Zefram Cochrane Doctor Zefram Cochrane was a Human scientist in the 21st century and a pivotal figure in Human history . An eccentric genius , he was the inventor of warp drive on Earth and became the first recorded Human to travel faster than light , prompting official first contact with the Vulcan s . ( ; ; ; ; ) Biography . Early life . Cochrane was born in the 2030s . ( ; " library computer file " ) His place of birth was Montana , North America , Earth . ( ) Cochrane ' s circumstances were somewhat affected by World War III , gaining him at least minimal knowledge of ECON , one of the aggressors in that conflict . ( ) Developing warp drive . During the 2060s , Cochrane lived in Bozeman , Montana , where he and his team of engineer s began developing the warp drive . ( ) The challenge of inventing warp theory took Cochrane an extremely long time . ( ) In 2061 , he was responsible for Earth ' s first successful demonstration of light speed propulsion , though his work was far from complete . ( ; " library computer file " ) His primary motivation for commencing warp technology was financial gain in the devastated , poverty - stricken America that existed in the wake of the Third World War . He finally built Earth ' s first warp ship , the " Phoenix " , in the hope its success would prove profitable and allow him to retire to a tropical island filled with naked women . A historical irony was that , contrary to the fact he went on to use the " Phoenix " to inaugurate an era of peace , Cochrane incorporated a weapon of mass destruction into its design ; constructing the " Phoenix " in a missile silo , he equipped a " Titan II " missile as its launch vehicle . By 4 April 2063 , Doctor Cochrane had made plans to pilot the " Phoenix " on a test warp flight that was scheduled to launch on the morning of 5 April 2063 . On the night of 4 April , he was witness to an attack from a Borg sphere that fired on his home town of Bozeman from above ; Borg photon torpedo es exploded extremely close to him , as he desperately struggled to escape . Cochrane was thereafter sought by the crew of the Federation starship , who had recently come from the year 2373 to stop the Borg sphere ( which was from the same year ) preventing first contact . He was temporarily considered , by the " Enterprise " crew members , to have been killed in the skirmish . By the time Dr . Cochrane was located by the Starfleet officer s , he had abandoned hope for the continuation of the " Phoenix " , wishing that the prototype craft " rest in peace . " Cochrane was convinced to half - heart edly persist with his endeavors by the " Enterprise " - E crew , who treated him like a historical figure , as he was to them . When they confronted him with some particulars of his future image as herald of a better world , Cochrane refused to accept this new role and initially attempted to literally flee from his destiny , misleadingly implying that his departure would be merely temporary and was required so he could urinate . He was consequently pursued by a squad of officers , and shot down with a phaser – which he thought of as a laser – set to a minimal power output and wielded by an impatient Commander Will Riker . Cochrane then became more cooperative ; by 10 : 00 a . m . on 5 April , he had mentally prepared himself to make history ( despite a distinctly uncomfortable hangover ) and had begun readying the " Phoenix " for liftoff , even though he still disputed the notion of being idol ized . An hour later , he was aboard the " Phoenix " as it launched , with Commander Riker and Lieutenant Commander Geordi La Forge accompanying him . Cochrane was not only instrumental in the flight of the " Phoenix " – at one point , giving the instruction to activate warp drive with the command , " " Engage " " – but was also amazed to view the Earth and the " Enterprise " - E from space and was shocked to experience the sensation of traveling at warp . He broke the warp barrier just after 11 : 00 a . m . , enough to draw the attention of the " " , a type of Vulcan survey ship which was passing near Earth . That evening , Cochrane was among many Human spectators who watched the Vulcan ship land in Bozeman , Montana , thereby making first contact with Humans and opening a new era for the whole of mankind . Finding difficulty with returning a Vulcan salute , he welcomed the arrival of the ship ' s Vulcan captain by engaging him in a handshake for which Cochrane was thankful . ( ) " In an alternate timeline , the Borg succeeded in stopping Cochrane from breaking the warp barrier . His failure to execute that achievement eventually resulted in Earth being inhabited by an entirely Borg population of approximately nine billion . " ( ; ) In 2063 , Cochrane acknowledged details about the first contact in Bozeman , in a commencement address at Princeton . He claimed it had involved " a group of cybernetic creature s from the future " which had been repelled by a group of Humans who had come from the same era . However , Cochrane ' s remarks were largely shrugged off by his audience as a result of his tendency toward imaginative stories and intoxication . ( ) In time , Cochrane resigned himself to the role history had apparently written for him , rather than maintaining the more fantastical truth of what had happened . ( ; ) He recanted his own statements regarding first contact and the two warring groups involved in the event , a few years after making the claims . ( ) In 2073 , he was recorded as proclaiming , " " Don ' t try to be a great man ; just be a man , and let history make its own judgments . " " ( ) In the early 22nd century , Cochrane designed a style of warp reactor that was fitted aboard J - class freighter s . ( ) He also collaborated with Henry Archer on the warp five engine around this time , working hard to develop it and help make it a reality . In 2119 , Cochrane officially opened the Warp Five Complex on Earth , making a speech at the opening ceremony . ( ) Cochrane met Henry ' s son , Jonathan Archer , the future captain of , while the elder Archer was giving his son a tour of the facility . ( ) In a historic holoprogram , Cochrane was said to have given Henry Archer a bottle of whiskey in celebration , on the day they broke ground at the Warp Five Complex . ( ) Later life . At the age of eighty - seven , Cochrane left his new home on Alpha Centauri colony for an interstellar expedition . ( ; " library computer file " ) In a state of tiredness and dying from old age , he chose to die in space . ( ) His body was never recovered and he was presumed dead . ( ; " library computer