MovieSet Dailies

Blogging Behind the Scenes to bring you the Latest Scoops

Kirk, Sulu, Pavel and the Enterprise Crew Talk Trek

Posted by grip on Friday, May 08, 2009

When Star Trek debuted on NBC in 1966 it was a flop. It was only when the show began syndicated re-runs that it grew into a cult hit. And then pop culture colossus. Yes it showcased alien babes in tinfoil bikinis, monsters with visible zipper lines, and brain-like creatures living in supermarket dairy cases, but it was still the first TV drama to take space travel seriously.

This Unique Cast Interview Includes: Chris Pine as James Kirk, John Cho as Hikaru Sulu, Anton Yelchin as Pavel Chekov, Eric Bana as Nero, Clifton Collins Jr as Ayel, Karl Urban as Dr. Leonard ‘Bones’ McCoy, Zachary Quinto as Spock, Leonard Nimoy as Spock Prime, Zoe Saldana as Nyota Uhura, Bruce Greenwood as Capt. Christopher Pike.

How did you feel about taking on such an iconic role?

Chris Pine: It was twofold. It’s a big tent-pole, big-budget studio movie. So there was a lot of pressure from that, as there were a lot of people expecting to make a lot of money. On top of that, it’s Star Trek — there’s the added pressure from the avid, protective fanbase. But I think, really, once I met J.J. and I got to learn what he wanted to do, that he wasn’t looking for a bad impersonation of what Mr. [William] Shatner had done, realizing that what Shatner had done was so unique and was so specific and was so iconic… it was very liberating. Because I knew that, if anything, I kind of had to go in that opposite direction to make any mark of my own on the part. There was a conversation on the part, about how I might be able to take nuances from his performance and add them to my own. But it was very much a re-imagining, and very much in the spirit of [inaudible].

I just wanted to follow up on that. In making the characters your own, have any of you met your counterpart from the original series?

John Cho: I met with George [Takei]. We’ve known each other for a little bit, but, um, I wrote him a letter after I got the role and requested we have a meal and talk. As far as making it my own, it was really just avoiding — he’s become an icon himself. His character’s an icon. The show is iconic. And he’s quite the icon as a person, as a citizen. Mostly it was just avoiding doing an imitation of him.

Anton Yelchin: Yes, Walter [Koeing] came on set (thankfully once I had finished my scene — it was very intimidating to think he would come in the middle and I’d have to do the accent in front of him.) [Laughter]  We were doing a scene that involved some playback, and he was pretty complimentary [about my performance]. It’s the highest compliment I feel I could get was from Walter himself. Um, I felt like the essence of Checkov is the accent. So I tried to stay as true as possible to that accent, while messing around with it a little, but still maintaining that general kind of spirit he created. Because I really think that’s what made the character so special for 40 years. It wouldn’t be as exciting or interesting to play just a Russian kid on a spaceship.

Chris, did you talk to Bill?

Yes, I saw him last night at a charity show in Burbank. My interaction with him has been really wonderful. I sent him a letter early in the process, explaining to him who I was, you know: who this punk kid was, who was for the time being taking on this role [of Captain Kirk]. He was very kind and wished me luck, but I know Leonard [Nemoy] was the same way; it was a wonderful feeling handing over the mantel to us. Again, allowing us the freedom to make these characters our own without having any feelings of weighty expectations and responsibilities.

Have you all always been big Trekkies? What does the world of Star Trek mean to you personally?

Clifton Collins Jr.: I wasn’t really a Trekkie, but I think any one who’s lived in America knows who these characters are, and knows how the theme song goes. We all know what the U.S.S. Enterprise is. For me personally I didn’t know anything about the Romulans, I just followed J.J.’s lead, but Star Trek for me is a part of Americana.

Chris Pine: I was not a Trek fan, but my grandmother was a huge William Shatner fan. So when she babysat me we would inevitably end up watching reruns of TJ Hooker… [Laughter] But I was a casual observer [of Star Trek]. I think it is startling that this one story has had such an intense hold on so many people for so long — I can’t think of another thing that has. And I think quite possibly the reason for that is when it came out in the late 60s, there was a great social unrest. We had come out of two world wars, and there was great division. As cheesy as it may sound, the idea that so many people could work together as one and achieve great things is a really — well, why not?! That’s a wonderful vision of humanity. The deck of the Enterprise is a [inaudible] United Nations, it’s a place free of sexism, racism — there’s people from disparate backgrounds. So again, hopefully the resonance it had in the 60s, it will have [today] with a similar effect on a world torn by economic crisis and wars. I think we spend more time trying to kill one another than anything else, so to present a vision of the world working together is quite a beautiful thing.

