“I wanted to be popular with girls.” David Ajala on what drove him to acting, feline co-stars and his love of football

“Look, I’m getting goosebumps,” says David Ajala, as he tries to get his head around just how popular his TV show Star Trek: Discovery has become. “It’s wild to know you’ve been part of something where the storytelling can so deeply impact people and inspire them. There’s no greater feeling.”

The Paramount+ series taking the evergreen sci-fi franchise in bold new directions since 2017, Star Trek: Discovery has certainly made its mark. And Ajala has more than played his part in making the show a hit with fans and critics. The London-born star’s Cleveland ‘Book’ Booker is a stand-out character – a cool Kwejian who can communicate empathically with plants and animals and travels with a cat called Grudge.

The fifth and final season of the series sees Book join the crew of the USS Discovery, led by the indefatigable Captain Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green), to try to stop a mysterious and ancient power from falling into the wrong hands.

Ajala greets High Life with a beaming smile before we settle in to chat about diva co-stars, his love of football and giving acting tips to his sons.

Book was only supposed to feature in seasons three and four of Star Trek: Discovery, but was brought back. How did it feel to get the call to be part of the final season?
I actually have a thing where I’m good with just doing two seasons on a show. I like being able to mix it up and challenge myself. But when I finished my second season of Discovery, there was a part of the character’s story that wasn't fully rounded up. So, we had to get into talking about how I felt about the show and my experiences, and if I would consider coming back for another season. Once we were all on the same page, it was an absolute pleasure to come back.

You have such great chemistry with Sonequa Martin-Green. What’s it like working with her?
A joy. So much fun. I don’t take it for granted that we have such a great short-handed way of working and communicating. Our characters went through a lot from seasons three to five and, when it came to discussing things, Sonequa and I would speak a little bit about character development, but not as much as people think. A lot of things just happened very organically because of the trust, love and respect we have for each other.

How about your other co-star, Grudge? I understand she’s actually played by two male cats?
Yeah, brothers called Durban and Leeu. They are quite different. The cat you mostly see on screen is Leeu, who’s much bigger. But while Leeu looks better on camera, Durban is better behaved. When you work with Durban you get the scenes done in time, but Leeu is a proper diva. Sonequa and I would be doing a scene and in the middle of the take he’d be, like, “Yeah, I’m done”, and just walk off the set.

How has Discovery enhanced the Star Trek franchise?
I think Discovery went in a very bold direction when it comes to what can be achieved cinematically if you have the right infrastructure and big enough ideas. When I compare all the previous iterations of Star Trek, Discovery is the first show where you could literally take what we shot and put it on a 50ft cinema screen and it’ll work. And then we had big ideas to go with the spectacle, but also very simple ideas. Discovery was a show that championed being able to have huge ideas, huge spectacle, but also an attention to detail.

What made you want to get into acting in the first place?
I wanted to be popular with the girls in secondary school, to be completely honest, and it was just a fun thing to do. But I then became an actor when I started to believe in the magic of storytelling. And that was roughly at the age of 16. I saw these two guys in class improvising. I thought, “That’s crazy. You have no script and your characters are so fleshed out. Yeah, that’s magic.”

You’re a huge Arsenal fan. Are you a good footballer yourself?
I used to be back in the day. I used to love playing football. I think my sons, who are nine and 11, are better at football than I was at their age. I have helped them a little bit, but I think they’re just fitter and stronger and their IQ is just sharper. So, whereas I played a little bit, I believe they’re going to go a lot further than I ever did.

Would you encourage your sons to go into acting?
Here’s the thing. With acting, the joy comes from knowing you can be an actor without having to rely on someone employing you. That’s one of the most important bits of information to retain because you will get to a stage where you’re waiting on a phone call or an email. And that can be disheartening, because it feels, like, when will I be given the chance to act? You have to have such a deep level of passion, because it’s irrational to keep pursuing something where we are told no more than we are told yes. So, if the boys do decide to pursue acting, I’ll tell them they need to find a deep love for it, because that’s what’s going to keep them going.

Star Trek: Discovery is available on Paramount+, home of Star Trek