file " ) Cochrane ended up on an asteroid in the Gamma Canaris region . He was brought there , while in a disabled spaceship and virtually deceased from old age , by a cloud - like entity which he called the Companion . Cochrane was rejuvenated by this entity , which went on to keep him young and alive for 150 years . At one point , he cannibalized his ship , using left - over tool s and supplies to construct a building where he could live . Necessities including food and water were provided for him by the Companion , with whom he could telepathic ally communicate . However , Cochrane eventually wished to be released from the entity ' s supervision , finding immortality boring . In an attempt to attain freedom from the Companion , he related the fact he was lonely to the entity , so it decided to bring him other Humans for company . In 2267 , Captain James T . Kirk , Commander Spock , and Dr . Leonard McCoy of the were ferrying Federation Commissioner Nancy Hedford , who was terminally ill , aboard the shuttlecraft " " when they were mysteriously brought to the asteroid by the Companion . Cochrane was delighted to meet the newcomers there , exchanging handshakes with each of the other men , and was impressed by the configuration of their shuttlecraft . Contrastingly , he originally kept the truth from the visitors , saying he had crashed on the asteroid an indeterminate time ago and feigning ignorance of the Companion . Under duress from Kirk , he conceded the facts , such as confessing the actual specifics of his arrival . Cochrane repeatedly talked with the Starfleet officers about the differences in the galaxy since his disappearance , remaining tempted to leave the asteroid . The Federation and universal translator were both new concepts to Cochrane . His knowledge of modern propulsion was also updated , thanks to Spock and Kirk , the latter of whom observed that Cochrane didn ' t " look a day over thirty - five . " Faced with the quandary of either escaping the Companion and helping Commissioner Hedford to a hospital or risking the death of the Companion , Cochrane reluctantly opted to endanger the entity , despite being exceedingly grateful for its guardianship ; this choice led to him being struck down , momentarily rendered unconscious . In a conversation that Kirk had with the entity , the Companion recurrently called Cochrane " the man " . Once it was discovered that the Companion was actually feminine with romantic feelings toward Cochrane and the female entity entered the body of Hedford , Cochrane was finally allowed to leave with his guests , though the merged entity was unable to accompany him . Feeling greatly indebted to the Companion for having rescued and cared for him , Cochrane began a new life on the asteroid with the newly integrated being , both of them now with a typical Human life span . Cochrane had Kirk swear never to reveal his fate to the authorities . ( ) Legacy . Though Zefram Cochrane ( at the time of First Contact ) did not have a grand vision of ushering in a new era for mankind or of endowing Earth with the gift of warp technology , these qualities came to be commonly ascribed to him by later generation s ; as with many of history ' s icons , the man ' s legend was generally less multifaceted than he himself had been . ( ) Abundant hearsay circulated in the aftermath of Cochrane ' s disappearance . One supposition reported he had been testing a form of experiment al warp ship . He was also reputed to have been flying a one - man craft , at the time he was lost . ( ) Another rumor regarding Cochrane was that he had personally signed the inside of each reactor casing aboard the series of J - class freighters . ( ) Numerous phrases that Cochrane had used in the speech he gave at the dedication ceremony for the Warp Five Complex were repeated by Starfleet for generations to come , such as talk of exploring " strange new worlds , " seeking out " new life and new civilization s , " and going boldly " where no man has gone before . " ( , et al . ) The latter line in particular later adorned the dedication plaque s of various starships named " Enterprise " ( albeit somewhat paraphrased , as " " . . . to boldly go where no man has gone before " " or " " . . . to boldly go where no one has gone before " " ) , for centuries to come . ( ; ; ; set artwork ) In 2151 , a recording of the speech was displayed at the launch ceremony for " Enterprise " , Jonathan Archer ' s command . At the same ceremony , the showing of the recording was prefaced by Admiral Forrest giving a speech of his own in which he repeatedly alluded to Cochrane , describing his warp flight as " legendary . " ( ) A statuette of Cochrane was kept by Captain Archer in his quarters aboard " Enterprise " during that vessel ' s time in service . ( , et al . ) While teasing American Starfleet officer Charles Tucker III about his nationality in November 2151 , Lieutenant Malcolm Reed posited that , if Cochrane had been European rather than from Montana , the Vulcans would have been far less reticent to help the Humans progress with space travel than they ultimately had been . Reed also reckoned that , as an American , Cochrane likely spent his boyhood nights reading about cowboy s and Native American Indians . ( ) After Tucker and Captain Archer became inadvertently entangled in a symbiotic lifeform , Tucker rhetorically asked Archer whether , by speaking about new life and new civilizations , Cochrane had meant alien s such as the one that was currently trap ping them . ( ) By 2152 , Cochrane ' s involvement in First Contact was well known among school child ren and a statue of him had been built in Bozeman . ( ) In 2152 , Cochrane still had surviving family and Admiral Forrest characterized his disappearance as " the greatest missing person case of the century . " When " Enterprise " came across a adrift in space in October 2152 manned by one dead occupant , Captain Archer wondered if it could be the long - lost Cochrane . In the interest of determining the deceased pilot ' s identity , Dr . Phlox submitted a request to the Cochrane family in order for them to release Cochrane ' s genetic profile . However , it was soon learned that the pilot was a Human from the 31st century whose time - travel pod had suffered a critical disaster , in which he had been killed , while visiting the 22nd century . ( ) By 2153 , the Cochrane Equation had been name d in Zefram Cochrane ' s honor ; it described a fundamental mathematical expression in warp theory . ( ) Cochrane distortion , a fluctuation in the subspace field that all warp engine s generate , also