Bruce Greenwood on Playing Pike, Star Trek Sets and The Original Series

It only makes sense that director J.J. Abrams would cast a charismatic actor like Bruce Greenwood to play the pivotal role of Captain Christopher Pike in his big-screen version of "Star Trek." Having played JFK in "13 Days" and the fictional president in "National Treasure: Book of Secrets," Greenwood has clearly shown that he has the on-screen leadership presence needed to influence a young maverick like James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) to join Starfleet Academy.

But as much as filmmakers and fans see Greenwood as a logical choice for the role, the veteran actor doesn't see it that way. In fact, Greenwood likens his presence to Abrams before "Star Trek" as a real-life version of his character in the 1995 series "Nowhere Man."

"I had no idea that J.J. Abrams knew I was on the planet, so when he called me, I was surprised more than anything," Greenwood said humbly in a recent @ The Movies interview. "I was thrilled, of course, but I felt like, 'Wow, how the hell did he even know I was around?' I don't know what work of mine that he'd seen and what influenced him to hire me, but I'll be forever grateful."

An origins movie that chronicles the beginnings of the crew of the Starship Enterprise, "Star Trek" provides a unique opportunity for the character of Pike, who famously appeared in the pilot episode, titled "The Cage," that was rejected by NBC. Actor Jeffrey Hunter, who played Pike, did not return for the filming of a second pilot -- which opened the door, effectively, for William Shatner to play Captain Kirk.

While Pike was not completely forgotten by the show (an "injured" version of the character, played by Sean Kenney, appeared in "The Menagerie" episodes, and "The Cage" aired years later), he's obviously not as well-known a character as Kirk or Mr. Spock. But thanks to novelizations, fan sites and other works in the "Star Trek" universe, Greenwood still had the daunting task of delivering on "Trek" fans' expectations.

"I think we all felt the pressure to varying degrees, and probably none more than Chris Pine and (Spock actor) Zachary Quinto," Greenwood said. "But J.J. also told to us, 'Look carefully at as much old footage as you'd like to absorb, and then from there, use that as a departure point.' So I looked at the original series in great detail and Jeffrey Hunter's portrayal, and realized pretty quickly realized that the dilemmas the two Pikes faced were quite different, so I feel lucky in that regard."

In the new "Star Trek" Pike convinces Kirk to become a cadet in the Starfleet Academy after the young rebel learns how his father saved him and his mother, as well as 800 other people aboard the U.S.S. Kelvin in an intense space battle. And while Kirk brings his wild ways to the Academy, he suddenly is forced to step up and be a leader when Pike is taken hostage by the vengeful Romulan leader, Nero.

Crossing The Bridge

Greenwood's scenes in "Star Trek" include key moments on the newly-commissioned U.S.S. Enterprise, as well as the Romulan ship the Narada. The scenes were particularly exciting for the actor because the ships were as close to the real deal as you could get.

"I did virtually no green screen work (for special effects) in the film. For every scene I was in, the sets had been built," Greenwood explained. "So when I walked onto the Narada, it was a whole ship. It was crazy. You hardly had to imagine anything. It was massive and dripping with hydraulic fluid, and had fumes and smoke."

Paramount Image Director J.J. Abrams on the set of "Star Trek"

"While the Narada was realistically detailed, Greenwood said that there was an atmosphere beyond the expertly crafted bridge aboard the Enterprise. After all, this was a space made famous by Shatner's Kirk in the classic television series.

"When I walked on the bridge of the Enterprise for the first time, it was complete. It felt like a flawless ergonomic working environment," Greenwood recalled. "It was human in scale, sleek and futuristic."

And at the center of it all, of course, was the iconic captain's chair, which everyone treated with reverence, Greenwood said.

"People are usually milling around on sets and perched on anything available -- but the captain's chair was untouched. Nobody was sitting in it," Greenwood said. "It was sending out this force field that implied, 'You better mean it when you sit down here.' When I realized that the chair was effectively being avoided by everybody, I took a minute before I prepared myself to sit down in it. It was kind of weird. My experience of it was that it was a very special place. It was not to be treated lightly."

While sitting in the captain's chair for the first time is a moment that Greenwood will never forget, it was one of the many great experiences that helped the 52-year-old film star gain a greater appreciation of the "Star Trek" universe and its throngs of admirers.

"I didn't know enough about the show prior to the movie to claim that I was even a fan. I had seen the series a couple of dozen times when I was a kid, but hadn't paid enough attention to it. I was looking at it for the pretty girls," Greenwood said. "But when I went back and did my homework to prepare for the movie, I realized that a lot of the stories in the series -- particularly in the first year -- had these very classical themes."

And thanks to those themes, Greenwood added, the script of the new "Star Trek" resonates all the more.

"At the time the television series was going on, it was tackling contemporary issues in a context that gave it some pretty penetrating insights," Greenwood said. "It made comments on our social interaction and it brought to light ethical dilemmas -- political, racial and medical -- in a way that other shows at the time could not do."

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