Greenwood Talks 'Star Trek XI'

The Star Trek franchise will regain dignity and vitality with the reboot, according to Bruce Greenwood, Star Trek XI's Captain Christopher Pike.

As reported by the Official Star Trek Magazine, Greenwood's involvement in Star Trek XI came courtesy of a phone call from Director J.J. Abrams. "Hey, I think you might be right for this," Abrams told Greenwood. "Would you like to come in and read the script?"

"I said I was in Toronto and couldn't he send me a copy of it?," said Greenwood. "He said, 'Oh no, but when you come back to L.A., we can lock you in a room with a guy standing outside the door and you can read it then.' So that's what I did. I came home a couple of weeks later and sat in a locked room and read it. I worked out a few questions for J.J., then we had a conversation and the next thing I knew, I was being fitted for a space suit!"

Part of playing Pike meant studying Jeffrey Hunter's portrayal of the Captain. "People feel so strongly about every tiny little aspect of it [Hunter's portrayal,] so regardless of what I choose to do, I thought I'd better know what other people’s frame of reference is," explained Greenwood.

Greenwood feels that the rebooted Star Trek will attract audiences. "Remember the difference in the Bond films when Daniel Craig assumed the role, suddenly the franchise was redignified and given a tremendous shot of not just truth and believability, but vitality on a deeper level. Bond seems complete and you can see his broken parts as well. Daniel Craig is a wonderful actor," said Greenwood. "The 'Star Trek' script is written to play to the strengths of an actor who has those qualities, and Chris Pine is that guy. He's a wonderful actor and a great guy to boot. That's one of the things that's really going to help move it into people's consciousness in a way that they can really embrace it."

Once Star Trek XI releases, Greenwood may try a convention. "I've never done that," he said. "I've never done the Comic Con thing. That's something I'm completely unfamiliar with. I'll definitely go and have a look and see what that’s all about."

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