took its name from him . ( ) A unit of measure of subspace distortion known as the was named in his honor too . ( , et al . ) The Cochrane deceleration , a well - known battle maneuver in the 23rd century , was also named in his honor . ( ) The first chapter of Basic Warp Design , a required course in Starfleet Academy ' s curriculum , was titled " Zefram Cochrane " . ( ) Numerous schools had been named after Cochrane by 2154 . ( ) One academic institution was called Zefram Cochrane High School . ( ) In 2154 , Erika Hernandez guessed that these schools were fewer than those named after Jonathan Archer following the Xindi incident , which Hernandez estimated were two or three dozen in North America alone . ( ) In 2267 , Spock remarked that Zefram Cochrane ' s name was " revered throughout the known galaxy , " but Cochrane himself considered spending the remainder of his life with the feminine combination of the Companion and Nancy Hedford to be " honors enough . " By that point , planets , great universities , and cities had been named after him . ( ) A starship bearing his name , the , was launched in or by 2367 . ( ; , et al . ) In a holodeck program set in 2161 , Hoshi Sato noted that Archer ' s avoiding credit for the Coalition of Planets would be similar to Cochrane ' s taking no credit for warp drive . It was also this holoprogram that cited Cochrane as having gifted a whiskey bottle to Henry Archer , a recollection mentioned by the holographic Jonathan Archer . ( ) In 2368 , an excited Geordi La Forge voiced an expectation that participating in one of the first tests in soliton wave propulsion would be akin to witnessing Cochrane engage the first warp drive . ( ) This is ironic , considering that La Forge went on to do precisely that . ( ) When the command staff of the was contemplating whether to allow Tom Paris to venture on a test flight of transwarp drive in 2372 , Captain Janeway remarked that , if the flight was successful , Paris would join an elite group of historic pilots whose names already included Cochrane ' s . ( ) Two of " Voyager " s complement of shuttlecraft were eventually named " Cochrane " : , and its replacement . ( ; ) " Zefram Cochrane was so memorable that – when quizzed by Harry Kim , during the Year of Hell version of 2374 , about the name of the famous ship that had been involved in making Earth ' s first contact with Vulcans in Montana – B ' Elanna Torres could remember only that it had been Cochrane ' s vessel . " ( ) By 2375 , a Starfleet award called the Cochrane Medal of Honor was named to commemorate Cochrane . ( ) " In an alternate timeline , a similar award with the same namesake was the Cochrane Medal of Excellence . " ( ) In 2378 , the crew of " Voyager " paid respects to Cochrane , celebrating the 315th anniversary of First Contact by throwing a party on the traditional holiday of First Contact Day ; in the ship ' s mess hall , rock and roll music was played from a jukebox and cheese pierogi were served , since they had been Cochrane ' s favorite music and food respectively . ( ) Romance and friendships . One of Cochrane ' s good friends was Lily Sloane , whom he knew since the Third World War . She nickname d him " Z " . He was also on first - name terms with several residents of Bozeman , including a bartender called Eddy . Cochrane was physically attracted to Deanna Troi , for a brief time after first meeting her , though had difficulty remembering her first name . He made several sexual advances on her , though these were spurned , Troi drunkenly concluding he was " nuts . " Even with these rejections , he was not disheartened to the extent that he stopped socializing with her – at one point voicing satisfaction to learn Riker was not her husband – and Troi was later among Cochrane ' s collaborators during the test flight of the " Phoenix " , as she announced the final countdown before liftoff from outside the craft . ( ) Similarly , Cochrane immediately found Nancy Hedford attractive , referring to her as " beautiful . " Thinking of the Companion as a lover initially disgusted Cochrane , however , and he at first found the binding of Hedford and the Companion to be frightening . Realizing that his intolerance of the alien ' s feelings for him was motivated by prejudice , he ultimately fell in love with the female combination , even sacrificing the opportunity to explore the galaxy so he could instead stay with her . One final confession that he offered to Kirk was that his love for her – convinced they would have many happy years together – was the motivating factor for him staying on the asteroid , rather than his utter gratitude to the entity . ( ) Personality . Often wearing civilian clothing that incorporated a thin neck - scarf and a backwards cap on his head , Cochrane had a cynical streak . For example , he skeptically questioned Lily Sloane ' s theorizing that the attacking Borg sphere was an ECON craft , and he took considerable persuading before he finally came to realize the reality about the Borg and the officers from the " Enterprise " - E . ( ) Cochrane also had an alcohol abuse problem . He commonly drank whiskey but was also known to imbibe shots of tequila . ( ) The inventor of the transporter , Emory Erickson , adopted Cochrane ' s practice of celebrating scientific breakthroughs by consuming large amounts of alcohol and once reviewed of Cochrane , " " Now there was a man who knew the benefits of a little liquid courage . " " ( ) Cochrane was well acquainted with the star s in Earth proximity , owning a telescope and being able to identify the constellation on sight . ( ) His favorite food was cheese pierogi . ( ) He had an intense dislike for air - and space - travel and preferred taking train s . Cochrane was a fan of late - 20th century rock and roll music . His favorite song s included " Ooby Dooby " by Roy Orbison and " Magic Carpet Ride " by Steppenwolf . He often became stressed if he couldn ' t listen to recordings of such music when he wanted to , and introducing the Vulcans to rock and roll was one of his first priorities during their encounter . ( ) Cochrane was also somewhat interested in agriculture . While behaving dishonestly to the Starfleet officers who visited him on the asteroid where he eventually resided , he alleged that he grew vegetable s in fields near his house . Cochrane later admitted that the Companion provided garden s for him , and , moments before his visitors from Starfleet departed , he supported his determination to remain on the asteroid by saying its surface conditions were optimal for growing things and by suggesting that