I know that a remake of the old series is potentially on the table, and I’m curious: Who would play the parts as well or better than the original actors?
I don’t want this to be a debate about whether it’s a good idea to remake the original series. Let’s just assume that it’s greenlighted, you are the casting director, money is no object, and you will be telling the same stories: for instance, classics like “Where No Man Has Gone Before”, “Errand of Mercy”, “Balance of Terror”, “The City on the Edge of Forever,” and “The Doomsday Machine.” Who would you pick for the cast roles, and who would be the best guest stars in the original roles?
I’m asking because I’m not as good at this as some of you are. Please indulge me- who can be Kirk better than Shatner?
That is so perfect I can’t even begin to describe how perfect that is. I would pay good money to see that.
Personally, I’d like to see Bill Pullman as captain Kirk. I think he’d make a great captain, and he’s a far better actor than Shatner.
Chechov would be… Steve Buscemi. Just the pleasure of watching him do a Russian accent should do the trick.
I can’t think off hand of anyone to play Bones. Maybe a younger Sean Connery would have been able to capture the cynicism of that role. Don’t know about Scotty, either.
Aesiron, I don’t have a particular cite- I got this idea from a previous Trek thread; someone posted that The Powers That Be were considering it for the next incarnation.
Jackie Chan as Sulu?
Halle Berry as Uhura- not as voluptuous, but the standard Captain shot had Uhura’s legs in it most of the time. Would work.
Denis Leary as McCoy? He’s the one with the closest attitude (that I know of).
Tim Allen did a good interpretation of the actor in the role; I wonder how he would do as Kirk in a serious vein.
Kirk: John Goodman
McCoy: Bradley Whitford (West Wing)
Khan: Michael Clarke Duncan
Janice Rand: Brittany Murphy
Spock: The brother from Everybody Loves Raymond
Chekhov: Joey Fatone (Chekhov was always intended to be a lightweight teen idol)
Reilly: DJ Qualls
Nurse Chapel: Laura Prepon
Harry Mudd: Robbie Coltrane
The Backstreet Boys and O-Town: disposable Redshirts
Orlando Jones: the redshirt who gets turned into a styrofoam cube
Charlie X: Jim Carrey
Uhura: The actress who played Kendra on Buffy
I was thinking awhile back about how it would have been if Star Trek was cast with the actors on the Andy Griffith Show. Think of the character exchanges like this:
Aes of Space, e-mail Viva about it. She’s the one that brought it up over the summer.
Now, to casting!
[raises drinks]
TO CASTING!
I don’t really care who plays anyone*, but Uhura has to be played by Beyonce.
*until you guys make a choice I dislike. Then, I will jump all over it.
THis is a little Law and Order-ish, but here goes:
Kirk: Vincent D’Onofrio. I can see you cringing right now. But listen, Kirk is a scene chewer. You gotta have a guy that your eyes are just drawn to as the heroic Captain. I can’t take my eyes of D’Onofrio when he is on the screen. Imagine D’Onofrio reading the Constitution to the Yangs. If Vincent D’Onofrio got split into a good and bad version, I can believe it. Or being held back by Spock as Edith Keeler dies. Speaking of Spock:
Spock: Chris Meloni. From Oz, I can tell he can act. I can understand objections here. I was going for a conflicted thing here. If you wanted a better dynamic with McCoy, what about Jason Isaacs? He has a rather sinister edge that might be interesting.
McCoy: Sam Waterston. He fits the craggy mold. If you want a little edge to your simple country doctor, howzabout J.K. Simmons? I really like the idea of J.K. Simmons in this role. Think J. Jonah Jameson, with a cupful of Dr. Skoda, and a heaping teaspoon of Vern Schillinger. Oh yes.
Uhura, Sulu, Chekov, Nurse Rand: These guys aren’t terribly important. Cast unknowns for these roles. And note that Sulu is Japanese, so B.D. Wong (Chinese), Jackie Chan (Chinese) would not work. I like B.D. Wong, actually, but he isn’t Japanese.
Scotty: He’s one of my favorites, but he isn’t terribly important. Since he’s one of my favorites though, howzabout Angus MacFadyen, who played Robert the Bruce in Braveheart?