John Cho: That’s probably what impressed me the most growing up. I wasn’t a Trekkie, but I was very impressed with the multi-ethnic casting. George in particular made a great impression on me, as a young Asian kid growing up in America. It was really meaningful for me to see him on television at that time in the late 70s.

A question for Chris. Is there any indication that you will be playing Captain Kirk again or forever?

Chris Pine: It’s so presumptuous, I think, to start talking about — we get a lot of questions about sequels. This movie has yet to come out. I think we’re all really proud of the movie we made… Being an actor, it’s quite an experience to watch a film and forget after the first 10 minutes that you’re in it. You’re actually munching popcorn as fast as the guy next to you, and you’re as involved and engaged as him, the non-participants… We had an absolute blast making it. I had a lot of fun, and if they were to invite me back I certainly would be the first one to sign up.

I’d like to ask John and Chris about that fight scene on the drill — that was amazing, I wondered if…

John Cho: That actually happened. [Laughter]

…was it choreographed to the nines, or did you guys do it a million times and then picked one? How did it work?

John Cho: Yes, that was choreographed. That was us. We were on wires at Paramount, trying not to vomit.

Chris Pine: It’s incredible, you know, having to put together that scene. Reading through that scene, it’s about three pages and it took us a month and a half to shoot. I had no concept or visual preparation of the scene. We had a great stunt team behind us… putting together an intense and quite fun Star Trek [inaudible] for about two months before we began shooting. The fight scenes were choreographed, but left enough breathing room on the day where you could change it up. Our stunt doubles were incredible, and we left a lot of the hard work to them. But a lot of that was wires, and a lot of work down at Dodgers Stadium on huge platforms. That’s another genius of J.J.’s is that he’s able to see in his mind what the final product would look like.

For Eric, I think you’re one of the first Star Trek villains who doesn’t exclaim Shakespeare and doesn’t give a big speech to introduce himself. Can you talk about the characterization for that villain?

Eric Bana: The thing that drove me to the project, the most significant factor to me was that the film wasn’t taking itself too seriously. When you read the script you really got a feeling for the sense of humor in the script. I was very hopeful that would make it’s way through the film, because the first thing you loose in films are the jokes and the sense of humor and lightness, it’s the first thing that’s dropped on the day. But I felt that with J.J. it had a really good chance of staying there, and in fact I think he took more from it. So that’s really just a case of a director allowing an actor to bump around. Because I saw no reason why Nero had to be scary every single moment. I saw no reason why he couldn’t be a smart ass. It’s just essentially being allowed to have freedom [as an actor].

So J.J. really let you do some of that?

Eric Bana: He let all of us pretty much do anything and everything we wanted. He’s an unbelievable collaborative filmmaker. He knows exactly what he wants himself. But I don’t think — I’m pretty sure I speak for just about everyone here: if you had an idea, it was going on film. [To cast:] True?

[The cast nod in agreement]

John Cho: True, Eric Bana, true. [Laughter]

What was it like, respectively, when each one of you got into your chairs on the Enterprise?

Anton Yelchin: Um, there was a lot of — me and John did a lot of [presses buttons on imaginary console, makes beeping noises].

John Cho: [Laughs. Responds to beeping noises with his own. The pair beep out tune to Star Trek theme song.]

[Laughter subsides]

Anton Yelchin: It was such a beautiful set. It had an aura of epic-ness. But for me the process of entering this world started with the wardrobe fittings. But to J.J.’s credit, the set was a world of its own. If you went off the bridge you ended up in a hallway in a different part of the Enterprise. The set didn’t just end on either side of the bridge. It kept going. You really were in this world, and the crew was separated, outside the — what would you call it? The window?

Eric Bana: The windshield.

John Cho: The ship’s goggles.
[Laughter erupts]

I have a question for Eric. The makeup you wore really made you look unrecognizable. What was it like to put all that on? And what was it like to play a villain rather than the heroes you usually play?