he might try planting a fig tree . ( ) After Lily Sloane advised him that he would regret drinking alcohol to the point of having a hangover while piloting the " Phoenix " on its maiden voyage into space , Cochrane claimed to her that he never had regrets . This was not entirely true of his personality , however . ( ) For instance , he regretted his early prejudice regarding the Companion ' s love for him . ( ) Memorable quotes . " " Who is this jerk ? " ( slurring ) " And who told him he could turn off my music ? " " " " And you people , you ' re all astronaut s on . . . some kind of star trek ? " " " " You people got some pretty funny ideas about me ! You all look at me as if I ' m some kind of . . . saint , or visionary or something ! " " " " I don ' t think you ' re a saint , Doc . But you did have a vision . And now we ' re sitting in it . " " " " You wanna know what my vision is ? Dollar signs , money ! I didn ' t build this ship to usher in a new era for Humanity . You think I wanna go to the stars ? I don ' t even like to fly ! I take trains ! I built this ship so I could retire to some tropical island . . . filled with naked women . " That ' s " Zefram Cochrane . " That ' s " his vision . This other guy you keep talking about , this historical figure ? I never met him . I can ' t imagine I ever will . " " " " Someone once said , ' Don ' t try to be a great man . Just be a man , and let history make its own judgments . " " " " That ' s rhetorical nonsense . Who said that ? " " " " You did . Ten years from now . " " " " Let ' s rock ' n ' roll ! " " " Sweet Jesus ! " " " Live long and prosper . " " " " Thanks . " " " " On this site , a powerful engine will be built . An engine that will someday help us to travel a hundred times faster than we can today . Imagine it – thousands of inhabited planets at our finger tips . . . and we ' ll be able to explore those strange new worlds , and seek out new life and new civilizations . This engine will let us go boldly . . . where no man has gone before . " " " " You ' re food to a starving man . " " " " I could even offer you a hot bath . " " " " How perceptive of you to notice that I needed one . " " " " Immortality consists largely of boredom . " " " " What was it they used to call it ? The Judas goat ? " " " " I can ' t leave her . I love her . Is that surprising ? " " " " Not coming from a Human being . You are , after all , essentially irrational . " " Appendices . Background information . Identifying performers . In , Zefram Cochrane was played by Glenn Corbett . Veteran " Star Trek " actor James Cromwell portrayed the character in the film and pilot episode . Introduction . In both the first draft and the revised final draft of the script for " Metamorphosis " , Cochrane was described thus ; " " He is a young , sturdy , tall , handsome man in his mid - thirties , dressed in a one piece set of coveralls . " " In the first draft of the " Metamorphosis " teleplay , Cochrane encountered not only Kirk , Spock , and McCoy , but also Montgomery Scott , who was delighted to meet the noted inventor and discuss some with him . ( " The Star Trek Compendium " , UK 4th ed . , p . 71 ) Cochrane also reacted much more frustratedly to the revelation of the Companion ' s female gender and love for him than he does in the installment ' s final version ; enraged , he called the Companion an emotional vampire , repeatedly yelled " nasty , " raved and screamed , threw rock s , grabbed a club , and even tried to physically attack her . The conclusion to the same draft of the script involved Spock wondering – in the company of the three other " Enterprise " crewmen – if the fact that Nancy and the Companion shared the same body might result in Cochrane ' s being a bigamist , an idea Kirk dismissed as nonsense . Cochrane ' s introduction in the final version of " Metamorphosis " was partly filmed with a fish - eye camera lens , though its use at first caused him to appear strange . " " When Cochrane entered the foreground and ran toward the group at the [ shuttle ] craft , it seemed as if he had on seven league boots ; he was covering what seemed like a football field distance in about five paces , " " explained the episode ' s director , Ralph Senensky . " " I solved this by filming his approach from several angles , which were then joined together in the editing room . " " Film re - creation . Rewriting the character . The decision to include Zefram Cochrane in the film " Star Trek : First Contact " was preceded by the movies ' writers choosing to set the story at a time when they could also feature Humans and Vulcans making first contact with one another . " " Lo and behold , we looked around and found Zefram Cochrane sitting around the same time period , " " recollected co - writer Ronald D . Moore . ( " Captains ' Logs Supplemental - The Unauthorized Guide to the New Trek Voyages " , p . 171 ) Rick Berman , who worked on the film as producer and story co - writer , concurred , " " We realized where our story was going and that we could marry those elements [ Cochrane and Humanity ' s first warp flights ] into the story . " " ( " Cinefantastique " , Vol . 28 , No . 6 , p . 21 ) How to depict Cochrane in the movie was a subject of much debate among the writers , including Ronald D . Moore , who later recalled , " " We had very long discussions about who Cochrane was and who he should be in this film . And what we decided was you wanted to see a transition . You wanna see an arc for the character . " " ( audio commentary , / ) The writers also chose to significantly vary the film ' s depiction of Cochrane from how he had been established in " Metamorphosis " . " " We decided to take a lot of liberty with the " Original Series " character , and we created a new character , " " declared co - writer Brannon Braga , " " because the character we meet in this film is very different [ . . . ] We kind of ignored , to some degree , the Cochrane from the original series . " " ( " The Legacy of Zefram Cochrane " documentary featurette , / ) Rick Berman revealed that the writers did a lot of research into the " very vague history " that had been established about Cochrane and the initial warp flights . He went on to clarify , " " We attempted to stay close to what we perceived as being the way Gene [ Roddenberry ] had wanted to set it in motion , but we took some liberties too . " " ( " Cinefantastique " , Vol . 28 , No . 6 , p . 