Starfleet Academy’s Breakout Star Is the Genius Behind This 15-Year-Old Sci-Fi Hit

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy’s breakout star is the genius behind this 15-year-old underrated science fiction masterpiece. Actress Brit Marling provides the computer voice on the show, stepping into a role filled by the likes of Majel Barrett. Marling has extensive acting credits, some within the sci-fi genre, and one film from 2011 stands out above the rest.

Brit Marling’s ascension to a major role in the Star Trek franchise marks a new chapter in her career. After graduating from Georgetown University, Marling would go on to star in, as well as write and co-produce, a run of indie films that cemented her status as an exciting newcomer.

One of them was Another Earth, directed by Mike Cahill, and co-written with Marling.

Another Earth Was a Unique Take on a Classic Science Fiction Concept

Brit Marling Plays A Young Woman At a Crossroads in Her Life

The idea of a twin Earth in our solar system is not new to the science fiction genre, but Another Earth might be the most thoughtful consideration of the concept. One day, a duplicate Earth appears in the sky. No one knows where it came from, and the movie does not linger on this question at all.

Naturally, people are curious, and even afraid, of what might be on the other Earth. Marling plays Rhoda Williams, a brilliant young woman on the verge of graduating from high school and attending a great college. The night of her graduation, she gets drunk and hits a car, killing a mother and her child, leaving the father a widower.

As the film unfolds, Rhoda must come to terms with having killed two people as well as her now uncertain future. Earth’s scientists then plan a crewed mission to its twin, and Rhoda applies for the job, seeing it as a way to redeem herself. Oddly enough, she has an affair with the man whose family she killed in the accident.

Another Earth Launched Brit Marling's Career

Marling Has Written and Starred in Other High Concept Science Fiction Projects

Another Earth is a slow-burn film, but it is worth a watch. The movie deftly weaves together high-concept science fiction, compelling characters and philosophy into one of the best science fiction films of the 2010s. It screened at the Sundance Film Festival, winning the Alfred P. Sloan Prize and appeared in numerous year-end “best of” lists.

The film’s success can be attributed to a handful of factors, and Brit Marling’s performance is one of them. She breathes convincing life into Rhoda, taking audiences on a journey to redemption. The movie shows these roads are not always a smooth path, and can sometimes take unexpected, but ultimately necessary, directions.

Another Earth launched Brit Marling’s career. She racked up several acting and writing award nominations in the wake of the film’s success, which opened doors for her. To her credit, Marling has chosen more contemplative projects, such as the movie Sound of My Voice, made concurrently with Another Earth, as well as the Netflix show The OA.

Starfleet Academy Is the Perfect Place for Brit Marling

Given Brit Marling’s resume, filled with challenging and mind-expanding projects, a role in the Star Trek universe makes sense. For the last 60 years, Star Trek has explored every facet of humanity, giving fans new perspectives on life and the issues of the day, encouraging them to be better people, just like Marling’s work on Another Earth.

Starfleet Academy is the perfect personification of this mindset as well. The cadets will be learning about duty and sacrifice, but also ideas such as patience and empathy. They will grow as individuals, and will face challenges unlike any before them, much like Rhoda Williams had to do in Another Earth.

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy is another feather in the cap of Brit Marling’s career, and is poised to introduce her to a new audience. A quick glance through Marling’s work proves she is perfect in the Star Trek wheelhouse, and she owes some of this success to the excellent and underrated Another Earth.