Santiago Cabrera Talks About His Favorite Part Of Filming Picard Season 2

"Star Trek: Picard," streaming now on Paramount+, brings back a ton of classic characters from "Star Trek: Enterprise." The most notable in this category is, of course, Patrick Stewart as Jean-Luc Picard, but there's also Jeri Ryan as Seven of Nine and Brent Spiner as Data. However, a lot of time has passed between the two series, and there are ample new faces as well, including Santiago Cabrera as the pilot of La Sirena — Cristóbal Rios.

Rios has a rich backstory, complete with a discharge from Starfleet for which he grew cynical in the years that follow. As anyone who's watched the first episode of Season 2 of "Picard" can attest, that attitude is still there in full force, but there are layers to this character that should make for intriguing storylines to follow. Looper had the chance to attend a special sneak preview that also featured an interview with Cabrera, where he revealed his favorite part of working on the science-fiction series.

Santiago Cabrera has worked on plenty of projects in the past, but none have ever come with the same inherent name recognition as "Star Trek: Picard." It's a massive blockbuster franchise that puts him literally in the captain's seat, where he once again finds himself in the newly launched Season 2. During the screening and an interview session where Looper was present, it soon became clear that the blockbuster aesthetic was definitely a highlight of Cabrera's time on the show. As he said, "I just love my set. I love La Sirena. Being on that ship. Having ownership of that place." 

But a set is only part of the equation. So much of filming involves co-stars, too. Cabrera went on to mention, "And then the cast, we've got such a good banter and a good relationship between the whole cast. And just those in-between scenes and when they put us all together — because a lot of the time you're in your own stories, you've got individual storylines — but when they put us all together, those are definitely the best moments."

It seems like as a captain, much like being an actor, the enjoyment truly comes from the people you spend time with.

New episodes of "Star Trek: Picard" currently air every Thursday on Paramount+.