Star Trek: Lower Decks season 1 ended with Ensign Bradward Boimler (Jack Quaid) leaving his friends aboard the USS Cerritos and transferring to the USS Titan commanded by Captain Will Riker (Jonathan Frakes). Star Trek: Lower Decks season 1 is now available on DVD, Blu-ray, and limited edition steelbook. When Lower Decks season 2 premieres on Paramount+ in August, Boimler will be serving on the bridge of the Titan without his best friend, Ensign Beckett Mariner (Tawny Newsome) and the other Lower Deckers.
Screen Rant spoke to Jack Quaid about Boimler's new life aboard the Titan in Star Trek: Lower Decks season 2, the secrets of Brad's successful friendship with Mariner, cosplaying as Sexy Boimler at the next Star Trek convention, and what advice Boimler would give Hughie on The Boys, and vice versa.
Screen Rant: Hi, Jack. Thank you for Boiming me up.
Jack Quaid: (laughs) Did you just say 'Boiming me up"?
Screen Rant: I sure did.
Jack Quaid: Oh, that's incredible. Thank you so much.
Screen Rant: So how’s life on the Titan?
Jack Quaid: Life on the Titan for Boimler is great. It's everything he ever wanted. We released a teaser trailer a little while ago and the Titan was in a bit of a battle, and Boimler's screaming, of course, like he does. It's interesting with Boimler on the Titan. It's everything he ever wanted but he's still Boimer, he doesn't have much field experience, so it's a little bit of a learning curve for him and a bit of adjustment. It was a really interesting thing to play and to record. I can't wait for audiences to see it. It's really, really fun.
Screen Rant: Do you get a chance to actually record opposite Jonathan Frakes?
Jack Quaid: No, I never actually got a chance to record opposite him. With the COVID year, it wasn't really possible. The interesting thing is I was in the middle of recording Lower Decks season 1 and I was out here in Toronto filming The Boys season 2. I did a convention here with Karl Urban and randomly, Karl just introduced me to Jonathan Frakes and we had dinner. He was at that convention as well.
I was a bit like Boimler because I was a really big fan and I was really nervous. He took one look at me and he was like, "Oh Jack! Of course! You come with me on my ship!" He spoiled the end of season 1 for me before I'd even read the script. Mike McMahan had not told me the ending yet but Jonathan Frakes did. We got to know each other and he's so nice and so cool. He's just one of the most kind-hearted people I've ever met and it's so cool to be joining him vocally on the ship. It's really awesome.
Screen Rant: One of the reasons why I love Lower Decks is Mariner and Boimler's friendship. For me, a lot of Star Trek is about best friends going out into space and having crazy adventures. You have Kirk and Spock and Data and Geordi. What's your take on why Boimler and Mariner are such a good duo?
Jack Quaid: They do have that classic odd couple sensibility. [Mariner] is brash and messy and doesn't always play by the book. Not only that but the reasons why she doesn't play by the book are so interesting and cool. And [Boimler] is clean, he's completely by the book but he doesn't have any field experience, he's not really good in a situation where he has to think on his feet. Whenever you have two characters like that coming together it's a really interesting combo.
I think what helps that a lot is for the first season, pre-COVID, Tawny Newsome and I got to record a lot of our dialogue in the same room so we got used to each other's rhythms. In season 2 we couldn't do that as much but by that point I already kind of knew what she would bring to the table and more or less what she would try to improvise. She's just a master improviser.
I really love that friendship [between Boimler and Mariner]. I think maybe one aspect of why they're a great duo is the fact that... Some people have asked me if I think they'll get together romantically? And I never really thought that was in the cards for them. I think what makes them so interesting is they have almost a will-they-won't-they friendship where you're rooting for a friendship to work out, which is something I don't really think we see a lot of.
They have that kind of rom-com back-and-forth but it's two people who are best friends who won't admit that they're best friends. And I think that's such an interesting dynamic, especially in that first season. Eventually, at the end of the season, Boimler confesses that Mariner is his best friend. That's just so sweet. I don't think we see enough of that and I love it. I really do.
Screen Rant: The episode I thought Lower Decks really found another gear was “Cupid’s Errant Arrow” because you really got to see how much Mariner cared for Bradward.
Jack Quaid: Yeah, she actually really cares about him. I loved recording that episode. First of all, Brad in any kind of romantic scenario is hilarious to me. The scene that was my favorite to record was the scene where he goes to the cafeteria in the outfit he had the computer synthesize made from the coolest outfits of anyone in Earth history. And just being able to say the line, "Computer, beer, big, hot!" is just so funny to me.
Screen Rant: On Twitter, you said you’d cosplay as Sexy Boimler at Destination Star Trek: Chicago. Are you gonna deliver on that promise?
Jack Quaid: Oh my God, yeah, of course. I don't know when conventions come back but I will say that whenever I do a Star Trek convention - and I will eventually! - I'll be there. I will have purple hair and I will try my best at the uniform. Cosplaying is a whole deal and I have so much respect for the people who do it really well. I don't know if I'll be able to nail it but I will at least have the purple hair and do my best. Because, you know, we're back, we're doing conventions, we get to see people again! I've got to celebrate. I'll totally rock the Boimler look, absolutely.
Screen Rant: You also star as Hughie on The Boys. What advice or wisdom would Boimler give Hughie and vice versa?
Jack Quaid: Oh man, that's a really good question. I don't know if they would get along really well or if they would hate each other. Because Boimler is so by-the-book and Hughie, I thnk, would like to be by-the-book but he's past that now. He's already corrupted in so many ways.
So I think Boimler would say to Hughie, "Hey, you gotta just follow the rules a little bit more. Why are you among these criminals?" and Hughie would say, "Because they're my friends and I don't need this from you." I think the best piece of advice is from Hughie to Boimler saying, "Hey man, you gotta relax a little bit. I've been through so much and I know you have too. Freaking out about it doesn't help. I've learned that." And then [Hughie] would give [Boimler] some L'Oreal Strawberry Smoothie shampoo and that'd be the end of it.
Screen Rant: Obviously, at the end of season 1, Boimler jumped at the chance for a promotion on the Titan. It happened so fast, do you think it was hard for him to break up the band? Or did he not think about it and just do it?
Jack Quaid: I think he jumped at the chance and wasn't thinking about it. I'm sure it weighs on him. He left without saying goodbye. He just did it and jumped at the chance. I think he was just so excited that he wasn't thinking. But in the back of his mind, he misses his friends. He realizes that he left unceremoniously and he feels bad about it for sure.
Screen Rant: How would you like to see Boimler grow and change in season 2?
Jack Quaid: Great question. I would like to see him become a bit more confident, a little bit more self-assured. I'd like to see him in more terrifying situations and see how he gets out of them. It's gonna be really cool to see him on the Titan because you're seeing him in the element he thinks he should be in but it's a different ship. He doesn't have his old friends to back him up. Boimler on his own is really interesting and he learns a lot about himself. That's what I want to see.