Star Trek: Picard Actor Opens Up About Hugh's Shocking Death

If you tuned in to the latest episode of Star Trek: Picard, there's a good chance you're still mourning the death of Hugh. After all, his death was caused by his own decision to help Jean-Luc Picard and Soji Asha escape the Borg Cube. But was there any chance that Hugh could have been saved from his inevitable fate? Jonathan Del Arco has opened up about preparing for his character's big moment in Nepenthe.

Del Arco, who previously played Hugh in Star Trek: The Next Generation, recently spoke to The Hollywood Reporter and admitted that he wasn't aware of his character's fate until it was time to start filming.

"I didn't know until I was almost getting ready to shoot it. It's probably a good thing I didn't know way early because, the moment I did find out — which, of course, I was upset — it actually ended up liberating my work quite a bit," Del Arco revealed.

Of course, that doesn't mean that he wasn't given a heads up. Del Arco stated that executive producer Michael Chabon hinted at Hugh's death from the start. Nevertheless, things still happened too quickly for him.

"I was able to prepare — there were phone calls with Michael and everyone early on — but basically, I realized I had X amount of scenes and moments in which to work and do all the things I wanted to do with the character," Del Arco said. "And take some risks as an actor. And so, in a way, it was helpful, because, like when you know your character is going to die — the way humans know they are going to die in real-life — you kind of live for the moment. And that's what I was able to do building up to the scene."

We're still disappointed that Hugh couldn't survive for another episode of Picard. Still, we're hoping that his sacrifice will be worth it for Picard and Soji in the end.

The latest episode of Star Trek: Picard is titled Nepenthe and is currently streaming on CBS All Access.

Related: Star Trek: Picard Episode 7 Reveals Hugh's Fate After Borg Betrayal