Not too long ago, Star Trek: Voyager's Robert Beltran, famed for his role as Commader Chakotay, participated in a Reddit AMA where people asked the actor dozens upon dozens of questions about his film career and his upcoming feature (former Kickstarter project) Resilient 3-D, which will begin filming sometime this month.
Star Trek: Voyager is where we know him best: the tribal tattoo above his left eye pronounces his character's Native American heritage; soft flute music accompanying his entrance into rooms reminds us; and phrases like "A-koo-chee-moya" proclaimed whenever he contacts his animal guide makes damn sure that we never forget that he's a Native person.
Born in the year 2349 on the Federation colony Kessik, half-human and half-Klingon, B’Elanna Torres acted as the Provisional Lieutenant/Chief Engineer on the USS Voyager, acting under Capt. Kathryn Janeway. Roxann Dawson, biracial (African American/Anglo)* actress and director, portrayed the brave and brilliant Latina Torres, perfecting the role of the quietly self-loathing, perpetually rebellious and passionately loyal character. Torres is the only major character in Star Trek to have Hispanic Heritage, which speaks to the present state of Latinos in Science Fiction.
