Anthony Rapp on Playing Star Trek's First Openly Gay Character: "No Big Deal"

Star Trek: Discoverywill boldly be going where no other installment of the Star Trek TV universe has gone before by introducing the first openly gay character to the show's small screen history. But according to actor Anthony Rapp, who portrays Lt. Stamets in the new series, it's the fact that the show won't treat his sexuality as a teachable issue that makes him most proud to be a part of it.

He told TV Guide at San Diego Comic-Con, "What we do in our show is we hold the banner for diversity by just being ourselves. Not by having shows that are about those issues per se. You see my character in a relationship with my partner, who's a man. And there's no commentary about it, and there's no issue about it among my captain or my crewmates or anything like that. It just is."

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Even so, Rapp recognizes that the character's inclusion alone speaks volumes: "At the same time, that's the first time that's ever happened on Star Trek, so that in and of itself is holding a banner."

At the end of the day, though, it's the lack of special attention his character's orientation receives that makes him happiest about his inclusion. "It's an honor, but also one of the things I'm really thrilled about is that it's sort of like no big deal is made of it," Rapp said.

Star Trek: Discovery premieres Sept. 24 on CBS before moving exclusively to CBS All Access.