Olatunde Osunsanmi’s new TV movie “Star Trek: Section 31” is oddly retro in its setup, recalling delightfully cheesy 1980s B-movies like Peter Manoogian’s low-budget time-travel lark “Eliminators.” The main character is Empress Philippa Georgiou (Michelle Yeoh), the genocidal tyrant of the Mirror Universe, and she has been enlisted to be part of Section 31, Starfleet’s unethical black ops organization who manages dangerous secret missions.
The film’s cast, however, is rounded out by a rogues gallery of aliens and assorted specialists, each enlisted to aid the Empress in a vital mission to recover a doomsday device. There is the shapeshifter Quasi (Sam Richardson)a not-too-bright murderous cyborg named Fuzz (Sven Ruygrok), a microscopic organism named Zeph piloting a human-sized robot (Robert Kazinsky), an ultra-attractive Deltan named Melle (Humberly Gonzalez), and Rachel Garrett (Kacey Rohl). ), a direct Starfleet officer who is there to ensure that killings are kept to a minimum.
Also present is Alok Sahar, who acts as the Section 31 intermediary who contacted Georgiou in the first place. Alok is harsh, taciturn, and implies that serving Section 31 might give the Empress a chance at redemption for some of her many crimes. In short, he is the company man.
Alok is played by Omari Hardwick, a Georgian actor who has worked professionally in film and television since the early 2000s. He has also been involved for many years in theater projects across Los Angeles and occasionally participates in poetry slams . Hardwick has also appeared in many high-profile feature films, having worked with many well-known directors along the way. He even appeared in what might be the best movie of 2018, so you’ve probably seen his face before.
Star Trek: Section 31 is just one of many big projects that Omari Hardwick has starred in
Hardwick began his film career with a little-known independent film in 2002 called “Circles,” but soon after broke into the mainstream with a role in the hit 2005 comedy “Beauty Shop” starring Queen Latifah. His intensity and flexibility as an actor immediately got him involved in many other major studio projects, including the military thriller “The Guardian” and the Dwayne Johnson film “Gridiron Gang,” both released in 2006. Then , in 2008, he was cast as Commander Huggs in Spike Lee’s war epic “Miracle at St. Anna.”
Alternatively, some might recognize Hardwick from his role as a gruff cop in the violent superhero riff “Kick-Ass” or his supporting role in the 2010 film version of “The A-Team,” in which he played Chopshop Jay. Hardwick also worked with Tyler Perry on the 2010 drama “For Colored Girls,” which earned him a nomination for a Black Reel Award. Indeed, Hardwick has been prolific for some time now, appearing in several films and TV shows each year. In 2018 alone, Hardwick appeared in the romantic comedy “Nobody’s Fool”, both starred in and served as executive producers in the romantic drama “A Boy. A Girl. A Dream.”, and was co-lead on the Iraq movie. Veteran drama “Sgt. Will Gardner.” On top of all that, he played the mysterious Mr. ______ in Boots Riley’s surreal masterpiece “Sorry to Bother You” (a film in which he had to wear a bowler hat and an eye patch, as seen above).
Just before “Section 31,” Hardwick starred in Jennifer Lopez’s film “The Mother” and worked with Zack Snyder on the action-zombie horror mash-up “Army of the Dead.” He was really there. On television, Hardwick might also be recognized from his starring role in the short-lived 2006 series “Saved” or in all 20 episodes of “Dark Blue.” He’s even appeared in music videos for Ruff Endz, Floetry, Nasty C, Estelle and Jay-Z, and recorded his own singles with artists like 50 Cent.
Most notably, Hardwick played James “Ghost” St. Patrick, the title character on the six-season Starz television series “Power” (which ran from 2014 to 2020). And that’s not even his entire career. If Hardwick looks familiar, that’s because he’s been everywhere over the past 20 years. “Star Trek” is, for him, just another feather in his cap.
“Star Trek: Section 31” begins streaming January 24, 2025 on Paramount+.
