The Search For (a) Scot Continues

As reported last week, the casting search continues for the new Star Trek movie. The focus for the search for a new Scotty is in London where it appears they are casting a wide net to find a new chief engineer for J.J. Abrams Star Trek. The latest name to be thrown into the ring is 24 year old Scottish actor Martin Compston (pictured right), best known for his role on the BBC drama Monarch of the Glen. The UK’s Daily Record cites friends of Compston’s saying he has had callbacks, but also notes that he is up against a lot of competition and that he may look too young for the part. Just last week the same newspaper cited friends of 38 year old Scottish comedic actor Greg Hemphill (pictured left) saying he too had auditioned for the role. Their names join James McAvoy’s for those who have been rumored to be in the running, but there are undoubtedly many more who don’t have friends talking to the media.

Picking a new Scotty is a tricky business. It will be difficult to find someone to fill the shoes of James Doohan without ending up sounding cartoonish. It is a good sign that Paramount are going to the trouble to do casting and auditions in the UK and not limiting their pool to just Los Angeles and New York actors. The casting sheet calls for an actor who can do a ‘flawless’ Scottish accent and so it only makes sense for them to find an actual Scot. However time is running out, production is set to start in two months.

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Get somebody who CAN ACT!!!!!!!!!

My prediction: the new Scotty will wear a breazy kilt as part of his uniform, for “authenticity!”

No, I think when Scotty is asked if his family has a history of violence, he’ll reply, “Ach, no, we’ve never kilt anyone!!”

Naive Yeoman: “Sir, what is worn under your kilt?”
Scotty: “Las, I assure you that everything under my kilt is in perfect workin’ order.”

A 24 year old Scotty? I’d rather get the bald guy.

your stereotypical scottish comments are just offensive. lol

I still think James McAvoy would be a marvelous Scotty. Who cares if he’s two years younger than Zachary Quinto? I don’t. No matter how much it makes the collective teeth of fanboys grind, “Star Trek” isn’t going to be a 1:1 replica of the original series. I’d rather have a great actor who’s on the young side than a so-so one who’s the “correct” age.

Scotty has to be old enough to order no-line extras to:
-disconnect the M-5
-check the relays (after Lee Meriwether’s already killed a couple other red shirts)
-take the ‘other’ platform after setting the transporter to recycle for 78 years

@ 1: Harry Balitz
That’s the point. That’s all that really matters: to find someone who can act!!

I think James McAvoy would be a good choice to play the part, although he doesn’t look much like James Doohan.

Oy Ve

That’s what I don’t understand. It’s 2 months until shooting and they dont have the rest of the cast yet? I would also think they would do announcement soon for the new Kirk like how they did the new Spock. If Shanter is in the movie they would bring out the new Kirk and then Shatner.

One looks too young, the other too old (unless he wears a wig)

At this point they’d HAVE to cast unknowns, as anybody with a NAME would have other commitments this Fall and thus be unavailable!

Did they actually ever explicit say that Kirk would be in the movie? i can’t remember (but my brain’s not the best…)
if not, then it would be logical that Kirk won’t be in the movie. Spock’s already cast, now they are doing the “minor” roles. You would expect Kirk to be the most important and therefore first to be cast! And as the young Spock is in the movie, they had no problem to put in the old one. But as the old Kirk does not really seem to fit into the movie, there might be not young Kirk as well?

M&M, there’s a little movie called Star Trek: Generations. Everyone in here loves it, and cherishes it as canon, as well as fine cinema. Perhaps you’d like to give it a viewing, as it explains the question of Kirk’s place in the universe.

@ 14. M&M
Hmm, i think it is indeed possible! I just read some rumours about the plot (Romulans, Time Travel, Kirk never been born…). But a Star Trek (TOS) movie without James Kirk? Are they nuts?????

#15 Well that gibberish that was The Nexus also had Ghinan there who we all know was on the Entrerprise D. ;)

#11 — “That’s what I don’t understand. It’s 2 months until shooting and they dont have the rest of the cast yet?”

It’s possible that the rest of the cast (Scotty, Uhura, etc) have only small roles in the film. I do feel like they need to cast younger Kirk, or some other character, because I don’t see how they could do much shooting with only Nimoy & Quinto cast…there’s got to be at least 1 other main character.

^16 > I doubt they’d make a movie with a parallel universe in which Kirk isn’t born. In my opinion, that’s just too deep into Star Trek and won’t have any effect on new people watching the movie. I mean, if they never knew about Kirk, how will they understand why it’s so important to change time to get him back?

@#16, Finnegan: Well, I KNOW ST:VII. So what? Kirk’s in the Nexus? What’s that got to do with a Prequel taking place long before TOS? Kirk is killed, so he can’t come back after that (in a canon-embracing way), but i tried to find another explanation..

Now, is there such a thing as a flawless “generic” Scots accent? Or, is it like looking for a flawless “American” accent (not midwestern, New Englander, variety of southern dialects, Scandinavian upper midwestern, historic “Warshingtonian” LOL, etc.)

@ 20 M&M
HEY!!! I DIDN’T mention Star Trek VII. What are you talking about?? I think Message-No. 15 CmdR mentions Kirk in Star Trek VII.

If you want a real actor, I suggest Kevin McKidd. He’s fantastic!!
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0571727/

Not much time left to get the cast in order. They start shooting next month.
Can’t wait to hear “beam me up Scotty….”, “energizing….” add applicable TOS transporter sound. The idea just gives me goose bumps.

475 dtST

23. He is a great actor, no question, but the role might be too second-banana for him career-wise now. I definitely could see him glowering over his poor, over-strained engines though…

maybe young kirk is only gonna be seen near the end and is gonna be a 1960s shatner?

Re 26:

You mean through the all-powerful magic of CGI? C’mon!!!!!

