The following contains spoilers for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2, Episode 3, "Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow," now streaming on Paramount+.
Paul Wesley makes his return to Strange New Worlds as the iconic "future" captain of the USS Enterprise, James T. Kirk. However, The Vampire Diaries alum doesn't seem to be channeling William Shatner. Rather, the Jim Kirk Strange New Worlds fans meet in Season 2 has a lot in common with Chris Pine's version.
Anson Mount is also not the first actor to play Captain Pike. In Star Trek's failed first pilot, Jeffrey Hunter played a dour and disaffected version of the character. When creator Gene Roddenberry got a second chance at a pilot, he replaced Hunter with Canadian actor William Shatner. The writers on Star Trek: The Original Series may have technically created James T. Kirk, but Shatner swaggered him into being. To Roddenberry, the perfect representation of Star Trek was thoughtful, cerebral stories about the human condition. Shatner knew the 1960s-era sci-fi TV series also needed a healthy dose of camp. It makes sense that Chris Pine didn't even try to emulate him because few actors could pull it off. So, while Wesley's Kirk shares more in common with Pine, there's still a bit of Shatner that shines through.
Strange New Worlds Features a Younger Kirk Like Chris Pine's Movies
When Paul Wesley debuted as Jim Kirk, he was the captain of the USS Farragut. This took place in an alternate timeline where Captain Pike doesn't end up confined to a sadistic sci-fi wheelchair. When Roddenberry determined the ages of the characters, he just used the ages of the cast, making Kirk 35 years old. The first episode of Strange New Worlds takes place a decade before Pike's accident. This means that Wesley's Kirk is supposed to be in his early-to-mid 20s, just like Chris Pine's Kirk. The movies keep the age vague, but Chris Pine was 28 when he first played the iconic captain.
Paul Wesley is not imitating Chris Pine's performance in any way. Rather he seems to have mined the "Kirk-iest" characteristics from it and applied them to his own performance. Wesley himself is about 15 years older than Kirk is supposed to be, but he sells it nicely. This episode's Kirk grew up in an absolute hellscape of an alternate timeline where Earth is a ruin. However, mere hours after arriving in the past with a complete stranger, he's having a blast. Both the Kelvin Timeline movies and Strange New Worlds emphasize the fact that Kirk is a fighter. However, he gets to be much more than that in this episode. From a chess hustler to a fatally bad bluffer, Wesley imbues Kirk with determined enthusiasm.
There is a darker edge to Wesley's performance that also mirrors a choice Chris Pine made. Both versions of Kirk were born in space amidst a devastating battle. However, unlike Pine's Kirk who retreated to Earth with his mother, Wesley's Kirk stayed in space and joined the fight on his own. Yet, Wesley's performance still evokes the Jim Kirk who can outsmart Romulans eager for war. Or the Jim Kirk who can even charm a person as closed off as Christina Chong's La'an Noonien Singh.
William Shatner's Legacy Looms Large Over Any James T. Kirk
Despite the prominence of a character like the Captain Kirk, Paul Wesley's position is almost unenviable. Two very charming actors gave two distinct performances as this same character. He has to deliver a performance that is both his own and serves as connective tissue between the two. Wesley seems up to the job. When coming up with the phony story about his "wife" La'an being abducted by aliens, he comes very close to Shatner's signature delivery in Star Trek: The Original Series. In fact, that choice further cements Shatner's legacy as the captain.
Critics will often cite his big performance as a flaw. Perhaps Shatner realized being a starship captain is a performance, too. Wesley's choice to deploy that cadence when making up a story suggests it's just part of that Kirk style. Yet, he also gets the subtler elements Shatner gave the character. Sure, he shares the quality of being eager for all types of physical activity, like Pine's Kirk. Yet Wesley also highlights the character's compassion, curiosity and sense of loyalty. He's playful without condescension. Also, as tough as Kirk is, the character also has a sensitivity and vulnerability he only reveals in rare moments.
After his debut at the end of Strange New Worlds Season 1, Wesley said that trying to "imitate" William Shatner would be "blasphemous," in an interview with Variety. Wesley isn't imitating him or Chris Pine. Still, because this is a younger version of the character, Pine's contributions are just as informative about the character as Shatner's. So far, Paul Wesley has only played alternate versions of James T. Kirk. Both appearances have proven that he's got what it takes if Strange New Worlds ever decides to introduce the genuine article.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds debuts new episodes Thursdays on Paramount+.