Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ Paul Wesley Didn’t Want To Play A Canon Version Of Kirk

Remaining “non-canonical” on “Star Trek” may be freeing as an actor, but may raise the hackles of longtime Trekkies. Trekkies, it should be noted, have long been sticklers for canon, and one might even argue that they invented the very concept. 

Paul Wesley talked about how he observed Kirk in the “Star Trek” episode “Balance of Terror,” which was heavily referenced in the first season “Worlds” episode, “A Quality of Mercy.” He also scrubbed through several other episodes and found what parts of Kirk should definitely remain a part of his performance. Notably, he found that Kirk was a very moral person with an unflappable ethical code. That part was to remain canonical. Wesley said: 

“[T]he season 1 finale is based on ‘Balance of Terror,’ which is quite a … I watched that episode multiple times and Kirk is fairly serious. Then as you watch [the original series], there are moments where he’s incredibly playful, and I think every episode speaks to a different characteristic and quality that Kirk has. And I think season 2, episode 3 was very playful, but also the one through line is that he’s very heroic and he has a really good moral compass and he always trusts his instincts. I think that is the pillar and that’s something that is not movable, I guess, so to speak.” 

Season 2, episode 3 of “Strange New Worlds” saw an alternate timeline version of Kirk and Lieutenant Noonien-Sigh (Christina Chong) thrown back in time to 21st-century Toronto. Like “Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home,” the episode is loaded with fish-out-of-water humor, and Wesley gets to be extremely playful. 

SOURCE