lower Decks, Commander Jack Ransom (Jerry O’Connell) is the U.S.S. Cerritos’ loyal first officer. And while it may be easy to assume he’s a Brannigan-esque buffoon, there’s more to Ransom than meets the eye.
Comics Beat caught up with O’Connell over Zoom to learn more about his performance as Ransom. We asked about his perspective on Ransom over the years, about improv in the recording booth and (naturally) about what he’d order from the food replicator.
This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
AVERY KAPLAN: How has your perspective on Ransom changed over the years (if it has)?
JERRY O’CONNELL: You know, I have an interesting insight into being a first officer in Starfleet. And it’s because I live with another first officer in Starfleet.
It would be like if I was roommates with Jonathan Frakes, and we came home from work and poured ourselves drinks and were like, “Hey. How was your day on the bridge?” “It was good, it was crazy. How was your day on the bridge?” “Crazy. A lot of crazy things out there.”
It’s been so fun playing Ransom, living with Rebecca Romijn who plays Una Chin-Riley on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. It’s been such a fun ride for us, as a family; as a couple; as two people in Starfleet. Going to cons, meeting fans. You know, the two shows are totally different.
So I don’t know if my perspective has changed. My perspective of Star Trek has changed. It’s been really fun hanging with the fanbase. I go to a lot of cons with my wife, I’m always her plus one. Come to a con if my wife is there, I’m always there; I hang out in line, I take selfies. I’m always chilling. I love walking the floor. It’s just really fun being a part of Starfleet.
I knew Wil Wheaton personally, and I had heard what he had to say about being Crusher and being a part of the Starfleet family. It’s really a special thing. It’s changed my wife and my lives.
KAPLAN: Before being cast as Ransom, did you have a personal history with Star Trek?
O’CONNELL: No. I knew Wil Wheaton was Crusher, and I’d done Stand By Me with Wil.
I’m think when I got Lower Decks, my wife had just been on Star Trek: Discovery playing Una. Because Strange New Worlds was a spinoff of Discovery after the U.S.S. Enterprise comes and helps the U.S.S. Discovery.
And I remember auditioning for Mike McMahan, our creator of Lower Decks, and I said to my wife, “How fun would it be if we’re both first officers?” And it’s funny: when you’re an actor, you usually don’t get everything you audition for. And in the voice acting world, I was just starting to get a little busy. I think I’d been Superman in some of the DC animated stuff. So I wasn’t the busiest actor in the voice acting world.
It was so crazy that both my wife and I joined Starfleet sort of at the same time. And it’s really been a really fun ride.
And now my wife works with Frakes on Strange New Worlds. The three of us go out and we’re like, “Three number ones walk into a bar.” We’ve got to get Doug Jones in there, too. “Four number ones walk into a bar.”
KAPLAN: You hosted virtual events for Star Trek Day and First Contact Day. Do you have any anecdotes about these experiences you can share?
O’CONNELL: It was pretty nerve wracking, because I have to admit: I’m not Wil Wheaton. I do not host The Ready Room. I do not have the breadth of knowledge that Wil has. And for sure, Wil was unbookable — they couldn’t pay him. He had a previous gig; he couldn’t be there. And it’s just my job not to mess up that bad.
Because I go on Reddit and I read comments… I’m just that person. And I didn’t want to mess up. That’s a little scary when you’re hosting. That’s for people like you, that’s why you get the big bucks. I just play one on TV.
KAPLAN: Are any of Ransom’s lines improv’d?
O’CONNELL: Yeah, we do do some improv. But it all comes from McMahan and the writers. If I improv anything, it’s an offshoot of what’s been on the page.
I knew this was a really funny show when — I’m pretty sure it made it into the cut — when the U.S.S. Cerritos goes to Deep Space 9 (in season 3’s “Hear All, Trust Nothing”). And I think its my character, it was a bunch of lines — I’m sorry if I’m forgetting, we’ve done 50 of these shows, so please forgive me.
And I think it was McMahan gave me a line. He said, “When the Cerritos is circling, say, ‘Man, that is one ugly space station.’” And it was so funny to me. It takes your breath away, too, a little bit, because you’re like, “I can’t say that. They’ll spit on me at the next con.” Somebody will literally be like, “How dare you say that about Deep Space 9! The most beautiful space station in all of Starfleet!”
It’s those jokes about Starfleet that I think is what makes Lower Decks such a special part of Star Trek. Or there was another ad-lib they had me do, which again, I forget if it made it or not — when the Cerritos is coming into Deep Space 9 and McMahan had me say, “Just keep circling around, until we see an open space.” And that just came from, every time you saw it in the establishing shots, there was all these ships circling. Those ad-libs… it’s jokes that come from Starfleet.
McMahan explains it better. They’re not over-your-head jokes, like, “Man, that Gorn is so ugly. How ugly is he?” It’s the downbeat jokes. It’s just good stuff. Hence why I think we get so much respect in the Star Trek world.
KAPLAN: What would you, personally, order from the food replicator?
O’CONNELL: I’d want to really try and confuse it. Because it’s fun to try and confuse AI, things like that. I’d want a rainbow-flavored snow cone. Good luck, computer. Let’s see you do that. Let’s see you do it.
I love it. It’s my favorite when Siri or Alexa says, “I don’t have an answer for that.” I’m like, “Yeah. Gotcha. Because you’ll never be like me! You’ll never have this!” (Points to brain)
I would say: rainbow-flavored snow cone. Good luck, replicator. Let’s go.
New episodes of Star Trek: Lower Decks are available for streaming on Paramount+ on Thursdays.
Keep up with all of The Beat’s Star Trek coverage here.
