Rarely has a Star Trek character been as memorable as Captain James T. Kirk, legendary commander of the USS Enterprise NCC-1701. With such classic quotes as “Risk… risk is our business,” and the infinitely memeable “Khaaan!,” Kirk has become a symbol of overacting and melodrama. But the character is in fact surprisingly complex and nuanced.
Three actors have taken on the role so far, and each has brought their own interpretation. It’s fair to say that without Kirk, there would have been no Star Trek at all. Let’s find out who best played the man who doesn’t believe in the no-win scenario.
3. Chris Pine
Pine played Kirk across three modern Kelvin-timeline Star Trek films alongside Zachary Quinto as Spock. The films were much more action-orientated than any of the TV series, featuring big-budget scenes heavy on CGI explosions. Fine actor that he is, Pine managed to steal many of his scenes, making the character much edgier than William Shatner‘s original performance.
Kirk is portrayed as a man who has little love for Starfleet, only joining the organization as a last resort. He quickly shows his natural command talents but also alienates his bridge crew. And his friendship with Spock — far from being the close (if not subtly romantic) relationship of The Original Series — starts off very badly. Spock is so annoyed by Kirk’s arrogant attitude that he almost murders him in the first movie.
The strained relations between the two definitely warm in the subsequent films, and this comes across well on screen. While Pine gave excellent performances and put his own stamp on the character, the problem with his version of Kirk is screen time. The Kelvin-timeline movies are filled with so much action that there are only a handful of character moments per film, so Pine is unable to really grow and develop the character in the way Shatner did. Through no fault of his own, Pine ranks third on this list.
2. Paul Wesley
Paul Wesley — best known for The Vampire Diaries — was brought on board to portray Kirk in the first season finale of Strange New Worlds. Fan response was largely positive to this initial appearance, but Wesley’s subsequent appearances in the show’s 2nd season were so impressive that some fans began to call for a Kirk spinoff show.
Wesley successfully recreates some of the best aspects of Shatner’s Kirk while still taking the character into new territory. Wesley’s Kirk is as cool and professional as ever but full of self-deprecating humor. One of the issues with Kirk in The Original Series was editorial control. Kirk’s character traits would often change depending on the writer of the week.
Wesley’s portrayal is well-centered and holds true to the way Kirk is written in many Star Trek novels. He is more caring and compassionate, full of enthusiasm for seeing strange new worlds and civilizations, but still possessing that same strutting, self-assured streak of schoolboy arrogance that gives the character an edge.
With other superb actors offering similar updates of classic Star Trek characters in Strange New Worlds (Celia Rose Gooding as Uhura and Ethan Peck as Spock, to name a couple), the opportunities for Wesley to continue to redefine Kirk for 21st-century audiences are sure to be plentiful.
1. William Shatner
William Shatner became a pop culture legend for his portrayal of Kirk. His intense theater-style acting proved a superb fit for Star Trek‘s often psychedelic, larger-than-life plots.
Different writers of the original Star Trek seemed to have different interpretations of Kirk. Some wrote him as impulsive and bullish, others wrote him as quiet and contemplative. Some wrote him as moody and serious, others jovial and relaxed. But Shatner was able to successfully keep the character feeling broadly consistent through all these plots thanks to the incredible charisma he brought to the role. Shatner’s own sense of humor began to seep into the character, and Kirk became far more upbeat and jokey in the show’s second season, which is the way the character is often remembered.
Though Shatner’s occasional perceived over-acting has become a joke among fans, his intensity and his unusual line deliveries were crucial in making the character so memorable and Star Trek such a success.
Shatner could not only act the campy fun for which he is perhaps best remembered, but could effortlessly switch to serious drama whenever a script called for it. Perhaps one of his best performances is “City on the Edge of Forever,” a story in which Kirk falls deeply in love with an inspiring woman from 1930s Earth – before cruelly having to let her die to save the timeline. The conclusion of the episode sees the timeline restored, and everything back to normal, but leaves Kirk tormented by his loss. The final line, a simple “let’s get the hell out of here,” is as poignant today as it was shocking for 1960s audiences.
The continuing voyages
Shatner’s portrayal of Kirk continued into films that gave him the opportunity to portray a more grounded and realistic version of Kirk than in the television series. In fact, the preface of the novelization of The Motion Picture (1979) (written by series creator Gene Roddenberry) suggests that the original Star Trek series was a larger-than-life representation of events, and that the films are to offer a more “accurate” version of Kirk.
Wrath of Khan (1982) was Shatner’s finest film role, where he took on his ultimate nemesis, Khan. Among the nail-biting ship battles, Shatner brought a tenderness to the role rarely seen in Trek, portraying an older Kirk, far less sure of himself than the brash young Captain he once was. Even in some of the later (and less well-received) films, Shatner could still deliver the goods. The famous “I like my pain. I need my pain.” speech in The Final Frontier (1989) is one such moment.
With so much screen time afforded to him through movies and television, it is unsurprising that Shatner is — and always will be — the definitive James T. Kirk.
Whatever your opinion on who did it better, it’s definitely a great time to be a Star Trek fan. With Chris Pine ready to do another Star Trek film, and Paul Wesley to no doubt feature heavily in Strange New Worlds across the coming seasons, the adventures of Kirk are set to continue long into the future.