Steven Culp as MACO Major J. Hayes on Star Trek: Enterprise

Steven Culp on "Star Trek: Enterprise"

as MACO Major J. Hayes

MACO Major J. Hayes

J. Hayes was a Human male who served as a Military Assault Command Operations officer during the mid-22nd century. In 2153, Hayes was assigned as the commanding officer of the MACO detachment aboard the NX-class starship Enterprise for the mission into the Delphic Expanse. Hayes died in February of 2154, rescuing Ensign Hoshi Sato from the Xindi-Reptilians aboard one of their warships.

Personality

Hayes was a hardened military man with extreme discipline. His father prepared him all of his life for a military career. He was dedicated to the chain of command, and preferred to maintain a certain level of consistency in his life. Hayes was a graduate of the military academy at West Point, New York, and had undergone lunar survival training, an extremely intense ordeal, by the time he served on Enterprise. (ENT: "Harbinger", "Hatchery")

Actions aboard Enterprise

Almost immediately upon boarding Enterprise, Major Hayes found himself in conflict with chief tactical officer Malcolm Reed, who believed that Hayes intended to take control of the ship's security. When Enterprise's first officer, T'Pol, recommended that Reed allow Hayes to lead a rescue mission for Captain Archer and Commander Tucker, who were being held captive in a trellium mining facility, Reed voiced his opinion that Hayes thought that his own team was more capable of carrying out the mission. (ENT: "The Xindi")

In October of that year, Hayes accompanied Captain Archer and Lieutenant Reed on an away mission to a Xindi-Arboreal colony which was producing a key component of the weapon being built to destroy Earth. During the mission, Hayes advised Archer that two spatial charges fired from orbit would be enough to destroy the facility. Ultimately, however, Archer chose not to destroy it, when he discovered that the Xindi working there had no idea that their labor was being put towards the destruction of Humanity. (ENT: "The Shipment")

In December of that year, Hayes proposed a series of tactical drills be held for Enterprise's senior officers, a request which Archer agreed with. This caused a certain amount of friction between Hayes and Lieutenant Reed, who felt that Hayes was circumventing his authority by taking his request directly to the captain. This tension eventually came to a head when what started out as a simple sparring match between the two degraded into an all-out brawl in the corridors of the ship. The two combatants were forced to terminate the fight, however, when a hostile alien attempted to destroy the ship. Hayes and Reed were forced to work together to stop the alien, eventually succeeding in saving Enterprise. Later, in Captain Archer's ready room, the two of them were berated by Archer for the fight, and ordered to settle their differences immediately. The two complied, claiming that the dispute was settled. (ENT: "Harbinger")

The tension between the two resurfaced only a month later, however, when Archer, who was under the influence of a unique neurochemical, relieved T'Pol and Reed of duty and placed MACOs in command of Enterprise. As Archer was being influenced to sacrifice a majority of the ship's antimatter in order to restore power to a Xindi-Insectoid hatchery, the Enterprise senior officers were forced to retake the ship from the MACOs. This resulted in a firefight being fought on the bridge, with Hayes and Reed competing for control of the ship. Ultimately, however, the Starfleet officers were successful in taking control, and relieved the MACOs of duty. After Archer had been treated by Doctor Phlox, Reed conversed with Hayes about recent events, with Hayes admitting that respecting the chain of command was not as simple as he had once believed. (ENT: "Hatchery")

In February of 2154, Hayes led a boarding party aboard a Xindi-Reptilian warship to rescue Hoshi Sato, who had been abducted by the Reptilians. While the rescue mission was ultimately successful, and Sato was safely retrieved, Hayes was shot through the chest by a Xindi particle weapon mid-transport, suffering serious injuries. In Enterprise's sickbay, Hayes recommended to Reed that Corporal McKenzie be placed in command of the MACOs, as she possessed a good apprehension of the team's abilities. Immediately thereafter, Hayes lost consciousness and, despite attempts by Dr. Phlox to revive him with cardiostimulators, Hayes succumbed to his injuries, dying in sickbay. (ENT: "Countdown")

Background information

J. Hayes was played by actor Steven Culp, who had previously played Commander Martin Madden in a deleted scene from Star Trek Nemesis.

Culp later recalled in an insightful article that he had been influential in the development of Hayes; "Around the second episode I worked on, titled 'The Shipment', I came across this article in the [Los Angeles] Times. It was about this young soldier in Iraq who had grown up in a bad neighborhood, grew up kind of a troubled kid who found himself in the military. He seemed like this dedicated, gung-ho soldier who had found fulfillment in the military. I took it to the director [of the episode] and said, 'This is me. This is my character.' It grew from there." (Star Trek: Communicator issue 151, pp. 43-44)

Hayes' first name, Jeremiah, was established by the Star Trek: Customizable Card Game; the non-canon novel Last Full Measure gives the name Joss, which is presumably a nickname. Thus, Jeremiah "Joss" Hayes is his full name.

Actor Steven Culp had previously speculated in an interview that the character's name might be Jeremiah or Jay.

DISCLAIMER: This site is a Steven Culp fan site and is not affiliated with Steven Culp, his family or any of his representatives.
Unless otherwise noted, all captures were made by me from videos from various sources. All shows and photos belong to their respective owners.
NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT INTENDED!
© 2004-2022 SConTV.com and Steven-Culp.com