The makeup was actually a lot of fun. But when you put it on and moved your face, nothing happened. It was like you had a crap-load of botox injected into your head. You would literally look into the mirror and [makes a facial expression] like that, and nothing would happen. So there was a process in preproduction where I literally re-calibrated my movements for the camera. Otherwise the camera wouldn’t pick up on any of your expressions for the whole film.

We had the most incredible makeup artist on this movie. But to describe the scene, basically, all the Romulans would get divided up, and Chris and I would be in the caravan with about eight others and we’d be high as a kite from all the chemicals… I don’t think there was anything we shot before lu

nch. [Laughs]

Chris, William Shatner played Captain Kirk on and off for 30 years now. Do you want to play Captain Kirk for that long?

Again, I think it’s a little presumptuous to talk about 30 years in the future when the film has yet to come out. I have a lot of fun playing this incarnation of the character in this story, I’m signed up for two more — just like I think everyone else is in the cast. I’m having a lot of fun right now, but I’m not going to count any chickens before they proverbially hatch.

You said you were not a Star Trek fan, but are you a fan now?

I am, yeah. I gained much more appreciation — I think watching the original series as a kid, it was a little campy, the effects were kind of absurd. I just wasn’t able to get into it. Zak [Zachary Quinto] has spoken about this quite eloquently, and I think it’s very true: growing up in the Star Wars generation, there’s just something kind of visceral and fun about that world–it’s more about the effects. The world that Gene Roddenberry created was much more [pause] kind of this grand allegory that explored all these deep social issues. As a kid I had no concept or clue of what was going on. Watching the original series now, you get a great sense of how really radical what Gene Roddenberry  was doing back then. I have a great appreciation for that now. And again, speaking of the positive vision, this really wonderful vision of what we are capable of, is quite a wonderful thing in today’s age.

For Eric, you’ve played a lot of good-guy and bad guy roles, what does it take to go from one to the other?

I never make any distinction in my head, really. I just try to find characters I think are interesting. I never tell myself if they’re good guys or bad guys, villains or heroes. People always ask if it’s more fun playing the villain. Well, I don’t know. You kiss less girls, that’s for sure. But less fun, more fun, more freer? I don’t know if there’s much difference actually.

Anton, I understand you are actually Russian. What kind of conversations did you have with J.J. on how far to push that accent? It seems like it verges on caricature.

Yeah, I mean, the accent isn’t as much a Russian accent as it is a Cold War stereotype of a Russian accent. I emailed J.J. before we started and said, ‘this is what I’m thinking…’ after watching the original. And his response was really brief. He said ‘yeah, that sounds great–we’ll have a really good time.’ So there wasn’t too much conversation. If anything it happened on set. It was more about capturing that original accent and capturing that general spirit.

Chris, your character and Zak’s character are kind of fighting over the same girl. Will that be the same for the next movie?

I certainly hope I’m able to get a girl in the second one. [Laughs]  But what I loved about this version is that that relationship added a lot of humor that we were able to explore. Who knows, in further versions of it I think one thing that hasn’t been explored is, I think, Kirk is somewhat of a workaholic. There’s a reason he hasn’t been able to sustain a relationship.

Interview sitting: Karl Urban as Dr. Leonard ‘Bones’ McCoy, Zachary Quinto as Spock, Leonard Nimoy as Spock Prime, Zoe Saldana as Nyota Uhura, Bruce Greenwood as Capt. Christopher Pike

Obviously this film takes place on an alternate timeline. The young Spock is very different from your Spock. He’s very emotional, human, he has a relationship with a girl…

Leonard Nimoy: He does, doesn’t he! [In a melancholic tone] I noticed that.

How did you feel when you first read that in the script? Were you resistant to that?

Leonard Nimoy: You know, I’ll tell you. I was bemused by it when I read it in the script. I was amazed by it when I saw it on screen. I thought it was incredible.

Did you think it worked?

Leonard Nimoy: Brilliantly. Didn’t you? [Laughs]

Well, Spock is half Vulcan half human. I guess it’s more of the human side we’re seeing, instead of the usual Vulcan side.

