Star Trek's Scotty played by a Scot for first time

Martin Quinn follows in the footsteps of Canadian-actor James Doohan in playing Scotty

For the first time in almost 60 years Star Trek character Scotty is being played by a Scottish actor.

Previously the role has been filled by Canadian actor James Doohan and Englishman Simon Pegg.

Now Scottish actor Martin Quinn is portraying a younger version of the character in the prequel series Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.

Martin jokingly told BBC Scotland News, "We are rebranding him, he's from Paisley now."

Martin's version of Scotty was a surprise cameo at the end of season 2

Montgomery "Scotty" Scott has been a character in the science fiction franchise since it first began in 1966.

Doohan played the Scottish spaceship engineer in the original series and seven Star Trek films before Pegg took on the role for director JJ Abrams' reboots from 2009.

Martin's young Scotty appeared as a surprise cameo at the end of the second season of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds and he will play a recurring role in season three.

The 30-year-old, from the Gallowhill area of Paisley, says he hopes even more Scottish people will watch Star Trek now that they have cast a real Scot.

"It's the power of representation isn't it?" he said.

"I was always into Star Wars because Ewan McGregor was there. It's because there was a Scottish guy in Star Wars.

"Even though he was doing an English accent, I was like 'that's so cool, he's from here and he's in Hollywood'.

"I wasn't as interested in Star Trek because it wasn't a real Scottish person."

While neither Doohan or Pegg had a natural Scottish accent, both actors and their character were beloved by fans.

Martin says: "I think James Doohan based the character off some Aberdonian he had heard, and even Linlithgow has claimed him, but I'm not sure what that's from."

In 2022, when Martin was auditioning for the series, producers gave the show a code name so he would not know it was Star Trek.

"I suppose that helped because you weren’t putting pressure on yourself to emulate James Doohan," he says.

Martin says he is crafting his own version of Scotty while staying faithful to the original character

Since taking the role, he says he has been working with writers to suggest authentic Scottish changes to his character.

"They let me put in the word 'baw-heid' instead of 'turnip-heid," he says.

"Maybe they think all Scottish people are farmers? But they were very gracious about it.

"And [the writers] are wanting to be authentic to Scotland as well, and that's really nice - not everyone's like that."

Martin's Scotty with Captain Pike played by American actor Anson Mount

Martin says his accent has caused occasional confusion with the North American cast and crew on set.

"I'm constantly having to enunciate because I don't think they know what I'm saying," he says.

"It’s trying to find the balance, because it’s not just Scottish people watching this TV show, but I want to be as authentic as possible to how I speak."

Scotty was played by English actor Simon Pegg in the modern Star Trek films

Martin began his acting career when he was six years old at PACE Youth Theatre in Paisley.

The theatre school's alumni also include actorJames McAvoy and singer-songwriter Paolo Nutini.

When he was 18, Martin was cast in the lead role in the National Theatre of Scotland production of Let The Right One In.

It took him to the Dundee Rep and eventually to London's West End where he was spotted by the actors Richard Wilson and Alan Rickman.

They funded the last portion of his scholarship that let him attend Guildhall drama school in London.

Scotty is the USS Enterprise's chief engineer in Star Trek

However, it was Martin's first paid role in BBC comedy Limmy's Show that he says he owes "everything to".

"It meant I got praised for doing acting as opposed to a slagging" by his classmates, he says.

He also says there can be a working-class boy stigma that if you prefer acting to football there is something wrong with you.

"We’re potentially missing out on the next generation of really good Scottish actors and that is a bit of a worry," he says.