Why Anson Mount Says 'Star Trek' Gave Him the Courage to Start a Family

Actor Anson Mount is revealing how landing the role of Captain Christopher Pike seven years ago has impacted his life.

During a July 2026 interview with Decider, while promoting Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ current fourth season, Mount referenced that he first began filming as Pike for the second season of Star Trek: Discovery, which aired in 2019.

“I think every role that you’ve spent time with this long changes you to some degree,” said Mount, who began starring in Star Trek: SNW during its debut season in 2022.

He then shared that being a part of the Star Trek franchise enabled him to feel stable enough in his acting career to have children.

“What’s meant the most is this franchise having enough faith in me to give me a job that kind of handed me the wherewithal and the courage to have a family. Because that’s not a given as an actor. And it certainly helped my career,” said Mount, who shares two children, Clover, 4, and Violet, 1, with his wife, Darah Trang.

In addition, the Hell On Wheels star said that he believed Star Trek: SNW has bettered his acting.

“I think I got better both in terms of my performance and in terms of life in general, just being able to say, ‘Okay, you know what? Just make the decision. Do it.’ Whatever that thing might be, and you’ll figure it out. We edit ourselves too often before it’s written,” continued the 53-year-old.

In a July 2026 interview on The Movie Podcast, Mount also shared he had a deep appreciation for his Star Trek: SNW castmates, who include Celia Rose Gooding,Ethan Peck,Rebecca Romijn,Christina Chong, Paul Wesley, Carol Kane, Melissa Navia, and Jess Bush.

“I think that the great thing about our cast is that the producers managed to hire a group of well-functioning adults. That is never a given because you’re going on so little information,” said Mount during the interview. “You just never know if you’re going to get a wild card in there, but everybody came in prepared to take care of their characters, department, to take care of themselves, and to be good collaborators. And the show benefited from those casting choices.”