Zachary Quinto: I don’t necessarily agree with you. I think there’s a duality, an internal conflict, because he’s really split between those two halves of himself. But I just don’t think he’s gained the kind of control over that duality that Leonard had when he played the character. That’s the journey of this character. It’s not that he won’t arrive there, or that he possesses more humanity than… Vulcanity? [Laughter]

Leonard Nimoy: That’s great, I love that! “Vulcanity.” That’s a new one.

Zak, you play probably the most iconic of all the characters in the Trek universe. How intimidating was it for you to do that, and how even more intimidating was it for you to do that with Leonard present. And Leonard, what do you think of the new Spock?

Zachary Quinto: Well, I think all of us were faced with a certain level of intimidation stepping into these roles, theoretically. Although, J.J. did a phenomenal job of diffusing that from step one, in terms of really dictating that we were encouraged to use the original performances as points of departure, but from there we were expected to develop our own points of view and perspectives on these characters. For me, Leonard’s involvement was only liberating, frankly. I knew he had approval over the actors who played Spock, so when I got the role I knew from the beginning it was with his blessing. And at that point we developed our own relationship.

I was the first one to be cast in the movie. I got cast in June and we didn’t start shooting until November. Over those months, Leonard and I spent a number of times hanging out and just talking about life, and the characters. Just getting to know him personally was incredibly freeing and helpful in the process.

And Leonard?

Leonard Nimoy: I think it’s appropriate when the old timer walks on the set and everyone be intimidated. [Laughter] It’s classic. I used to be a kid on the set. I was intimidated. Why shouldn’t they be? [More laughter]

For Zoe and Zachary, this relationship didn’t exist at all in the series. Uhura never expressed any interest in Spock at all. Was it in the script from the beginning, or was it something that you developed along the way. How did you approach this brand new relationship in the Star Trek canon?

Karl Urban: If I may express some of my Trek knowledge here. There was, I do remember, one particular instance where Spock was playing a — what was that instrument — a lier?

Leonard Nimoy: Yeah, yeah.

Karl Urban: Uhura was singing and caressing his ears. It was one of those hypnotic scenes in the original series. I think while that relationship wasn’t developed, it certainly was there in the subtext.

How did you approach it? I mean, Spock is an emotionless character, it’s not a normal romance.

Zoe Saldana: I try not to publicly announce the story line I’m in. In this situation, that whole relationship to me gave me the desire, as the newer generation, to completely fall in love with the character. After reading about the character, going to all the fan sites, I realized Spock and Uhura had more in common, in terms of their attraction, than any other characters in the script. She was an apt pupil, she only lives to work, she loves to study, she loves to be the best at what she does. And then all of a sudden there’s this mentor that is a couple years older than she is. He’s [inaudible] and pointy ears, and sexy. He always knows the answer. It just made more sense. It’s also the start of the connection they have. For him, being a Vulcan, always having this battle [with his human side]. To allow Uhura to see something not even his father [was not allowed to see], to see him fail, was absolutely priceless. And for Uhura to have only this man call her by her first name, I just thought it was kind of awesome.

Zachary Quinto: For me, the relationship provides a great source of levity in the film: between Kirk and Spock, between Kirk and Uhura. But between Spock and Uhura I think it provides a really interesting depth. Uhura essentially represents a canvas onto which Spock projects the emotions he can’t really otherwise express. And I think that dynamic for me was really rewarding as an actor. That scene that Zoe and I played in the elevator was definitely one of the most present experiences through shooting, and that has a great deal to do with Zoe and her emotional availability and openness. It was such a comforting, confined space that we were in, in that moment.

Leonard, did you have any hesitation going back to this character after all this time? What attracted you to the project?

Leonard Nimoy: It was a combination of the script and the J.J.’s enthusiasm, and the writer…Roddenberry talking about their sensibility, their sense of what Star Trek was about, and what the Spock character should be about. Frankly I had felt marginalized for a long time. I haven’t been asked to be involved with Star Trek for about 17 or 18 years. This felt like somebody had said: there’s a value to you that we’d like to take advantage of and do something with. It felt good. It felt good. Frankly, I felt appreciated. I was happy to go back to work.

What are your thoughts on Gene Roddenberry?

Leonard Nimoy: He was a brilliant man. A brilliant complicated man. We had a complicated relationship; it was like a father-son relationship that was typically classic. Sometimes it was great sometimes it was really bad. Um, sometimes we disagreed strongly on certain issues. But obviously, he was of a very special mind. A very special mind.

