'Star Trek: Strange New Worlds': Jess Bush and Martin Quinn talk feeling comfortable in their characters for Season 3 (exclusive)

Jess Bush’s role as Nurse Christine Chapel will have plenty of character-expanding moments when Paramount+'s "Strange New Worlds" Season 3 returns starting July 17, 2025, with a handsome new boyfriend, wild new wigs, and a renewed sense of purpose in her ongoing medical duties as she continues to evolve in the hit show’s outer space endeavors.

"Our opinion and our taste is really welcomed, not just with hair and makeup but especially with costume as well," Bush tells Space.com regarding how the entire crew supports their work.

"The people in that department are often asking, 'What feels good on you? What do you want for this? What is your vision?' We're often invited to collaborate," explains Bush. "That was something that was exciting and refreshing to me when I came on the show. They wanted to know what I wanted for the character. That gives you a sense of ownership and comfort in a situation where a lot of things are out of your control. It feels like yours."

"I think Chapel has been taken many places outside of Sick Bay and outside of her job as a nurse. In Season 3, I think that's allowed me as an actor to find new things about her through that process."

For this spin around the galaxy, Scottish actor Martin Quinn fully steps into the rather large shoes of James Doohan's Montgomery "Scotty" Scott character, playing the younger iteration of the gregarious officer with all the style and smarts you'd expect.

His version of the USS Enterprise's Chief Engineer was first seen in the "Strange New Worlds" Season 2 finale in 2023, and fans were thrilled to see more legacy icons in the cast moving forward.

Quinn is certainly up to the big challenge for Season 3, and his added screen time has emboldened his performances while attempting to integrate with the rest of the smash series’ cast and crew.

"Sometimes I really do feel like I'm thrown in the deep end," Quinn adds. "It's, 'Alright, let's roll.' I was so new to it all and have done bits of films before this, but nothing as big as this. I didn't realize I could have an opinion. It was like anything that costume put on me, I thought, 'Wow, that's brilliant.' Then I slowly but surely found my own voice, my own taste, what I like to do, and it's been a real learning curve for me."

"A couple of scenarios I didn’t see coming for Scotty and how he reacts. I'm not a great writer like the team that we've got, so I've been surprised and it's really pushed me as an actor," reveals Quinn.

"I'm trying to draw from myself as much as I possibly can, and trying not to just emulate James Doohan because that would end up becoming a really wretched impersonation. I'm trying to make it as realistic as possible, so that a modern-day Scottish person could see themselves in space one day."

"Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" season three left the docking bay on July 17 with a two-episode release, with the following episodes arriving every Thursday on Paramount+.