<P> Sarek (portrayed by James Frain) is a Vulcan astrophysicist, the father of Spock, and the surrogate father of Michael Burnham . Frain appears as a younger version of the character who was first portrayed by Mark Lenard in the original Star Trek series . </P> <P> Kol (portrayed by Kenneth Mitchell) is the Commanding Officer of the Klingons, and oponent of T'Kuvma's goals . Kol is a member of the house of Kor, a character portrayed by John Colicos in the original series . Mitchell described Kol as both "complicated" and "powerful", and said that he studied Colicos' "subtle" performance and read the novel The Final Reflection to prepare . </P> <P> Katrina Cornwell (portrayed by Jayne Brook) is a Starfleet admiral . </P> <P> Hugh Culber (portrayed by Wilson Cruz) is a Medical Officer of the Discovery . Culber is Stamets' love interest and partner . On creating the first gay couple in a Star Trek series, Cruz said he "felt like it was a long time coming...What's great about the way that the show is handling it is it's not like we are having a special two - hour episode about gay relationships in space . It's not that . They just happen to be in love, and they happen to be coworkers . And, I hope by the time we get to (the 23rd) century that it will be exactly like that ." </P>

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