‘Star Trek: Discovery’: Meet David Ajala, But More Importantly, Meet His Cat

You know, over here at the ‘ol Decider, when a new cast member is added to a continuing series, we notice there’s usually a lot of interest and questions about that cast member. Where have you seen them before? How tall are they? Do they have feet, and can you see their feet? Typical, totally normal questions.

Which is probably why there’s been so much excitement about David Ajala, who has joined Star Trek: Discovery Season 3 as Cleveland “Book” Booker. Introduced in the season premiere “That Hope Is You,” Book is clearly a major new character this season. But far more important than any old actor is the cat that comes with him.

So with that in mind, let’s find out: who is David Ajala, who plays Book on Star Trek: Discovery, but also who is his cat?

Who is David Ajala from Star Trek: Discovery, and also, who is David Ajala’s adorable cat?

David Ajala is a London born actor who has been on stage and screen for a very long time now. He’s performed with the Royal Shakespeare Company, so you know he’s legit. But potentially more important to genre fans, he’s appeared in Doctor Who as Peter in “The Beast Below,” Jeff in Black Mirror‘s “The Waldo Moment,” and more recently on Supergirl as conflicted villain Manchester Black. He also was on USA’s extremely weird dream-based sci-fi show Falling Water, which once gifted me some crystals and a sleep kit.

But more importantly, who is his cat??? Also introduced in the Star Trek: Discovery Season 3 premiere, Grudge Cat is described as a big fat Queen with a capital “Q.” This isn’t the first time cats have popped up in Star Trek, mind you — after all, the franchise takes place in the future of the real world, unlike Star Wars where chickens exist mostly out of continuity.

Grudge Cat is played by a pair of twin, two-year-old Maine Coons named Leeu and Durban, and in a huge twist they’re actually both boys. Actually not that huge a twist, it’s not like we’re zooming in on the screen to check for cat genitals or anything so who cares. Grudge Cat!

Very briefly, who is Book on Star Trek: Discovery, but perhaps at more length who is Grudge Cat?

Spoilers for the premiere, but Book is a resident of the year 3188. He’s a Courier, meaning he transports goods back and forth in exchange for some of the scant supplies of Dilithium that allow for efficient space travel from planet to planet. He also seemingly has the ability to talk to plants? Maybe? But secretly, he’s no villainous smuggler: he’s actually working to find Transworms, nearly extinct, enormous creatures who were poached from his home planet.

And that’s great and all, but he also has a cat named Grudge Cat on his ship. As mentioned, Grudge Cat is a Queen, though we don’t know how she met Book, or why she’s on the ship. Does Grudge Cat have a secret mission? Is she more than a cat? Is she actually a Queen? What, or who, does she have a grudge about? That last part we know: according to Book, “because she’s heavy, and all mine.” But these are the sorts of mysteries I’m sure Star Trek: Discovery fans are mostly concerned about this season, versus, say, the missing crew of Discovery or the cause of The Burn, a galaxy wide event that crippled the Federation. No, we want to know what’s up with the cat.

Is David Ajala on Instagram, but actually I’m more interested to know if Grudge Cat is on Instagram?

David Ajala is on Instagram, and in between the requisite celeb inspirational quote posts, he’s putting up a lot of stuff from Discovery and is very clearly excited to be on the show. He also posted a pic of Book and Grudge Cat, which isn’t his most liked post but it does have a lot more comments than he usually gets. Just saying.

Grudge Cat is also on Instagram, as well as Twitter. Though everyone’s favorite space feline that isn’t secretly a Flerken tends to use the ol’ bird app to sass people online, true to name, Instagram is relatively unpopulated though does include this adorable pic of Leeu or perhaps Durban in a carriage on set:

View this post on Instagram

a queen in her carriage 👑 #StarTrek #StarTrekDiscovery

A post shared by Grudge (@grudgecat) on Oct 12, 2020 at 12:40pm PDT

Does David Ajala have a cat in real life? Does Grudge Cat have a human in real life?

Leeu and Durban live with their owner, Michelle Smith, just outside of Toronto where Star Trek: Discovery is filmed. I, uh, honestly don’t know if Ajala has a cat, let alone any pets. Sorry. However, if you DM me I’m happy to send you some pics of his feet THIS IS A JOKE DO NOT DO THIS.

Star Trek: Discovery streams every Thursday on CBS All Access

Where to watch Star Trek: Discovery