Greenwood Compares Playing Pike to JFK

Bruce Greenwood, the new Captain Pike, is getting ready to dive into the pond that is Trek fandom. In an interview with Blackfilm.com, the actor stated that taking on the role of Pike is a “similar dilemma” to his role as President John F. Kennedy in Thirteen Days, noting “No matter who you are playing or what you are playing. You do a movie and people criticize it.” But when asked which role he thinks would be harder, Greenwood said Pike was “riskier” than JFK because “the Trekkies are more likely to have expectations that are cut marble.” Read the rest at Blackfilm.com

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first!

“The Trekkies are more likely to have expectations that are cut marble.”

He must read the comments on this site.

That’s not fair… *any* Trek site right now, really.

“the Trekkies are more likely to have expectations that are cut marble.”

Damn right……

#4

To quote Q, “What justifies that smugness?”

Just a question.

Cool stuff. At least he knows the fanbase! I’m really looking forward to the movie now.

Thanks Anthony.

yup…as a history geek as well as a Trek geek, I can say my friends into Trek are harsher than anyone I know in the world of history.

I have NEVER once heard anyone say “Robin Williams was the WORST Teddy Roosevelt EVER!” or “Bowie looks NOTHING like Tesla” …

Commodore Redshirt [formally “Redshirt and NEVER “Red Shirt”]

Greenwood… I will give you a chance.

We are an evil, and hard to impress bunch.

But then again, Greenwood is an impressive choice for Pike IMO. Besides, he’s from Vancouver, so that’s a +100 in his column.

(Imagine Stewie from Family Guy as I say this)More flames for the Enterprise!

RE:#8

“Imagine Stewie from Family Guy as I say this)More flames for the Enterprise!”

I don’t know…but this made me L O [f-in’] L

Oh, and I was watching “The Prisoner” disc 2 last night and you don’t know HOW HAPPY I AM that I was #6!!!!!!!!!

[WAY BETTER than the #1 thing…I hope I’m never first…]

BG: “I’ve got a lot of homework to do. Having said that, the script, which I can’t talk about, is pretty good and quite different from the last few Star Trek movies.”

a fascinating titbit…?

I can see his point. This group of actors are replacing a legendary cast with the majority of them still living. The expectations will be high. We have all (myself included) made our opinions known about how this movie should be and whether Shatner will be involved or not. To me, this is one of the biggest risks that Paramount has ever taken replacing a cast that has been associated with Trek for 40 years. I am hoping for the best and have been impressed so far and am still hoping for a Shatner appearance.

He’d better be good as Pike..

#10 – A fascinating tidbit, indeed! And even better, the comment implies that he has actually seen the last few Star Trek movies: a good sign.

I think he will do just fine.

Hah. Good call Bruce. The only fanbase worse is that other Star something or other one.

Greenwood is right, of course.

Half the people here are going to hate the movie simply because Greenwood has different color hair than Jeffrey Hunter.

#15 – different eye color. >;>}
Bruce Greenwood is a good actor, and if given a good opportunity, will do good in this. He does not really look like Pike, but he’s so good maybe even us purists may not mind >;>}, hopefully. There will probably be other worse things to pull us out of the movie. >|>{

15 – I concur, take to AICN…not here….
#4 I saw no smugness, just a fact that either he picked up on (it’s hard not to, even just from gross charicatures) or was informed strongly by JJ and Co how hard it might be to please fans..

I admit, it’s going to be hard to accept the pod people replacements as the beloved characters I have grown up with. I’ll just have to pretend that they are the same characters, not easy!

Check out this picture of Jeff Hunter.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Jeffrey_Hunter.jpg

Tell me they did not do a great job finding someone with similar looks

I have no expecatations about the Pike character at all. He’s a minor character that appeared “twice” if you count the pilot as once.

#6

Robin Williams was the WORST Teddy Roosevelt ever, tied with Tom Berenger. Best TR? Brian Keith.

And if STXI starts to tank, Bruce Greenwood can always call in his brother, Lee, for a rousing round of “Proud to be an Andorian.”

or some such — it’s early — i need caffiene.

When’s the NEXT William Shatner-related thread due Anthony?… ;)

Cervantes: Shatner’s become too much of a buffoon in recent years. No one would be able ot take him seriously as Captain Kirk…is he gonna run around saying I’m Jim Kirk, I’ve got the mad Cow? (watch Boston Legal in case you don’t get it)

#24 FSUGuy

Wait for the right thread…it’ll be along shortly…

#15

Count me in the other half.

