Summary
Ed Speleers wowed audiences as Jack Crusher inStar Trek: Picardseason 3, but the British actor also auditioned for the role of Lt. James T. Kirk inStar Trek: Strange New Worlds, and he was"pissed off"he didn’t get it. Paul Wesley fromThe Vampire Diarieswas tapped to playStrange New Worlds' young Kirk. Meanwhile, Speleers wasStar Trek: Picardseason 3 showrunner Terry Matalas' first and only choice for the role of Jack Crusher, the son of Admiral Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart), andSpeleers was crucial to the success ofStar Trek: Picardseason 3.
Star Trek: Picardseason 3’s Ed Speleers and showrunner Terry Matalas joinedThe D-Con Chamberpodcast as special guests, and they discussed how Speleers was cast as Jack Crusher with hosts Dominic Keating and Connor Trinneer.Speleers revealed that before his Picard audition, he sent in a self-tape toStar Trek: Strange New Worldsthat Ed believes was for the role of James T. Kirk,but Speleers"didn’t hear anything back.“Read his quote and watchThe D-Con Chambervideo below, with his clip at around the 4:30 mark:
I think about two weeks before I taped for Picard, there was another Star Trek tape that came in. I think the role must have been, looking at it now, the young Kirk character in Strange New Worlds… I really thought I did quite a good tape, and I was really pissed off when I didn’t actually [get it]… I didn’t hear anything back, and I was like, “How did this…? I thought that was half-decent, I felt… Not even a whisper, nothing. Nothing. Nada.
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Would Ed Speleers Have Made A Good Kirk In Star Trek: Strange New Worlds?
Star Trek got the right Jack Crusher and Lt. James T. Kirk
Ed Speleers is a remarkable talent, and he surely would have made a fine Lt. James T. Kirk inStar Trek: Strange New Worlds.Interestingly, Speleers perhaps more closely resembles a youngWilliam Shatner than Paul Wesleydoes, and he would have easily been able to ditch his English accent to play Kirk as an American. However,Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’executive producers liked Paul Wesleyand cast him as young Kirk. Wesley embodies Kirk’s boyish charm and recklessness, but also James' book smarts.
The role of Kirk is recurring onStar Trek: Strange New Worlds,while Jack Crusher was a leading role inStar Trek: Picardseason 3. However, Wesley will return inStrange New Worldsseason 3 but it’s unknown if Speleers will get to reprise Jack Crusher inStar Trek: Legacy.
Paul Wesley’s Kirkis also a terrific romantic foil for Christina Chong’s Lt. La’an Noonien-Singh onStar Trek: Strange New Worlds, although Ed Speleers is no stranger to playing a romantic lead as well. Jack Crusher’s potential love connection with Lt. Sidney La Forge (Ashlei Sharpe Chestnut) is certainly a popular fan ‘ship’ fromStar Trek: Picardseason 3. Ultimately,Star Trek: PicardandStar Trek: Strange New Worldsgot the right Jack Crusher and James T. Kirk for their respective shows, butEd Speleers as Kirk is still an intriguing casting ‘what if?’
