Warning: SPOILERS for Star Trek: Discovery’s Season 5 & Series Finale – “Life, Itself”

Who plays the Progenitor Captain Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) meets in Star Trek: Discovery‘s series finale? The USS Discovery’s season-long search for the Progenitors’ technology finally comes to a close in the series finale, as Captain Burnham literally comes face-to-face with one of the creators of humanoid life in the galaxy. Since Burnham has proven herself worthy by passing every test to acquire the power of creation, the Progenitor charges Michael with the awesome responsibility of choosing what to do with ancient and powerful technology.

First introduced in Star Trek: The Next Generation season 6, episode 20, “The Chase,” the Progenitors are responsible for creating all humanoid life in Star Trek, in all its diverse forms. Written by Kyle Jarrow and Michelle Paradise and directed by Olatunde Osunsanmi, Star Trek: Discovery’s finale, “Life, Itself,” reveals a bit more about the Progenitors and their powerful technology. Although Burnham never learns exactly how the technology works, she discovers that it actually predates the Progenitors themselves. The Progenitor Burnham encounters reveals that there could be “a cycle of creators and creations, countless times over,” going back who knows how long.

Who Played The Progenitor In Star Trek: Discovery’s Finale?

A new actress embodies the Progenitor.

Nigerian actress and model Somkele Iyamah-Idhalama played the Progenitor in Star Trek: Discovery’s season 5 finale. Although the Progenitors and their technology have been at the center of Star Trek: Discovery season 5, much about their species remains a mystery. Iyamah-Idhalama’s Progenitor has been waiting in a “liminal space-time” for someone like Burnham to arrive ever since Dr. Marina Derex visited centuries ago. This Progenitor offers to show Burnham how to operate the life-creating technology, but Burnham comes to the conclusion that no one should have access to that kind of power. The Progenitor reveals that she finds “meaning in embracing difference” and that the technology was originally used to create diverse beings to populate the galaxy. But Burnham notes that her galaxy is already home to countless diverse lifeforms.

Born in Nigeria, Somkele Iyamah-Idhalama has been acting since 2013 and has appeared in shows such as Gidi Up, Coronor, The Expanse, Station Eleven, and Titans. On the film side of things, Iyamah-Idhalama played Dr. Ada Igonoh in 93 Days, a Nigerian film recounting the 2014 Ebola outbreak in Nigeria. She won numerous awards for her performance. Iyamah-Idhalama has also appeared in 2018’s Lara and the Beat and 2020’s A Soldier’s Story: Return from the Dead. Iyamah-Idhalama has been involved in some of the Nigerian film industry’s most notable productions, and she manages the fashion brand, Andrea Iyamah, which was founded by her younger sister, Dumebi Iyamah.

What Happened To Star Trek: TNG’s Original Progenitor Actor?

Salome Jens is currently 89 years old.

Back in 1993, actress Salome Jens portrayed the original Progenitor (credited as “Ancient Humanoid”) in Star Trek: The Next Generation’s “The Chase.” When Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and the crew of the USS Enterprise-D solve a puzzle using different DNA samples, a holographic projection appears depicting an ancient humanoid played by Salome Jens. Although these humanoids were not originally named, Star Trek: Discovery has dubbed them the Progenitors. This Progenitor reveals that her people seeded planets throughout the galaxy with their DNA, as there were no other humanoid species in the galaxy at the time.

Actress Salome Jens began acting in the late 1950s and has appeared in numerous films and television shows over the decades. After TNG, Jens went on to portray the female Changeling in fifteen episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Jens’ last performance was a voiceover role for the animated film Norm of the North in 2016. She is currently 89 years old. Although the Progenitors remain a mysterious ancient humanoid species, Star Trek: Discovery revealed more about their history and technology. Somkele Iyamah-Idhalama became only the second actress to portray one of these enigmatic beings, following in the footsteps of Salome Jens.

Star Trek: Discovery & Star Trek: The Next Generation are available to stream on Paramount+.

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  Star Trek: Discovery

  Star Trek: Discovery is an entry in the legendary Sci-Fi franchise, set ten years before the original Star Trek series events. The show centers around Commander Michael Burnham, assigned to the USS Discovery, where the crew attempts to prevent a Klingon war while traveling through the vast reaches of space.

  Cast

  Sonequa Martin-Green
  , Doug Jones
  , Anthony Rapp
  , Wilson Cruz
  , Mary Wiseman
  , Blu del Barrio
  , Callum Keith Rennie
  , Eve Harlow
  , Oded Fehr

  Release Date

  
  September 24, 2017
  

  Seasons

  5

  Showrunner

  Alex Kurtzman

  Where To Watch

  Paramount+

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  Star Trek: The Next Generation

  Star Trek: The Next Generation is the third installment in the sci-fi franchise and follows the adventures of Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the crew members of the USS Enterprise. Set around one hundred years after the original series, Picard and his crew travel through the galaxy in largely self-contained episodes exploring the crew dynamics and their own political discourse. The series also had several overarching plots that would develop over the course of the isolated episodes, with four films released in tandem with the series to further some of these story elements.

  Cast

  Patrick Stewart
  , Marina Sirtis
  , Brent Spiner
  , Jonathan Frakes
  , LeVar Burton
  , Wil Wheaton
  , Gates McFadden
  , Michael Dorn

  Release Date

  
  September 28, 1987
  

  Seasons

  7

  Showrunner

  Rick Berman
  , Michael Piller
  , Jeri Taylor

  Where To Watch

  Paramount+