I bet that JJ Abrams and crew just love the buzz this film is creating (good and bad) and it is just 2 weeks into production. At this rate, when it is “in the can” it should do very well. I for one am glad that my favorite characters are not going to die when the original actors that portrayed them pass. I am actually surprised that they didn’t recast the major roles at the time of “The Motion Picture”. After all, at that time they were pretty much all out of work TV actors and Star Trek was moving to the big screen. Anyway, can’t wait to see this movie, just wish it were not so secret.

Now I don’t know much of Pike outside of the show.. but havn’t we seen so little of the character that he (and the writers) pretty much has alot of latitude in which to work?

Oh and since we’ve been talking so much about continuity lately.. can someone explain how the Zefram Cochrane continuity works? I mean, First Contact is NOT the first appearance of the character.. Did anyone complain about Glenn Corbett’s resemblance to James Cronwell?

Ugh.. Did anyone complain about James Cromwell’s resemblance to Glenn Corbett.

Need more coffee…

Commodore Redshirt… “I have NEVER once heard anyone say “Robin Williams was the WORST Teddy Roosevelt EVER!” or “Bowie looks NOTHING like Tesla” …”

No, but two recent World War II movies were lambasted by historians… “U-571” and “Pearl Harbor”. Remember the howls of protest about FDR standing on his own two feet in PH? Or our British friends having a fit because U-571 seemed to indicate that the Americans, not the Brits captured the Enigma decoder?

The only complaint I have about casting so far is Pegg as Scotty, who seems very far from the mark, but I’ll keep an open mind.

Shatner has become a laughable caricature and would eliminate the chances of this film appealing to a broader audience. If Abrams panders to the Trek fanboys and gives Shat a significant role, then you’ll see a movie that will gross less than $100 million and will be a financial disaster, finally killing the franchise. Only the hardcore fans will watch it (several times) and then come here to nitpick over every perceived canon and hairstyling error. Almost everyone under 40 knows about Shatner only as a smirking, chubby, sarcastic buffoon from his recent TV commercials and series’ roles. They don’t know him as the confident and passionate leader who inspired scifi fans in the 60’s and 80’s. The only reason they can get away with having Nimoy in the movie is that he maintained a level of dignity after leaving TOS and didn’t become a pathetic clown as did Shat.

If you guys absolutely must see Shat in the movie, I hope they cast him as Harry Mudd – now THAT would be the only role that would remotely match his current standing in the entertainment business.

“The script is pretty good”

I’m not sure how to take that.

Too bad this guy has no idea about the Trek Universe, it might prove to be fatal. I think he has just about the olny major role, where the fans will not be harped on a previous version of the character. He has an opportunity to make Pkie all his, the original character played by Hunter was undeveloped and pretty much failed, resulting in the recasting from the pilot. If he gets caught up in recreating Hunter or not focusing on his role in the film, it will show.

#32… not to worry… he also said it’s different from the last few movies…. which is a very good thing.

#31

Agree that the Shat has become kind of a buffoon lately. I think it all Started with ST V and VI, maybe even a little in ST IV. Don’t get me wrong though, I still love the guy for his work in TOS, TMP, and TWOK.

I think Greenwood will be an excellent Pike!

33 – First, the captain was recast for the second pilot because Hunter refused to do it. It wasn’t because the character was a failure.

And, I think his unfamiliarity with the Trek universe could be a good thing. We’ve had actors in the prior Trek spinoffs who were complete fans, and turned in lackluster performances.

Even though there was no Trek universe at the time, TOS was stocked with actors who had little or no Sci-fi experience (Shatner was probably the most experienced), but all were good, solid, dramatic actors.

I like this is how the new movie is going, following that path to a degree.

#33 Huh? Bruce is a quality actor, who does his research, and has already expressed previously his knowledge of the role, and of Jeff Hunter, and now even knowledge of the last few movies. This is superb. We are expecting him to be portraying Pike 11 years or so after Talos, so agewise, he’s spot on. With hairstyling, makeup, and colored contacts, he’ll be able to “interpolate” between the post-Rigel-weary Pike of the Talos incident and the blinking-lights-in-a-chair-Pike. The character likely went through a lot, and I’m sure the script reflects an even wearier Pike, sustained by the fascination with exploration shown by his young half-Vulcan First Lieutenant… anyway…

#29 The best “fanex” (fan explanation) “retcon” of Glenn Corbett and Cromwell as Cochrane is this…. we know the Companion “rejuvenated” Cochrane. I imagine the 100 or so year old Cromwell was put through quite a lot of DNA resequencing, and whatever else the Companion did, perhaps even cloning him…. to achieve the Corbett look. *Big note! That would assure why Kirk and Spock were so very skeptical and disbelieving: Corbett didn’t look like the Cochrane statue in Bozeman that Geordi spoke of! Some have guessed that the Cromwell-era Cochrane also might have been suffering from radiation-related illnesses and such (he did sneeze a few times, yep.)

