Joe Morton Talks Trek, Terminator, and Teaching Lessons Through Sci‑Fi

Joe Morton is known to many sci‑fi fans. He first caught attention in the 1984 film The Brother from Another Planet. Later he played Dr. Miles Bennett Dyson, the scientist who unintentionally builds Skynet in Terminator 2: Judgment Day from 1992. He once said he took that part because of a Richard Pryor joke about Black people being missing or killed early in future stories.

In 2024 he appeared in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, season four, episode titled Orders of Magnitude. The show aired during the 60th anniversary of the whole Trek franchise. Morton plays Admiral Reeger, who sits in the big chair on the bridge. He said getting the call felt like a yes right away because he loved Trek since college.

Reeger is not a pure villain. Morton saw him as someone who does the right thing for the wrong reasons. He noted the admiral lied about being a hero and wanted personal revenge for the ship. Playing those layers made the role interesting. Sharing scenes with Paul Wesley, who portrays young James Kirk, reminded Morton that Kirk is famous for breaking rules. He had to pretend Kirk’s father was not a good fighter. Morton also mentioned the bridge set feels like a stage, similar to his experience doing weekly monologues on Scandal.

When asked about AI today, Morton pointed out that Terminator 2 seemed to predict the debate. He worries that AI could become dangerous, just like the film’s killing machines. He believes science fiction that comments on society, such as Star Trek or his own Brother from Another Planet, can act as a mirror and help us think about possible outcomes before they happen.