Star Trek (film)/Background information/Casting

This is the first of any Star Trek production to re-cast the regular characters of a Trek series and both William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy were given consultation rights for the recasting of their roles. Casting for the film began as early as . 
The only actors to participate in both this film and the first Star Trek film, , were Majel Barrett and Leonard Nimoy. In The Motion Picture, Barrett played Dr. Christine Chapel and she voiced the Enterprise computer in Star Trek, while in both films, Nimoy played Spock.
Star Trek has Leonard Nimoy portraying his iconic role of Spock for the first time since . He came out of retirement to assume the role, having given up acting in favor of photography in 2000. He later gave three explicit reasons for doing this project: the fact that it is Star Trek, his admiration for Abrams, and an "essential" and "interesting Spock role". Abrams has stated that the casting of Nimoy is "critical if we're going to look at reintroducing these characters", noting that, to make this a "great film", it must "both please the fans and those who have never seen Star Trek… having Leonard in the film shows that this film exists in a continuum of Trek history, as opposed to an absolute, page 1 reinvention." 
The first actor cast in the new film was star Zachary Quinto, who plays the younger Spock. His casting, and that of Nimoy, was officially announced at San Diego's Comic-Con International on . Quinto also signed up to play Spock in any potential sequels to this film. The last recast member of the original series crew to sign on was Karl Urban as Leonard McCoy. Rehearsals were held week of 19 October 2007. 
On 10 December 2008, Variety announced that Majel Barrett-Roddenberry reprised her role as the voice of the Enterprise computer. This announcement came just eight days before Barrett's death at the age of 76. 
April Webster and Alyssa Weisberg oversaw the casting of the principal actors. Hollywood Operating System (Hollywood OS) and Headquarters Casting (HQC) were the agencies working in conjunction to hire extras for the film. They held an open casting call for extras on 10 November 2007, an event which hundreds attended, numbers that haven't been seen since in 1979. 
In November 2009, Wil Wheaton, who played Wesley Crusher on , confirmed that he provided the voice for the minor Romulan characters who spoke in the movie. His dialogue was altered to make him sound different each time, with one exception: the Romulan towards the end of the film who tries to warn Nero about igniting the red matter aboard Spock's ship had Wheaton's normal voice. 
<tabber>
|-| Rumors and gossip=As the buzz around the film was building and word spread that the characters of the original Star Trek series were to be recast, rumors as to who would play the younger versions of these iconic characters also arose while a number of actors reportedly expressed interest in participating in the film.
* J.J. Abrams' childhood friend Greg Grunberg expressed interest in playing a Klingon, Scott, or a Vulcan. Although he was to have appeared in the film, Grunberg bowed out to star in, produce, and co-write another film. However, he did visit the set of this movie while it was in production. (, issue 287, p. 79) Grunberg also managed to acquire a role in the film during post-production, as the voice of James Kirk's step-father.
* Actor was rumored as Captain Kirk, even soliciting William Shatner's aid in signing him up. Damon himself denied having been approached for the role, although he later told that he would be interested in playing a young Captain Kirk if the script met with his satisfaction. In March 2007, Kurtzman, although not confirming that Damon will play Kirk, stated that he was "the hugest Matt Damon fan. If he became [Kirk], great." In a subsequent interview with IGN, Damon stated that the filmmakers were looking for someone younger than Damon (who in 2007, was merely two years older than William Shatner was in 1966). In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, J.J. Abrams said he had approached Damon to play Kirk's father, but ultimately it didn't work out. 
* Mike Vogel was a contender for the role of Kirk before the role went to Chris Pine. 
* Actors and also showed interest in portraying Jim Kirk. 
* Adrien Brody was rumored to be in talks to play Spock. Brody later confirmed that he had indeed had a discussion with J.J. Abrams about the role. 
* Oscar-nominated actor (Forrest Gump, CSI: NY) was rumored to be in talks to play the role of Dr. McCoy. Sinise subsequently denied the rumor. 
* During a short phone interview with J.J. Abrams on his show, The Colbert Report, Stephen Colbert jokingly expressed that he felt he was perfect for the role of Dr. McCoy.
* Alias star expressed interest in portraying Scott. 
* Scottish actor was rumored as being sought to play Scott, which McAvoy's publicist subsequently denied. 
* Scottish actors Greg Hemphill and Martin Compston were also reportedly up for the role of Scott. 
* and guest actor and Lost star Daniel Dae Kim was named as a contender for the role of Sulu. 
* Heroes actor expressed interest in playing Sulu. 
* Sources reported that Academy Award-winner may have a role in the film, possibly as a doctor (but not "Bones" McCoy). 
