Star Trek: 10 Things You Didn't Know About Hugh Culber

In the 32nd century, Culber took on the additional role of counsellor alongside his duties as doctor, aboard a ship that was in dire need of it. (Time travel to a place where everyone you knew and loved died centuries ago will give you more than a Captain Janeway-style headache.) Culber's calm and collected demeanour, and boundless compassion made him a natural fit for a job that was created by Gene Roddenberry for The Next Generation to show the importance of mental health in the 24th century.

Wilson Cruz is also a TNG fan, having watched it at the time as a 'Next Gen Kid'. In an interview with Den of Geek, the actor admitted that whilst he has "always been a huge fan of Deanna Troi and of Marina Sirtis herself," he considers Beverly Crusher to be his "north star," but tried to merge parts of both characters into a "new paradigm for Culber" as ship's counsellor. Cruz is also a champion for mental health, and open about the fact that he sees a therapist.

In season four of Discovery, back-to-back therapy sessions and the DMA crisis began to take an emotional toll on Culber. But who counsels the counsellor? Hugh sought help from the ever-honest Doctor Kovich and admitted that he was struggling. "You died and came back to life. Little wonder you're a mess," Kovich told Culber in a frank exchange. Nonetheless, Kovich's point about the benefits of a break was certainly a valid one, especially when in a later episode Culber started to take out his frustrations on cleaning products and a DOT-23.