Casting the Captain
Casting the Captain
From the very beginning Gene Roddenberry knew just what sort of character should command the Starship Enterprise, The original telebrief described 'Captain Robert M. April' as a "colourfully complex personality, capable of action and decision which can verge on the heroic . . . his primary weakness a predilection to action over administration, a temptation to take the greatest risks onto himself". In shorthand, Roddenberry described his central character as a "space-age Captain Horatio Hornblower'.
Roddenberry's first choice for the role was leading actor Lloyd Bridges but he was wary of appearing in a science-fiction series, and a lot of time and film were used up in screen testing before Jeffrey Hunter was eventually cast as 'Captain Christopher Pike' in the original pilot episode.
(6k jpeg) Jeffrey Hunter 'piloted' the
U.S.S, Enterprise for just one episode.
When the network demanded further changes, Hunter, who was best-known for his portrayal of Jesus in the film 'King of Kings', decided not to continue. The next person called was Jack Lord, who would later go on to star in 'Hawaii Five-O', but his asking price was too high. The search continued for some time before a young actor named William Shatner was cast in the role of 'Captain James T. (Tiberius) Kirk'.
(11k) Captain James Tiberius Kirk
Shatner was well respected for his work in episodes of 'The Twilight Zone' and 'The Outer Limits' but was unemployed when Roddenberry contacted him. The timing could not have been better. Shatner was enthused by the original pilot but felt that some of the characters took themselves too seriously. Shatner decided to lighten his character, basing him on Roddenberry's model of Hornblower, and introducing a dash of Alexander the Great, a role Shatner had played in an unsold television pilot.
After 79 episodes and 7 feature films, Shatner maintains that there is a great deal of himself in the character of Kirk. This being the case, he shares with Gene Roddenberry the creation of the cool, infinitely resourceful pilot that Roddenberry aspired to be.
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