"Like a Ferengi or something?": When Star Trek: Discovery star Elias Toufexis revealed in which alien avatar he'd prefer to make his franchise return

Star Trek: Discovery has concluded its fifth and final season, marking the end of Captain Burnham and her crew's journey. The series, renowned for its storytelling and bold risks, enjoyed a fantastic run, and one cast member is already eager for more alien-like roles.

Elias Toufexis, who appeared in Star Trek: Discovery's last season as the alien character L'ak, has expressed interest in portraying more characters in Star Trek and possibly in Star Wars. Although his screen time was brief, L'ak left a strong impression in Star Trek: Discovery as part of a formidable pair that served as antagonists during the final season.

Now that Star Trek: Discovery has concluded, Toufexis has hinted at the possibility of returning to the franchise. In an interview with Collider, he joked about coming back:

‘’What if I tried to play a smaller, weirder alien, like a Ferengi or something?’’

What lies ahead for the actor who played L'ak in Star Trek: Discovery?

Season 5 of Star Trek: Discovery revolved around the quest for ancient, advanced technology left aboard a long-lost Romulan vessel. L'ak and his partner Moll were rivals to the Discovery crew during the final mission. While L'ak dies at the end of the series, the actor who portrayed him, Elias Toufexis, has expressed a willingness to return to the franchise.

In an interview with Collider, Toufexis was asked what kind of character he would like to portray if he were to return to the franchise after Star Trek: Discovery, in the manner that Jeffrey Combs or Suzie Plakson have returned over the years. Considering that Toufexis wore prosthetics throughout his performance in Star Trek: Discovery, it is entirely possible for him to return to the franchise in a different role. In response to the question, Toufexis said,

''Good question. I would have loved to work on Section 31, but that ship has sailed. Strange New Worlds is still going, and now there's [Starfleet] Academy. Academy takes place around Discovery time, so I don't know — maybe L’ak’s not dead. He is. I'm just kidding. It would be cool if he wasn't. But I would like to go a different way because L’ak is a big, brooding tough guy. What if I tried to play a smaller, weirder alien, like a Ferengi or something? Because I have to be in prosthetics. I was in the first season, obviously, as just me, and then I'm also in a Star Trek video game called Resurgence. I play a main bad guy in that again. [Laughs] So, I’m trying to catch up to Jeffrey. I only have nine more things to go, or something like that, before I can catch up to Jeffrey. So, thank you for manifesting that for me.''

While working on Star Trek: Discovery was one of Toufexis' career goals, he has also expressed interest in appearing in other franchises. In the same Collider interview, when asked about which other franchises he would like to be part of, Toufexis said,

''That's a good question. I mean, Star Trek was always kind of number one for me. I love Star Wars, I love Marvel, I've done DC — I played the Penguin in a game, [Gotham Knights], which was really fun. I mean, is it wrong for a Star Trek actor to say Star Wars?''

The interviewer assured him that it wouldn't be wrong, and thus Toufexis continued,

''Of course, I'd love to be on Star Wars. Star Wars was the reason I wanted to be– It's actually really, really interesting because when I was a kid, Star Wars was the first thing I saw and I wanted to be in Star Wars, but I didn't know what that meant. I just wanted to be there. I didn't really know about acting and things like that, and then I saw Star Trek, and then it became, “Oh, I want to know about this.” Then I think that kind of led me to a lot of learning about film and TV because I dove headfirst into the old show and TNG, and stuff [like] that. It took over from Star Wars. But if I'm honest, Star Wars was my impetus to be in this world, so I would actually love to join that franchise at one point. But I still like Star Trek.''

We still do not know for sure how or when Elias Toufexis might return as an alien character. In Star Trek: Discovery, his character died; therefore, the only way we can see him again is in a different role. While you wait to see him in alien roles in the future, you can check him out as L'ak in Star Trek: Discovery streaming on Paramount+.

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