Star Trek: 10 Things You Didn't Know About Guinan

2. Guinan Inspired Herself - But Never Got To Meet Herself In The Process

Star Trek Ito Aghayere Star Trek Picard Watcher
CBS Media Ventures

Ito Aghayere spoke to the impact that Whoopi Goldberg's Guinan had upon her as a young child of immigrants in America. Her family, she said, were deeply conservative, which dictated the shows that could be watched in the house. Star Trek: The Next Generation was one of the safe ones, which led to her introduction to Guinan.

Whoopi Goldberg, in Aghayere's opinion, was the 'Puck-like' character who could run rings about Picard, as learned as he was. For her, this was an incredibly important example of representation on television. She described herself as 'the epitome of a Black nerd' - so watching Whoopi steal scenes 'out from under' Patrick Stewart felt very empowering.

When it came time to audition for her Guinan, Aghayere was tremendously excited throughout the whole process, though lamented that due to the Pandemic, she never got the chance to meet Whoopi Goldberg in person. 

 
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Seán is the host and head writer/presenter for TrekCulture, as well as a writer/presenter on WhoCulture and WhatCulture Horror. He has authored two novels, dozens of short stories, and hundreds of articles for WhatCulture. He holds a Master of Arts in Creative Writing from University College Dublin. As part of his work with TrekCulture, Seán has been invited to participate in collaborations with Roddenberry Entertainment, as well as contributing to several Star Trek community projects. An avid fan of Star Trek, Doctor Who, and the horror genre at large, Seán's expertise has helped develop these channels to the successes they are today. As host of the Ups & Downs series on TrekCulture, Seán has become internationally recognised for his positive yet critically informed approach to reviewing every episode of modern Star Trek, ensuring he is one of the go-to voices in the Trek community. Favourite Quote to describe himself: "I'm serious about what I do, just not always about the way that I do it"