Visiting his hometown for a convention this weekend, Star Trek: Enterprise's Anthony Montgomery talked about growing up with racism and how Star Trek gave him an image of how things could be different.

"I hate to dredge up Indiana history," he told the Indianapolis Star. "It wasn't easy being African-American growing up and all the racism...that's why I was drawn to (Nichelle Nichols') character (Lt. Uhura) on screen. Nobody ever disrespected her, and made her feel, in my young eyes, less than human. 'Star Trek' gave me a way to rise above that."

The actor said that he wasn't overly concerned about cancellation rumours, noting that Star Trek has been around for forty years and saying "We are taking this one season at a time." He had auditioned twice for roles on Star Trek: Voyager, including Tuvok's son, before being cast as Travis Mayweather on Enterprise - the last person who read for the role.

In what spare time he has, Montgomery is working on a documentary about his grandfather, guitarist Wes Montgomery, and on his own music, which the newspaper describes as "hip-hop pop." He has a production company, Napton Inc., through which he plans to release a single. Before he was able to support himself acting full-time in L.A., Montgomery sang R&B and did stand-up comedy.

"I'm just trying to live this life the best way I can," said the Southern Baptist, who credited God with his success. "You don't come to Hollywood from places like Indiana and land a role like this."

The Starbase Indy convention continues today at the Indianapolis Marriott Hotel. The original interview with Mayweather may be found at the Indianapolis Star.

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