For Zachary, did any of the Vulcanisms give you any trouble. The eyebrows? The salute?

Zachary Quinto: I spent a little time actually training my hands to do the salute. That didn’t come particularly easy. I would rubber-band my ring finger with my pinkie finger and drive around Los Angeles doing little salutes in the months leading up to shooting. But that was about it. Everything else came together.

Somewhere in the press releases you said this Star Trek is able to go places that the original Star Treks never accomplished. What is that?

Leonard Nimoy: I think at its best, for me, when we were making the series it was about what issues the writers were going to tackle in Star Trek that they could not tackle in other television series. Those were the things that made Star Trek interesting for me. In this film I think it’s a question of vengeance. It’s the defeatism and emptiness of vengeance. That makes it interesting to me.

We’ve tackled some interesting issues over the years. Racial issues, economic issues, ecological issues. That’s what made Star Trek interesting for a lot of people.

Were you surprised it took this long for the studio to reinvigorate the franchise, to recast these roles?

Leonard Nimoy: Frankly I didn’t spend a lot of time thinking about that. I was simply busy doing other things. For me Star Trek was finished. I had done what I could, what I was asked to do, and it was over for me. When the next generation of films came along, I was left out of it and Kirk was killed. I think somebody was sending us a message! [Laughter] It was somebody else’s game now and that’s the way it was for a long time.

Zoe, what was it like being the only girl among the crew?

Zoe Saldana: I loved it. What I loved most about playing Uhura was the fact that she was also very comfortable in that environment, so I was able to infect her with that level of myself. She needed to be that way in order to still hold court and have authority, to be very very feminine and be demanding.

Karl, you play another iconic character, Bones. And you were able to deliver a classic line, how was it decided to incorporate that line?

I had no choice on whether that line was in or out. But I must say, as a long-time fan of the show it was quite surreal to be in that position, delivering those lines. I had such huge admiration and respect, for the wonderful contribution that Mr. Kelley had donated to Star Trek, in developing his character so well for 40 years. And, uh, you know, it was a real privilege to be given the opportunity to develop the young character. We did not want to mimic him, or develop some sort of caricature, which would have sold the character and Mr. Kelley short. Really, the challenge for me was identify some sort spirt of that character then funnel it through what my interpretation of a younger version of that character would be. There’s certain moments, certain lines, that were very challenging to find myself in that moment.

A question for Zachary. What emotions did you have to personally strip yourself of to portray Spock, who is stripped of almost every human emotion?

Zachary Quinto: I really didn’t see it that way actually. I think Spock experiences deeply run emotions, and i think that especially in the context of his relationship with his mother, I think there’s a real depth of feeling. The only thing I feel I had to strip myself of was the ability to express it in a conventional way. I think that is ultimately the dilemma of Spock, because if he doesn’t feel emotion then there is no conflict within him. So the conflict exists within the feeling, the deeply rooted and sublimated feeling of emotion, without the opportunity to do much with it, other than hold on to it. Which is challenging, and can be painful.

Bruce, unlike the other cast members you had less material to work from. Was that liberating or more challenging.

Bruce Greenwood: I think Zak said it really clearly when he said, these characters — we were invited by J.J. to use the original characters as much a part of [inaudible] and you’d be foolish not to. So there was room for me to do something that referenced what the character was about without repeating it.

Zachary, on Monday nights I watch religiously, with my 11 year old, Heroes. He’s upset that Sylar is going to be Spock. On the other hand, my best friend is a Trekkie, and he hates the fact that Sylar is going to be Spock. So, I think there is going to be a backlash on either one of your fan bases. What do you think about that?

Zachary Quinto: Um, I don’t know. Fan reaction isn’t something I really attach myself to very much. I mean, I care deeply about the work I do, and I’m grateful on so many levels for these very contrasting and challenging opportunities I’ve had in the last couple of years. But, um, my focus is my work. And people’s reaction to my work falls in the category of things I have absolutely no control over. I would certainly love to invite my Heroes fans to join us on this journey. And don’t be pissed, it’s all good. [Laughter]

A follow up question about McCoy. For some reason he is the character that gets the most laughs, so what did you find in him…

Leonard Nimoy: I resent that! [Laughter]

Beyond that gruff voice, he could be the world’s youngest curmudgeon already. How did you find him? You obviously know a lot about the series, so I imagine that Kelley crept in there somewhere.

