Jonathan Del Arco talks through Hugh’s death on Star Trek: Picard

On the most recent episode of Star Trek: Picard — “Nepenthe” — actor Jonathan Del Arco’s character, Hugh the former Borg, was killed by the leader of the Romulan secret police. It was a surprising and emotional death for a character that’s been around since Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Del Arco revealed he didn’t know his character would be killed until late in the filming process. “I didn’t know until I was almost getting ready to shoot it,” he said.

"It’s probably a good thing I didn’t know way early because, the moment I did find out — which, of course, I was upset — it actually ended up liberating my work quite a bit. I mean, I was able to prepare — there were phone calls with [executive producer] Michael [Chabon] and everyone early on — but basically, I realized I had X amount of scenes and moments in which to work and do all the things I wanted to do with the character. And take some risks as an actor. And so, in a way, it was helpful, because, like when you know your character is going to die — the way humans know they are going to die in real-life — you kind of live for the moment. And that’s what I was able to do building up to the scene."

All the same, you figure they could have given him a little head’s up, right?

“The End Is The Beginning” — Episode #103 — Pictured: (l-r): Isa Briones as Soji; Jonathan Del Arco as Hugh; of the the CBS All Access series STAR TREK: PICARD. Photo Cr: Trae Patton/CBS ©2019 CBS Interactive, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Hugh’s death came after he helped Picard and Soji escape to Nepenthe. He and Elnor were attempting to free the Artifact — the decommissioned Borg ship — from Romulan control when Narek’s sister Narissa engaged the pair in a duel and threw a dagger into Hugh’s throat.

It was an exciting fight that took its toll on the actor. “I got a cornea scratch from the contact lens I was wearing,” he said, “so I was basically not supposed to be on set that day at all. But we had to get it done, though I was kind of blind. I couldn’t really see anything.”

Pictured: Jonathan Del Arco as Hugh of the CBS All Access series STAR TREK: PICARD. Photo Cr: James Dimmock/CBS ©2019 CBS Interactive, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Although the death scene itself was emotionally taxing, it was the scene where Narissa killed Hugh’s fellow former Borg — or Ex-Bs — in an attempt to get him to reveal where Picard and Soji escaped to that really took Del Arco to a dark place. “The bulk of my research for the show, actually, was on Holocaust survivors,” he said. “I listened to hours of interviews with survivors, and researched the psychology of survivors — and, having lived through the AIDS crisis, and watching friends die — I used my experience there as well. It was a devastating day to shoot.”

"I definitely had a couple of martinis on the way home. I have very few lines in that scene — Narissa as all the dialogue — so I’m mostly reactive. It wasn’t scripted for me to sob at all at that point, but I did it — and every single time we had to shoot that scene, I lost my shit."

Now that it’s over, Del Arco will have fond memories of his 30-year tenure as Hugh to look back on, especially his scenes with Patrick Stewart.

"Another that really stands out for me — and I know is sort of one of the iconic scenes in Star Trek history, a favorite of fans — is the one with me and Sir Patrick [Stewart] in [Picard’s Ready Room] from “I, Borg,” where Hugh recognizes him as Locutus. And another would be reuniting with Patrick [on Picard] for our first scene together in years. I’ll always cherish those and my friendship with Patrick.”"

New episodes of Star Trek: Picard air on Thursdays, only on CBS All Access.

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