21 ) Even though it had been established in " Metamorphosis " that Cochrane was somewhat familiar with Vulcans , that episode makes no mention of Cochrane ' s involvement in Earth ' s first contact with the species . The idea that the event took place immediately after Cochrane ' s first warp flight – a sequence of incidents first established in the film " First Contact " – was preempted by the episode ; that installment revealed that the Federation customarily initiated first contact only with species that were evidently on the cusp of originating warp drive . The movie " First Contact " also established , for the first time , Cochrane ' s qualification as a doctor ( having been addressed by Kirk as " " Mister " Cochrane " in " Metamorphosis " ) . In the first draft script for " First Contact " , Dr . Cochrane was wounded in the Borg attack . An introductory description of him read , " " He has a youthful , dynamic appearance marred by recent radiation burn s . " " Much of the plot also dealt with Cochrane receiving urgent medical treatment in a hospital , coma tose throughout much of the script . Out of action even for a while after he regained consciousness , he let Captain Picard secretly pilot the " Phoenix " rather than himself , wishing he could make the flight too . It was also said he was " touched " by Geordi La Forge paying him " obvious respect . " Cochrane went on to make first contact with the Vulcans , much as he does in the film ' s final version . Although the writers thought Cochrane was one of the elements that worked successfully in the first script draft , they decided to adjust the character . " " Let ' s get simple . Bring Cochrane into the story , " " stated Ronald D . Moore . " " Let ' s make him an interesting fellow , and it could say something about the birth of the Federation . The future that Gene Roddenberry envisioned is born out of this very flawed man , who is not larger than life but an ordinary flawed Human being . " " ( " " , 3rd ed . , p . 323 ) Brannon Braga concurred , " " We realized in subsequent drafts that this is an interesting character . You kind of want to meet the guy . He ' s such a critical part of history . One of the things that we thought was an interesting idea was that if you went back in history [ . . . ] to meet one of your heroes [ . . . ] you might find meeting them in person , smelling the environment they lived in , and really just being there , very different from reading about it . We thought it would be cool if the man who basically ushered in a new era of humanity was motivated by things that were antithetical to " Star Trek . " ( " " , p . 16 ) Having discarded the concept of Cochrane changing by being revived , the writers now dealt with their impulse to have Cochrane undergo a character arc , in the course of the movie , by attempting to imply that he becomes the man whom the " Enterprise " - E crew expects him to be . ( " " , p . 16 ) Ronald D . Moore noted , " " In that man , by the end of the picture you see the transition of humanity from petty and small - minded to reaching out to the stars and actually bridging the gap between us and 24th - century man . " " ( " Cinefantastique " , Vol . 28 , No . 6 , p . 21 ) As such , both Moore and Brannon Braga described Cochrane , by the end of the movie , as having become " a Roddenberry person . " ( audio commentary , / ) Alternatively , Rick Berman once stated that , at the end of the film , Cochrane " was far from a Gene Roddenberry human . " Berman backed up this statement by pointing out that " when we last saw Zefram Cochrane [ . . . ] he was drinking whiskey with some Vulcans . " ( ) Not only has the degree to which Cochrane fitted into the character mold of a near - perfect future Human envisioned by Gene Roddenberry been questioned , but the character ' s similarities to the " Star Trek " creator himself have also come under occasional discussion . For instance , Anthony Pascale said , " " I always felt that the way they treated Cochrane is kind of like Roddenberry . Roddenberry ' s revered as this god - like visionary , but Gene Roddenberry was a Human being with flaws , you know , but that doesn ' t mean he isn ' t also a great man and a great visionary . " " Damon Lindelof similarly likened Cochrane , in a scene where Lieutenant Reginald Barclay is overjoyed to meet him , to Gene Roddenberry being met by an enthusiastic fan . ( audio commentary , / ) Ronald D . Moore and Brannon Braga were highly pleased with how they ultimately wrote Cochrane . Said Moore , " " Cochrane became a really cool character who I think the audience can identify with a little bit . " " ( " Cinefantastique " , Vol . 28 , No . 6 , p . 21 ) Braga perceived that writing Cochrane as such a flawed character " made for more interesting drama in the film . " ( " The Legacy of Zefram Cochrane " documentary featurette , / ) Both Brannon Braga and Picard actor Patrick Stewart likened Cochrane to the Wright brothers . Commented Stewart , " " He represents , to the post - 21st century , what perhaps the Wright brothers , the aviators , represent to us in the 20th century . " " ( " " , p . 16 ; ) Stewart also felt Cochrane , as presented in " First Contact " , was imbued with " gritty reality and humor . " Another strength of the character , in Stewart ' s opinion , was that Cochrane challenged the actions , beliefs , and virtue of the regular TNG characters who were in the film . ( " Fade In - The Writing of Star Trek : Insurrection " ) Damon Lindelof opined that showing the highly esteemed Cochrane as actually alcoholic and eccentric is an example of " one great convention of time - travel movies " and " sort of a touchstone of what Moore and Braga did on the series and are doing in the movie , which is , you know , character first , character first , character first . " Lindelof also noticed that , in common with the character of Lily Sloane , Cochrane serves as " a conduit for the audience , " as he is at first unfamiliar with the " Enterprise " - E crew and their indigenous time period of the 24th century . ( audio commentary , / ) Recasting the role . Even though James Cromwell didn ' t match the look of the " Original Series " Cochrane , casting a performer with a likeness to that representation was not a priority for the production staff . " " That didn ' t interest us , " " Rick Berman admitted . ( " Cinefantastique " , Vol . 28 , No . 6 , p . 