Star Trek: New Faces, Right Look?

Since its announcement, the new Star Trek prequel has caused huge debate among fans. Here we look at the actors who have been chosen to play the roles of Kirk and company and ask – do they have the right look?

This looks like a promising start. Both actors seem to have a similar skin tone and facial features. Plus they are both absolutely, stunningly gorgeous! Apart from the hair, which can easily be changed, Saldana should fit in to the character very well. She even appears to already have the same taste in ear rings as Uhura! Saldana was brought up in NYC but hails originally from the Dominican Republic. She is best known for her role as Anamaria in the Pirates of the Caribbean sequel The Black Pool. Although Latina, she has the right “look” for the part.

Although broader in the nose than Takei (but we wouldn’t ask him to have plastic surgery for that small detail!), Cho could do a passable Sulu – on a dark night. As will all the actors, the twenty first century hair will just have to go. It may also be an idea for Cho to lose a little weight for the role – Takei was always very lithe in the original show. Cho was born in Korea, but raised in Los Angeles and is best known for his overuse of the word MILF in the American Pie series. He has a great deal of on screen experience, appearing in such films as American Beauty, Evolution and Bowfinger. You may have spotted him in Ugly Betty as well!

Maybe, maybe not. Yelchin seems to have the same shape nose as Koenig but not the same shape head. His cheek bones are way too twenty first century and something will have to be done with the wavy hair. Wonders can be done with a few pieces of dental swab and a pair of hair tongs. Yelchin, however, is a real Russian, despite living in the US since his parents (who were figure skaters) defected in 1989. He is best known for the lead role in Charlie Bartlett, released in 2008.

This is possibly the best casting for the film and gives us cause for optimism. Firstly, Pegg is an extremely well established comedy actor who does not have to go rooting around for roles as he made several films in which he was the main star. OK, they were low budget and British but they still made him a fortune at the box office. Particularly memorable was the first ever “Rom Zom Com” – Shaun of the Dead, a hilarious take on the zombie genre. Pegg is ginger and something most certainly will have to be done about that (plus he may have to do a head hide by front combing his hair). The Scottish accent may cause a problem, but bear in mind that Doohan was a Canadian, so if he could do it, why can’t Simon whose origins, although not Scottish, are much closer to the border!

Yes, t his could work. The hair may have to be a little longer than in the picture above but the shape of the face is very similar. It remains to be seen whether or not Urban can do irascible quite as well as Kelly, but the likeness is certainly passable enough. Urban is a well established actor, having appeared as Eomar of Rohan in The Lord of The Rings as well as the odd soap opera in his native New Zealand. Hey, actors have to do what it takes when they are starting out! He was even considered – briefly – for the role of 007 in Casino Royale.

This is, if anything, inspired casting. Quinto is possibly even more saturnine than Nimoy. Perhaps the hair could do with a little work – it doesn’t look as if he works on his shine half as much as he should be! The Spock of the original series always looked as if he has just washed and was ready to go. Quinto is fairly well known for his part of the serial killer Sylar in the series Heroes. He has also appeared in numerous other TV shows, such as Charmed, Six Feet Under and 24.

Well, OK, you can see the resemblance here and it is very much down to personal taste whether or not you think Shatner is better looking than Pine. Better to cast an actor who hasn’t caught the attention of the public too much, it could be said. Pine has appeared in a number of TV series such as CSI: Miami and ER. Perhaps his greatest claim to fame so far is a small part in The Princess Diaries 2, as one of Anne Hathaway’s love interests. No doubt as the new James Tiberius he will have plenty of opportunities to woo ladies many species as well as the occasional princess.