Karl Urban: Well, um, thank you for your question. It’s not that I found him, it’s what works for me to come up with a kind of simple mantra that could envelop me like a jersey. It was simply that McCoy is this sort of cantankerous, grumpy doctor with the most appalling bedside manner. But for me, beneath that often prickly surface, you have the most compassionate, altruistic, loyal, dedicated friend you could possibly find. For me that’s a real treasure of the character, because he often gets to do the opposite of what he says. For example, when he helps Kirk get on board the Enterprise, he’s grumpy and cantankerous about it, but what he’s actually doing is helping out his friend, sticking by his friend. That to me is a wonderful treasure.

Leonard, as well as staring in the original movies, you also directed. Would you like to go behind the camera again?

Leonard Nimoy: No. No, I’m done with all that, thank you. I’m not set up to be a director, um, after Spock had died — sort of, in Star Trek two — they asked me if I’d like to be involved in Star Trek Three. I was told I should be directing, and I took it as an insult, because I felt ‘what’s wrong with my acting?’ [Laughter]

I would like to say this, though. Over the years I’ve often been asked, ‘what contributes to the longevity and interest in Star Trek, and what makes it successful. I think one of the things that’s easily overlooked is the fact, um, all of the people on this Enterprise crew, all of the people involved in various characters in Star Trek, are highly educated and highly professional people. They are for the most part scientists, and they really know how to do their jobs. I think people admire that. People might not be consciously aware of it, but somehow you sense that these are very professional people that know what they’re doing and each makes their own contribution to the solution of a problem. While I have the opportunity to say that, I have to point out there is great authenticity in this movie. You believe these characters, you believe these people are professionals. That, I think, has something to say about the professionalism that’s happened with all the people who are playing these characters. It’s a brilliant cast they’ve put together here. I’m an admirer of all the cast in this movie. I think they’ve done a great job.

Zak, at the end of the original series it’s perceived that Mr. Nimoy tried to distance himself from playing Spock. He wrote a book, “I am not Spock…”

Zachary Quinto: Yes, I read it.

Are you concerned now about you too being too associated with Spock, as an actor?

Zachary Quinto: I think that was a different time. I think there was a stigma attached to science fiction that just doesn’t exist anymore. It’s become so much more mainstream. I think also people’s attention spans, for better or for worse, have diminished significantly since that time. And, uh, it’s incumbent upon myself to define the kind of career I want. And for me that’s a career of longevity and diversity. So now it’s my job to hopefully utilize this exposure as a platform to do other kinds of work and immerse myself in other genres. Also to invite the avid fan-base of science fiction, of Star Trek specifically, to come with me on that kind of a journey now, because that’s the kind of actor I want to be.

So, no.

[Laughter]

I wanted also to ask Zoe about Michelle. Did you talk to her at all about some of her key episodes?

Zoe Saldana: I did not see the series. As actors we’re prone to imitation, and I was very afraid of falling into that pattern, because Michelle did not deserve that. Also, primarily, Uhura deserves better: my entire focus. You know, I trust in J.J. Abrams. That’s the thing about working with a wonderful director… he’s known for taking care of his characters, while he’s blowing up buildings, while his characters are jumping off the highest tower in Tokyo, he’s still very loyal. As an actor, that’s the warmest sensation I could ever feel.

There were fundamental things about Uhura already in the script, and he definitely helped me whenever I was not capturing it, or whatever. [Inaudible] She’s young, she cant’ really be this confident woman who has it all together all the time. She’s a kid, and she’s infatuated.

When I met Michelle that was the biggest start for me, to know that there was complete and utter support and pride on her behalf toward me. The fact that she was very happy that I was playing Uhura. She just told me to definitely follow my instincts. Do it, and do it well.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

  • Permalink

« Star Trek Weekend Blog Round-up

Spock and Uhura’s Hanky Panky on the USS Enterprise »

Recent Blog Posts

Recent Posts

Pages

    • Tag Cloud

     

    MovieSet Blog Archives

    Archives

    Cool Like Us

    Blogroll