Q: Nichelle Nichols played Lt. Uhura in the 1960s series and was convinced to stay on the series by Martin Luther King Jr. Did she give you any advice before you started filming?

A: I met her a couple of times, and she was absolutely graceful and so beautiful, and she was so happy that J.J. was doing the new Star Trek and that I was cast to play the role of Uhura. And she basically just gave me this permission, like: 'It's yours now, baby. Go, run with it and whatever you're going to do, just do it well.'"