* There was a rumor that the new James Bond, , was interested in a role. 
* Actress , who starred in Abrams' Alias television series, said she would "absolutely" sign up to appear in Star Trek if she were asked. Garner later expressed interest in showing up as a Klingon, even if it was just a quick walk-on role. 
* Abrams thought it would "be awesome" if he were able to cast his Felicity and Mission: Impossible III actress as a Klingon. Russell later told IESB that she had indeed been in talks for a role in Star Trek but that she and Abrams had decided not to go through with it. 
* Actress Sydney Tamiia Poitier auditioned for a role in the film, possibly Uhura. 
* was rumored to have been approached for a role in the film. 
* Abrams' Mission: Impossible III star and producer, , was frequently rumored to have a cameo in the film. He was even rumored to be appearing in the film as Captain Christopher Pike. Both Cruise and his publicist have denied any involvement in the film. 
* It was reported that Paramount was attempting to sign up Oscar-winner to play the film's villain. Crowe said he was "apparently" up for the role, but that he had yet to read anything and could not make a decision until he did. Eric Bana ultimately won the role.
* Actor Josh Lucas was being considered for the role of Pike, although he was never the leading candidate. The role ultimately went to Bruce Greenwood.
* Starburst Magazine reported, in its 356th issue, that George Takei would be appearing in the film, reprising his role as Sulu in "a flash forward sequence" opposite Leonard Nimoy. This was later found to be incorrect. 
* Star Trek: Enterprise star Dominic Keating auditioned for the role of Jim Kirk's stepfather, but he did not get the part. 
* TOS actress Nichelle Nichols stated that she and J.J. Abrams discussed the possibility of Nichols making an appearance in the new film, perhaps as the grandmother of Uhura (the character she originated on TOS). Due to the writers' strike, however, her inclusion into the script was not possible. 
|-| Shatner controversy=Yet another actor who expressed interest in a role was William Shatner himself. In an interview with Time magazine, Shatner claimed to have been approached by Abrams for a role in Star Trek. Shatner even reported several times his belief that Abrams was planning for both him and Leonard Nimoy to appear in the film, although they would have to be meaningful roles. 
Shatner learned he did not have a role in the film while discussing the script with Leonard Nimoy over the phone. According to Nimoy, although Shatner did not have a role the film, Shatner was not "furious" about it as some reported. The film's writers stated their wish for Shatner to be a part of the film's shoot, and the filmmakers were looking for a way to include Shatner in the film. It was implied by Nimoy that the reason Shatner did not have a role in the script was due to the events of , which featured the death of Captain Kirk. This suggested that Nimoy's scenes as Spock might have taken place in the 24th century. As it turned out, the backstory for the movie did indeed start in the late 24th century in the year 2387. Kirk's appearance and subsequent death in the 24th century occurred in the year 2371, sixteen years prior. While Shatner could theoretically have appeared as a James T. Kirk circa 2387 (as depicted in the "Shatnerverse" novels), it would have been confusing to the audience that might only know of his last screen adventure and not the subsequent ones in the novels since the novels are not canon.
In an interview with then-executive producer Stratton Leopold, the Savannah Morning News stated that "studio executives still hope to convince William Shatner to suit up as Captain Kirk one more time." This contradicted previous reports stating that Shatner was the one attempting to convince Abrams and crew to find a way to put him in the movie. It is possible that the Savannah report was merely mistaken or that the line was taken out of context.
The fact that Nimoy had a role in the film and Shatner did not, disappointed Shatner. The fact also caused an uproar from some fans on forums and discussion boards. Shatner explained in later interviews that the writers had been looking for ways to include Kirk in the story, but couldn't find a way to do it without compromising the script or making his appearance feel "forced". 
In an interview with , J.J. Abrams finally put an end to the rumors by stating that William Shatner was not in the movie at all and Leonard Nimoy is the only actor from the original series who was. 
In another interview with , Abrams admitted there was a scene written for Shatner, but he and the writers decided not to use it because "it didn't feel right" and they still had to respect canon. In addition, Shatner was vocal in his unwillingness to be involved unless he had a substantial role in the film. Abrams called the omitted scene a "flashback", although co-writer Roberto Orci later stated that wasn't a technically accurate term. 
Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman eventually said that Shatner's scene was in the movie and then was written out in a later draft. It would have been at the very end of the movie when Spock Prime meets the younger Spock and speaks to him about the long and enduring friendship that Spock and Kirk needed to form. Spock Prime would have said "Don't take my word for it" and produced a small holographic device that would have projected a message from the elder Kirk. 
</tabber>