Greenwood’s a good match for Hunter at the same age of 51 or so…. because at 51 or so, Hunter was a corpse…

#31 “Almost everyone under 40 knows about Shatner only as a smirking, chubby, sarcastic buffoon from his recent TV commercials and series’ roles”

Absolute poppycock. Im under 30 and when I was growing up Star Trek was being shown at peak times on reruns.

Oh my God! People… it is A MOVIE! Get over it! I have been a trekkie since I was 3 years old watching the original episodes air and I am looking forward to this new movie to bring some life back into the old girl. Do we really want to see a bunch 60 something actors playing their original parts as geriatrics? Yes, I am a big fan of the original Trek movies with Shatner and the gang.. but honestly, give this new bunch a chance to shine. This new movie gives me hope of the future of the original Trek. The pure diehard “fanboys” should stay away from this movie and just stay in their basements watching the original episodes on VHS.. this way nothing is changed and their “childhood won’t be raped.”

We need a new version of Godwin’s Law which replaces “Kirk” for “Nazi” and “Shatner” for “Hitler”… The article’s about Pike and Greenwood.

BTW I got the Trek Remastered DVDs…surprised how many episodes were on the set that haven’t been run in syndication yet, and eps like “A Taste of Armageddon,” “Operation–Annihilate!” and “Court Martial” have some pretty cool stuff–you will finally find out where the “ion pod” is located for one thing…

33. Riker_doing_Troy – November 16, 2007

” Too bad this guy has no idea about the Trek Universe, it might prove to be fatal. I think he has just about the olny major role, where the fans will not be harped on a previous version of the character. He has an opportunity to make Pkie all his, the original character played by Hunter was undeveloped and pretty much failed, resulting in the recasting from the pilot. If he gets caught up in recreating Hunter or not focusing on his role in the film, it will show.”

I am glad he has no idea of the Trek Universe….Nick Meyer had no idea of the trek Universe and he created the most succesful Trek movie of all time.

#24 Spot on, I love the shat, but he has become a “buffoon” of sorts in his later years. Not sure he would work as Kirk anymore. If he’s not in the movie, I really don’t care.

Greenwood will be excellent as Pike. he is a great actor. He will do the research and play the character very well. So far Abrams has done a great job casting this movie. What a great time to be a Trek fan!!

#41
I have seen Operation Annihilate off of I-tunes but I am really looking forward to A taste of Armageddon and Return of the Archons. Question: Did they clean up the phaser effects in Archons?? Some of the worst phaser fx in the entire series run.

#31, 35
People like me who watch Boston Legal regularly are surely able to comprehend the depth of the Denny Crane character. Two Emmys are only one acknowledgement of this portrayal. And one can demand of a grown audience to distinguish between different parts acted by the same actor. Actors keep doing this all the time – it’s their job.

STIV is a fantastic movie and it is the most popular ST movie. But, it has a different approach; it’s humorous. This is not everyone’s cup of tea. The humour was delivered beautifully, and action as well as character-driven storytelling weren’t missed out. But if you don’t like the humorous approach or don’t understand that the most severe moments are often hidden behind humour or sarcasm, I suggest you either try harder or watch something else instead.

If an actor is able to portray different characters, to show the audience different sides – confidence and passion as well as burlesque qualities – and to do this very successfully, this only demonstrates his versatility and not his being a buffoon.

PS: I’m under 40.

@Anthony: no thread hijacking – I didn’t start the fire but I’ll take care to behave;-)

Iowagirl, it’s too late. I don’t think we will ever be able to have a thread here without the conversation turning to Shatner.

Are there any more spy pics? Maybe of some with Bruce in his Pike get-up? Wonder what Shatner’s opinion is on Greenwood?

Does anybody have an opinion on Shatner?

I’m officially launching the BBK movement – Bring Back (Sean) Kenney as Pike.

Not.

“and eps like “A Taste of Armageddon,” “Operation–Annihilate!” and “Court Martial” have some pretty cool stuff–you will finally find out where the “ion pod” is located for one thing… “

Jeff,

Any truth to the rumor that we get to see the Intrepid in “Court Martial”?

#45 — I don’t think Bruce starts filming yet….not for another week or so, IIRC.

“the original character played by Hunter was undeveloped and pretty much failed, resulting in the recasting from the pilot”

Yeah, he was definitely undeveloped, but I wouldn’t call it a failure. Hunter wasn’t let go from the second pilot, he was asked to return, but instead chose to focus on his film career.