By Chris Snellgrove | Published
One of the reasons is that Star Trek: The Original Series became a sci-fi blockbuster thanks to its stellar cast. Who else can make an unknown person like Leonard Nimoy, or perfectly embody the burning passion of humanity like DeForest Kelly? Of course, the real lynchpin of the show was William Shatner, who said immediately turned Captain Kirk into the most compelling pop icon of the 20th century. For decades, it seemed impossible to replace Shatner, but that didn't stop Paramount from trying. Chris Pine played this famous captain Star Trek (2009) and its two sequels, with Paul Wesley currently playing Kirk Strange New Worlds.
In the Kelvinverse films, Pine's performance was basically a strong imitation of Shatner, which was a lot of fun. Admirably for Wesley, he leans heavily on his particular strengths as an actor, giving us a very thoughtful and thoughtful Kirk. Currently, Strange New Worlds fans are very happy with his performance, and most do not think that there is anyone else playing this sci-fi character. However, one artist may not be so happy. In the beginning, Sam Kirk actor Dan Jeannotte thought he would play James Kirk. Why is that? In the original show, Sam Kirk was played by William Shatner wearing a fake mustache!
Another Kirk
When Dan Jeannotte first entered Strange New Worldsit serves as a kind of visual punchline. When we hear a reference to “Mr. Kirk,” audiences naturally expect to see Star Trek legend James T. Kirk. Instead, we find out that his brother, Sam, is currently working in the business. Although this was teased early in Season 1, and Sam proved to be a great character in his own right, it didn't take the writers long to bring James Kirk into the show. When this happened, Jeannotte thought that he would be the one to play this famous captain of the future.
He admitted this recently at the Trek Long Island forum. “It was like, later in the season, Jim Kirk showed up, like, yeah, here we go! And then they were like… Paul Wesley!” However, why does Jeannotte think she has the ability to play a completely different character? It all goes back to Sam Kirk's one and only appearance Star Trek: The Original Series: “Work, Destroy!” In the Season 1 finale, he is already dead when the Away team finds him. Since he was written to be an older brother with no speaking lines, the show saved money by having William Shatner (complete with bad makeup and mustache) play the role.
The Man, The Legend, The Mustache
So, Dan Jeannotte's confusion is somewhat understandable. Apparently, George Kirk from TOS looked enough like his younger brother to be played by the same actor, so no. that crazy to think SNW's James Kirk would just look like Sam without the mustache. However, Paramount wisely decided that this would be the case way so stupid for their popular sci-fi show they recast Wesley in that role instead. Jeannotte eventually took over, telling the Trek Long Island audience that “Paul has a lot to live for… He? “What I had to do was better than a corpse.”
Anyway, I want to visit another timeline where Jeannotte played both Kirks, well Henry Cavill style mustache CGI'ed on Sam. How incredibly silly would all their interactions be? Speaking of mustaches, here's a fun fact: Leonard Nimoy protested the Season 1 plot about someone putting a mustache on Spock because he wanted to protect that character's reputation. At the end of that same season, Shatner didn't hesitate to don a fake mustache to play a non-James Kirk role for the first and last time. Why did he do that?
Simple: anything to get more screen time, baby!
