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Star Trek: Strange New Worlds star Melissa Navia revealed the one thing she won't miss about playing Erica Ortegas after wrapping up the show's fifth and final season in late 2025.
During a July 2026 interview with LRM Online, alongside her castmates Jess Bush, who plays Christine Chapel, andCelia Rose Gooding, who plays Nyota Uhura, Navia shared that she wasn't a fan of the wigs she sometimes had to sport for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds episodes.
"I am not going to miss wigs. I think Melissa and Ortegas and wigs do not roll. So, I will not miss the wigs," said Navia during the interview.
Navia clarified that she "love[s] Ortegas' haircut," which features shaved sides.
"I will absolutely miss Ortegas' haircut even though it was a lot of upkeep. It was shaving and cutting every single day," said Navia.
Bush and Gooding chimed in that they will miss receiving "free hair care" from the show's hair department. Gooding went on to say that she is "going to miss every single department, hair, art, costume, set design."
"There is a dedication that it's a lost art, and I am really going to miss being surrounded by people who are dedicated to every single aspect of art. It inspires me to be more specific in how I choose to dedicate my energy to anything. But the hair care, for sure, I am going to miss having somebody else wash my hair," said Gooding in the interview.
Celia Rose Gooding, Jess Bush, and Melissa Navia Shared Their Thoughts About 'Star Trek' Turning 60
During the LRM Online interview, Gooding, Navia, and Bush shared how they felt about the Star Trek franchise turning 60, with Star Trek: The Original Series premiering in September 1966. Bush said she appreciates that a science fiction franchise that has lasted six decades "pontificates on a version of the future that is more embracing of difference, more empathetic, more optimistic about how things can turn out."
"That's the one that people continue to connect to and to want. I couldn't ask for anything else, anything more as an artist than to be able to contribute my energy and my sensitivities to that legacy and that cause. So, it feels very poignant and special to be celebrating the 60th year of Star Trek as part of this franchise," said Bush.
Gooding also noted that Star Trek: SNW is a prequel to Star Trek: TOS.
"Our show is so reminiscent of the original series, of the show that started this whole cultural phenomenon. And to be telling a prequel story of the story that started it all just feels very historic and reminiscent and cosmic," said Gooding.
Gooding also said that "it is an incredible undertaking" to star in a Star Trek series "at this moment in time."
"To be a part of gearing the cultural conversation around the future towards optimism, towards hope, towards inclusion, as opposed to division, separation, and fear," said Gooding.
In addition, Navia said that she enjoys being a part of a franchise with such a significant cultural influence.
"Getting to be a part of the 60th anniversary is just another reminder of what a beautiful institution we were brought into, and it's a blessing to be a part of," said Navia while speaking to LRM Online.
The fourth season of Star Trek: SNW begins airing on July 23.
