'Star Trek: Discovery' Stars Open Up About Groundbreaking Gay Romance

When CBSs Star Trek: Discovery makes its long-awaited debut Sept. 24, it will feature a same-sex couple played by two cast members of Broadways Rent .

Best known for originating the role of Mark Cohen in the hit musical, Anthony Rapp will star as Lt. Stamets, an astromycologist, or fungus expert, and Starfleet Science Officer who happens to be gay. Joining the cast as Stametss love interest is Wilson Cruz, who succeeded original Rent star Wilson Jermaine Heredia in the role of Angel on Broadway.

In a new interview with CBS , the two actors were tight-lipped about the specifics of their characters, but its clear theyre excited to work together once more.

Weve been in each others lives, Cruz said. We didnt have to create a foundation for this relationship. There was already one of mutual respect and admiration. We had a running leap into this.

Rapp, 45, agreed. Its such wonderful shorthand to get to work with a friend, he told CBS .

The news got a special stamp of approval from George Takei. The actor, who originated the role of Hikaru Sulu in the original Star Trek in 1966, was less than thrilled after learning his character would be portrayed as a gay man in 2016s Star Trek Beyond . The move was intended as a tribute to Takei, who came out as gay in 2005 and has been an outspoken LGBTQ rights advocate since then. But at the time, the actor felt the characterization went against Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberrys vision.

This time around, however, the 80-year-old couldnt be more pleased.

Thrilled to hear that #StarTrekDiscovery will feature an openly gay couple played by @albinokid and @wcruz73. How far we've come. https://t.co/htVudEAyx4

George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) July 23, 2017","type":"rich","meta":{"author":"George Takei","author_url":"https://twitter.com/GeorgeTakei","cache_age":86400,"description":"Thrilled to hear that #StarTrekDiscovery will feature an openly gay couple played by @albinokid and @wcruz73. 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Thrilled to hear that #StarTrekDiscovery will feature an openly gay couple played by @albinokid and @wcruz73 . How far we've come. https://t.co/htVudEAyx4
George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) July 23, 2017

Cruz, who has collaborated with Takei on a number of LGBTQ advocacy projects , said the stamp of approval meant everything.

When I was announced, he tweeted out how excited he was to see this story play out, he said. Im glad that hes happy.

Catch the latest in LGBTQ news by subscribing to the Queer Voices newsletter .

CORRECTION: A headline on a previous version of this story mistakenly referred to the actors as stars of Star Trek Beyond. This article also initially misstated the year that the original Star Trek series debuted.