29 ) In fact , the role in the movie was written for Cromwell to play . Rick Berman stated , " " When we were creating the character , we always had Jamie in our heads . " " ( ' ) Berman told Cromwell the writers had written the part specifically for him , because he was in their minds from the " Star Trek " guest appearances he had done . ( ) Due to the actor gaining celebrity for his presence in the film , the production personnel were at one point somewhat worried that Cromwell might not be available . " " We were afraid he was going to be out of our price range , " " explained Berman . " " But it all worked out . " " ( ) Additionally , Berman said , " " Because we had worked with him on a number of occasions , we were delighted when he did , in fact , take the role . " " ( ' ) Even though the part had been written for him , James Cromwell auditioned for the role . Upon doing so , he was asked to perform a later - excised scene wherein Cochrane attempted to commit suicide by jumping off the edge of a cliff , only for his descent to be stopped in midair by a force field Geordi La Forge had rigged up . The actor cast his memory back to his performance ; " " I stood on the edge of a chair , and when it came time to fall , I lay down across the chair which got a real hoot out of everybody ! " " ( ) Cromwell ' s audition was indeed highly successful . " " He nailed it , " " Director Jonathan Frakes raved . " " He left Berman and me with our jaws in our laps . " " ( " " , p . 325 ) Academy Award - winning actor was briefly considered to play Cochrane in " First Contact " ( requested by then - Chairwoman of Paramount Pictures Sherry Lansing ) , but James Cromwell was ultimately confirmed for the role – much to the relief of both he and Rick Berman – after it was determined that the film ' s production wouldn ' t fit into Hanks ' scheduling . According to Berman , the role would have needed to be considerably rewritten if Hanks had been able to accomplish it . ( ) Having an interest and belief in the existence of extraterrestrials , James Cromwell was thrilled to be cast as Cochrane . ( " " , p . 41 ) The actor later emphasized , " " I thought it was so serendipitous and extraordinary that I should have this interest and make this film . I ' m looking forward to seeing whether this is all part of a plan . I think it ' s intriguing . " " ( " Cinefantastique " , Vol . 28 , No . 6 , p . 30 ) Cromwell also enthused , " " The character was very well - written , and he had wonderful things to do . What intrigued me was the first contact idea [ . . . ] So that was a lot of fun . " " Cromwell ' s participation was also valued by Rick Berman , who explained , " " He seemed to be the perfect character to play Cochrane because we were looking for somebody who was exactly opposite what people would think [ . . . ] Jamie was perfect , and he was available and interested in doing it , and we were lucky from day one . " " ( " The Legacy of Zefram Cochrane " documentary featurette , / ) Costuming for movie . Of all the costumes in " First Contact " , Costume Designer Deborah Everton felt she was given the most freedom to design Cochrane ' s clothing . " " Even though he ' s so established in the lore of " Star Trek " , he ' s not a character with which we ' re really familiar , " " she mused . " " I could really go to town on him and take his character pretty far out . " " ( ) Given that Cochrane had been written as an eccentric genius famed for being a pivotal figure in Human history , Everton wanted to represent the character ' s kookiness in his costuming , without making him too repulsive to the film ' s audience . " " I wanted to bring out a lovable , quirky quality about him , " " she noted . ( " " , p . 80 ) Cochrane ' s clothing ended up as a reflection of his personality , a mix of practicality and flamboyance , and encompassed a large sheepskin coat for outdoor scenes . One alternative costume layout for the character was designed by Everton , illustrated in a concept sketch , but not used . Yet another sketch of Cochrane demonstrated a blue - colored spacesuit , worn , in the movie , by not only him but also Riker and La Forge . ( ) The inclusion of a distinctive - looking hat was at the request of Rick Berman , after Deborah Everton had incorporated the headgear in her original sketch for Cochrane ' s costume . ( " " , p . 81 ) Further sketches focusing just on the cap were carefully completed , but the headpiece eventually received more decoration around its rim . The cap , featuring more decorative studs around the outer edge , was also illustrated in the sketch of Cochrane wearing a spacesuit . ( ) Everton reflected , " " Rick Berman kept liking this hat – every time he would see it on one of the illustrations , it was ' God , I really like that hat ! ' So when I made it for Cochrane , I wanted to make it sort of funkier , as a character thing . " " ( " " , p . 81 ) James Cromwell was grateful that Cochrane ' s costumes included a heavy wool coat that he was able to wear while filming on location in frosty cold night conditions . ( ) He was especially pleased that the costuming did not cover him up as much as he had been , by prosthetics , in his previous " Star Trek " roles , later remarking , " " It was really nice to play someone where you can use what physicality you have and your expressiveness to give him life . When you ' re in a costume that covers every part of you , that ' s really a matter of somebody else ' s imagination dictating what your outer form is . I loved Cochrane ' s costume because it let me be me , or let me play Cochrane . " " ( " " issue # 234 , p . 41 ) Jonathan Frakes was also pleased with the clothes Cochrane wears in the film , characterizing them as " great costumes . " ( audio commentary , / ) On the other hand , the costuming for Cochrane proved baffling to others . For example , Brannon Braga once admitted , " " I always meant to ask Deborah Everton , ' What was that hat that he was wearing ? " " ( audio commentary , / ) Cochrane ' s neck - scarf likewise puzzled Damon Lindelof and Anthony Pascale , though the latter hypothesized that Cochrane wearing it might be an attempt to hide a scar . ( audio commentary , / ) Second portrayal . James Cromwell purposely did not watch Glenn Corbett ' s presentment of Cochrane , prior to playing the character himself . " " I didn ' t feel as if I were dealing with a historical character , " " Cromwell expressed . " " I suppose that I " am " to some degree , at least in the eyes of some Trekkie s , because Corbett played the role before I did . I just felt that what I wanted to do was to give my interpretation of what the writers of " First Contact " wrote as a character . I didn ' t need or want any outside assistance as to what somebody else had done with the same fellow . " " ( " " issue # 234 , p . 