University of Alabama grad lands 'Star Trek' lead role

Just as you might have once seen Alabama Shakes rockin' and rollin' a little dive bar called Egan's, just a handful of years back you could have seen one of TV's brightest stars shining on the University of Alabama's stages.

Russellville native and UA grad Sonequa Martin-Green, while also playing Sasha on "The Walking Dead," has recently been named the lead of 2017's first new Star Trek series in more than a decade, "Star Trek: Discovery." She'll play Lt. Cmdr. Rainsford of the Starship Discovery, making her the first African-American woman to head one of the franchise's projects, according to Entertainment Weekly, which landed the story.

In further groundbreaking, she'll be joined by Star Trek's first openly-gay character Lt. Stamets, an "astromycologist" played by Anthony Rapp ("Rent," "Dazed and Confused," "A Beautiful Mind&quot . Other co-stars include Michelle Yeoh ("Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," "Memoirs of a Geisha," "Tomorrow Never Dies&quot as Captain Georgiou of the Starship Shenzhou, and Doug Jones ("Falling Skies," "Pan's Labyrinth," "Hellboy&quot as Lt. Saru, a science officer and new alien species. Also named to the cast are Chris Obi, Shazad Latif and Mary Chieffo.

Martin-Green has also been featured as Tamara on "Once Upon a Time," and in recurring roles on "The Good Wife," "NYC 22," "New Girl" and "Army Wives." Her TV debut was on an episode of "Law & Order: Criminal Intent."

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