#23

From imdb

“Left a university course in engineering”

Woo-hoo! We’ve got a winner!

#16
Speaking of Finnegan (if there is going to be a Finnegan in the movie), after watching the LOTR trilogy last night, I thought that either Dominic Monaghan or Billy Boyd would be well cast as the pugnacious antagonist.

and b4 any1 says ‘what about sequels?’ …well maybe this is just a 1shot deal to get trek back on track..and after they do a film or tv show with another crew…

22-Finnegan
Your earlier post appears to have tried to make a connection between No Old Kirk and No Young Kirk.
Young (well middle-aged) Kirk bit the dust in VII. I was drawing attention to that much-maligned movie.
I don’t think a lack of Old Kirk to go with Old Spock means anything other than they haven’t signed Shatner. I think JJ has indeed said that the bulk of the movie is about Kirk and Spock.
As for why we haven’t been told who’s up for playing Kirk, I think that’s the same reason we can’t drive right up to a prime parking space at Paramount. I suspect there are one or more actors in final stage negotiations to play Kirk, and are in fact prepping for the part. I think these are tough casting decisions because no matter how small the supporting actors are in ST, there are at least two other movies in the works. I’m sure Paramount would like to retain a single core cast.
And, as always, I meant no offense with my snarky tone. I just like to get folks in her talking.

Yeesh, they do seem to be running down to the wire with casting these roles, don’t they? Even if they don’t start shooting until November, that only leaves about two months to firm up the cast, break down the script, do at least one cast reading, followed by a quick script polish. Add costume fittings, make-up tests, set construction, and publicity photos to that and you’ve got a lot to do and very little time to do it. And none of the above even figures in other (possibly new) characters we haven’t heard about yet.

And if they should start filming in November, there will be a break for Thanksgiving, then a longer one for the December holidays and New Year’s. Oy!

All of a sudden this project has gone from “when is it gonna happen?” to “why haven’t they started already?” I’m desperate for some concrete scoop on this movie other than casting. I’d love to see some of the set and costume designs, even just a few drawings. Maybe just a hint at what the Enterprise will look like. They MUST know some of this by now, don’t they?

I know they want to keep a lot of this secret, especially the script. Fine, I don’t mind being surprised by the story. I’m okay with that. Just please, please, PLEASE give us a little taste of what this film might look like!

Anyone? Anyone? Bueller…

its depressing 2 think the shat will b 80 in a couple years. Time is the fire in which we burn…

@31-CmdR
Oh I’m sorry, I didn’t want to make a connection between No Old Kirk and No Young Kirk. All I wanted to say was that, after they cast a young Spock and a young Chekov, I can’t imagine a Star Trek Movie without a YOUNG Kirk. So I also think they WILL cast a young Kirk.

With Nimoy being 76, maybe they’ve stacked most of his scenes to be filmed up front, so that they can be sure they’ve got it “in the can” before filming the rest of the movie. No sense in spending a lot of money in making a movie involving an elderly Spock, only to find he’s no longer around to take part in it. That would afford the producers the luxury of taking their time in casting a young James Kirk! Hollywood may not have a heart, but they ARE pragmatic enough to probably take this approach!

#30

Quinto has stated the actors are signing a 3 picture deal.

Jack Nicholson as Mugatu. He’s perfect.

Off subject, but a well-loved cousin…

GeekMonthly.com actually has a new graph of stuff on it.
After, what? 2 months?

harry ballz – I feel like kicking u in the ballz for that statement

They should ask Dick Van Dyke. Him having done so well with the Cockney accent in Mary Poppins and all… ;-)

Hey, don’t take my comment the wrong way! I love Leonard Nimoy, but can you imagine the cost of the insurance premium to the producers, based on the logic that if Mr. Nimoy can’t complete his part in the movie for ANY reason, the insurance company would have to cough up millions!

Harry, what do ya think snake’s on about?

harry ballz gonna get his ballz wacked for sayin Lennys gonna b wacked.

Hey Snake, I love Leonard Nimoy and hope he lives to be 107! I’m only pointing out that the insurance company for the film will charge a HUGE premium to cover Nimoy for his time while filming, since the whole movie requires his involvement. I was commenting on practical concerns, not what I hope will happen!

Dude, that’s just whack.

I wonder how close this can be to the original series; can’t see either one of these gentlemen as seasoned chief engineer. As for Kirk, whoever they pick won’t even be captain if the story holds, because he’s out of the picture until the timeline is fixed. And there is a “Federation Captain” part. But this is speculation about speculation. I’m expecting them to interpret TOS loosely.

Snake, relax. Harry’s comment was a pure hypothetical. There are a lot of people really excited about the new Trek movie. It appears to be a Spock-centric movie. No one but Mr. Nimoy could do this justice.

I too would be devistated if something were to happen to Mr. Nimoy before he could complete the movie. Harry was mentioning the possibility of the studio execs thinking about a contigency if their most important cast member were unable to perform. (Forgive me Harry if I am taking liberties with your post). With Mr. Nimoy’s age, I am sure this would have to be discussed is some part along the way.

Mr. Nimoy, if you’re reading this post, may you live long and prosper!

475 dtST

*laughs* Alright, I too hope Nimoy will live long and prosper…but Harry’s got a point….he IS getting way too old…and he DID come out of retirement…

*SPOILERS WARNING*
As for Kirk…if anyone read the plot leak… it might be possible to make the movie without a young Kirk…since the whole point of the leaked plot is that Kirk will be taken out of existence.
Which, in my opinion, calls for an old Kirk–Shatner–but doesn’t necessarily have to have a young Kirk….or to put it bluntly, an actor that can do a good imitation of Shatner’s 60s Kirk.

Star Trek :The Search for Scotty.