40 ) James Cromwell found it easy to appear in the movie role . " " They just let me play it as it was written , " " he said . " " And I looked at him as just " me " . A guy who is overwhelmed , horny , fun - loving and self - deprecating , which is me . " " With a laugh , Cromwell added , " " Except that he happens to be an alcoholic . " " ( ) Cromwell also characterized the somewhat " maverick " Cromwell as " a throwback to the 1960s " and " actually the guy who starts " Star Trek " . " ( " " ) The actor related , " " The character came alive for me . Instead of having to play a legend , what I had to play was someone who was reluctant to become a legend . That ' s immanently playable . It ' s very hard to play a legend , but it ' s not so hard to play when you have an action . He had a very strong action , which was that it frightened , confused , confounded and disturbed him . " " ( ) Jonathan Frakes postulated that James Cromwell ' s stability with playing the part added to the characterization , as did him having great physical ease , especially considering his extreme height . " " I think it made him . . . or made the character more Human and more attractive , because of the way Cromwell tackled the part , " " Frakes commented . " " Instead of playing it with this sort of straitlaced respect , it was played with a wonderful casualness . " " ( audio commentary , / ) One particular element of the story in which Cromwell found difficulty with portraying Cochrane is when the character is finally involved in the actual first contact with the Vulcans . Noted the actor , " " All I had to do was say , ' It ' s real , it ' s real , it ' s real . ' And I kept on saying to myself , ' What would it look like ? What would I do ? Would I perspire ? Would I shake ? ' and I thought , ' God , the real thing is that you don ' t know what you ' ll do when it actually happens . " " ( " " , p . 110 ) Even though Cochrane was instrumental in the construction of the " Phoenix " , James Cromwell never saw the missile that , in the movie , supposedly delivers the prototype warp ship into space . ( ) Ultimately , Jonathan Frakes deemed James Cromwell as having been " brilliant in this role . " ( audio commentary , / ) Patrick Stewart concurred that Cromwell was " perfect " as Cochrane . ( " Fade In : The Writing of Star Trek : Insurrection " ) Ronald D . Moore likewise concluded that Cochrane ' s transformation into " a really cool character , " slightly identifiable to the audience , was " once we married [ the metamorphosis which the character is implied as going through , during the course of the film ] [ . . . ] with James Cromwell . " ( " Cinefantastique " , Vol . 28 , No . 6 , p . 21 ) Later references and appearances . In the first draft script of , Jadzia Dax referenced Zefram Cochrane , excitedly remarking that an experimental technique to create artificial wormhole s " could be the most important advance in space travel since Zefram Cochrane invented the warp drive . " Cochrane was additionally mentioned in the series bible for . That document noted that he was idolized by Jonathan Archer . The only physical description of Cochrane in the final revised draft script for the pilot episode of " Enterprise " , , was the word " elderly . " In that episode , Cochrane was once again played by James Cromwell . As he had become a relatively big movie star by then , " Star Trek " s production personnel had to pull in a favor for him to reprise the role . This task was facilitated by Junie Lowry - Johnson , a big fan of Cromwell ' s who helped cast both " First Contact " and " Broken Bow " . Rick Berman said of Cromwell ' s return as Cochrane , " " It was interesting to get [ him ] [ . . . ] He was very gracious and did it . " " ( " Broken Bow " audio commentary , ENT Season 1 DVD special features ) Elaborated Berman , " " We just needed him for a day [ . . . ] and he was sweet enough to come and do it for us in our pilot . " " ( " The Legacy of Zefram Cochrane " documentary featurette , / ) Cochrane ' s scene in " Broken Bow " was scheduled to be filmed on , on Paramount Stage 16 , but actually ended up being shot there two days later , on 22 June . That morning , Cromwell reported to the makeup department at 7 : 30 a . m . Makeup and hair - styling were applied to give him an old - age look . He was due on set at 10 : 30 a . m . , though he actually arrived on set sometime between 10 : 15 and 10 : 30 a . m . He had no meals during his visit to Paramount and was dismissed from the set at 11 : 30 a . m . Removal of his makeup then took fifteen minutes . ( " " Broken Bow " shooting schedule , call sheets & production reports " ) The suit that Cromwell wore to appear as Cochrane in " Broken Bow " was ultimately sold in the " It ' s A Wrap ! " sale and auction . In the final draft script of ENT Season 2 outing , Cochrane was referred to in a scene description , in connection with a similarity between the cockpit s of the " Phoenix " and NX - Alpha . At one stage , Rick Berman was noncommittal about continuing to feature Zefram Cochrane ' s history in " Enterprise " , addressing such details as his involvement in the Warp 5 project , his association with Henry Archer , and his eventual disappearance . Shortly after Berman finished work on the making of the second season , he said , " " We have not ruled out telling more stories that further Cochrane ' s story , but we also don ' t have anything planned in the immediate future . " " ( ) Footage of James Cromwell ( as Zefram Cochrane greeting the Vulcans ) was reused , with Cromwell ' s consent , at the beginning of . ( " In a Mirror , Darkly " audio commentary , ENT Season 4 DVD special features ) While the final draft script for that episode made it clear the footage was to be reused ( dictating Cochrane ' s physical appearance ) , the teleplay didn ' t make any outright statement that seen in that episode was actually from the mirror universe . Age and physical appearance . ↑ According to " Metamorphosis " , Cochrane was eighty - seven years old when he arrived on Gamma Canaris N , 150 years before 2267 , suggesting he was born in the year 2030 and disappeared in 2117 . in uses these years , and this correlates with information provided in the and the . However , according to the recording of the dedication of the Warp Five Complex in , Cochrane was still on Earth in 2119 , establishing that the " hundred and fifty years " proposed in " Metamorphosis " was not given as an exact figure and making his earliest possible year of birth 2032 . ( ) According to " " ( p . 61 ) , Zefram Cochrane left Earth in 2120 , suggesting a year of birth in 2033 . The first draft script of , set in 2063 , described Cochrane as " a man in his mid - forties . " However , James Cromwell was fifty - six years old during the production of the film , the final version of which is also set in 2063 , meaning that the character is supposedly in his early thirties during the events of the film . The " Star Trek Encyclopedia " ( 3rd ed . , p . 81 ) accounted for this discrepancy by speculating that Cochrane ' s aged appearance in the movie was the result of radiation poisoning . Theories . At one stage , " Star Trek " writer and science consultant André Bormanis supposed that Cochrane may have discovered a source of dilithium crystal s deep in the Earth ' s crust and might have invented the formula for verterium cortenide from which the " Phoenix " s warp coil s were then fashioned . ( ) In contrast , according to the earlier " Star Fleet Medical Reference Manual " ( p . 17 ) , dilithium was first discovered in 2049 , from the fifth moon of Jupiter . Brannon Braga once speculated that Cochrane " probably is instrumental in the formation of Starfleet . " ( " The Legacy of Zefram Cochrane " documentary featurette , / ) James Cromwell has theorized that , prior to the first flight of the " Phoenix " , Cochrane had not planned to take the prototype warp craft into space himself , being merely a scientist and having never flown in space before . Proposing that the version of events demonstrated in " First Contact " constitute an alternate timeline , Cromwell went on to say , " " Obviously , he does take it up himself , so something was supposed to happen , and in reality he would have made the choice anyway . Since they [ the " Enterprise " - E crew ] come back a little earlier than he had made that choice , he is frightened . " " ( " Cinefantastique " , Vol . 28 , No . 6 , pp . 29 - 30 ) Likewise , in an audio commentary for " First Contact " available on the film ' s and releases , Anthony Pascale supposed that , prior to encountering the " Enterprise " - E crew , Cochrane " must have read a journal about time travel in , maybe before the Third World War , or something . " Trivia . In , an illustration of Zefram Cochrane can be seen when Data is assimilating the Dixon Hill novels . This illustration was from the FASA RPG module " The Federation " . Cochrane ' s first name was consistently spelled " Zephram " in the first draft script of as well as the call sheets from the production of , and the final draft scripts of , , , and . Similarly , in the film ' s credits , the character ' s surname is misspelled " Cochran " . The final draft scripts of and spelled the character ' s full name " Zefram Cochrane " . Cochrane was mentioned in a scene deleted from , in which Picard quoted Cochrane as having said , " " To seek out new life and new civilizations . " " Cochrane is the only character to utter the phrase " star trek " in the franchise , which he does in " First Contact " , although Q does use the phrase " " trek through the stars " " in the series finale , . The prospect of somehow working the phrase " star trek " into the franchise had been a secret fantasy of Rick Berman ' s for about the past eight years , but had proven challenging to carry out due to the oddness of the phrase . Brannon Braga offered , " " We went round and round about that , [ contemplating ] whether it should just be ' trek , ' ' star journey ' [ or something else ] . " " ( audio commentary , / ) James Cromwell was conscious of whether the line sounded like a natural or intentional reference , stating , " " Hopefully it came out [ . . . ] as , you know , searching for an idea . " " Cromwell believed that Cochrane saying the line while in a forested area helped make the reference sound natural , interesting , and somewhat fitting . ( " The Legacy of Zefram Cochrane " documentary featurette , / ) However , audience response to the line , when the film was exhibited in movie theaters , was not only sometimes laughter but also occasionally groans . ( audio commentary , / ) The first season " South Park " episode " Damien " references a line spoken by Cochrane in " First Contact " : " " Don ' t try to be a great man , just be a man . " " Apocrypha . In the novelization of " Metamorphosis " ( as adapted by James Blish in " Star Trek 7 " ) , Cochrane made mention of having been on and professed , " " I was always pretty much of a loner . Spent years in space by myself . " " After Spock outlined that he had concluded the Companion ' s homeworld was once a moon of some now - destroyed larger celestial body and was colonized by a highly advanced civilization , Cochrane agreed and attested that he had found some artifacts that corroborated these theories . In the novelization of " " , it was suggested that Cochrane ' s alcoholism was not his only issue . He also suffered from bipolar disorder , a condition that had been treated with a cerebral implant that delivered the necessary medications . After World War III , however , Cochrane was unable to find either a way to refill the implant , nor a suitable replacement , so he took to self - medicating with alcohol . The crew of the " Enterprise " - E was able to stabilize his condition enough for him to complete his work on the " Phoenix " , and Beverly Crusher cured the disorder permanently , shortly before returning to the " Enterprise " . In addition , this novelization specified that Cochrane was born in the year 2013 , as opposed to 2030 or 2032 , which would be more consistent with actor James Cromwell ' s real - life age and countenance in the film . The reasoning for Cochrane having a far more weathered and older mien than his natural age had often been given in non - canon literature ( most notably the Pocket Books novel " " ) as being a result of him suffering from radiation poisoning . In the comics story " A Warp in Space " ( printed as the forty - ninth issue of " Gold Key TOS " ) , Cochrane was shown as an elderly - looking man , even in flashback events from " Metamorphosis " , with no explanation given for the change in his appearance . The novel " First Frontier " divulged that Cochrane accidentally stumbled on the secrets of the warp drive and that he had originally been looking for something else , though it was never indicated what he had been looking for , exactly . A lot of the " Star Trek " literature of the 1980s describes Cochrane as a native of Alpha Centauri , which is inhabited by Preserver - transplanted Humans . The novel " Memory Prime " explains that " Zefram Cochrane " is an anglicized version of his true name : " Zeyafram Co ' akran " . FASA ' s RPG sourcebook " The Federation " gives his full name as " Zephram Edark Cochrane " .