All 5 Actors Who Played James T. Kirk In Star Trek Movies & TV Shows

William Shatner originated the iconic Captain James T. Kirk, but he's one of five actors to have played the role in Star Trek. Captain Kirk casts a long shadow in the popular imagination when it comes to Star Trek. As a result, William Shatner's Kirk has been ripe for parody, whether it's Jim Carrey's overblown Kirk caricature from In Living Color or Harry Shearer's pitch-perfect Kirk in The Simpsons. In the history of Starfleet, the adventures of Captain Kirk and the Star Trek: The Original Series cast continue to define those of their 1990s and 2020s successors.

It's no surprise then, that when Paramount Pictures relaunched the Star Trek movie franchise in 2009, they saw Captain Kirk and the original Starship Enterprise crew as a huge box office draw. Therefore, they made the potentially controversial decision to recast William Shatner as Captain Kirk. However, the cast of Chris Pine's Star Trek movies was the strongest element of J.J. Abrams' rebooted franchise. More recently, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, the prequel to Star Trek: The Original Series, has introduced its own Kirk, as the show begins to tell the story of how the Star Trek: The Original Series crew came together.

7 William Shatner Is Star Trek's Original Captain Kirk

Star Trek: The Original Series (1966) to Star Trek Generations (1994)

When NBC originally passed on Gene Roddenberry's Star Trek pilot and rejected Jeffrey Hunter in the role of Captain Christopher Pike, a new Captain of the Enterprise was required. Rather than simply replacing Hunter with William Shatner as Pike, Roddenberry created a completely new character, James T. Kirk, who would be the Enterprise Captain for three seasons of Star Trek between 1966 and 1969. Star Trek's cancelation in 1969 was far from the end of Shatner's tenure as Kirk, however. When the show proved popular in syndication, Captain Kirk was brought back, first for Star Trek: The Animated Series and then for seven movies.

William Shatner's relationship with his Star Trek co-stars was often complicated, but there's no denying that his Kirk, along with Leonard Nimoy's Mr. Spock, was key to the show's success. Shatner's Kirk was a swaggering, macho hero whose unorthodox approach is somewhat at odds with the more by-the-book captains of 90s Star Trek. Shatner's performance as Kirk was inspired by Roddenberry's description of Star Trek as "Wagon Train to the Stars". Captain Kirk is a space cowboy, cutting a swathe through the new frontier, learning as he goes. Shatner's unique combination of charisma and machismo was perfect for such a character, and he will always be the definitive Captain James T. Kirk.

6 Sandra Smith Played Kirk While In Janice Lester's Body

Star Trek: The Original Series season 3, episode 24, "Turnabout Intruder"

Star Trek: The Original Series' final episode, "Turnabout Intruder" saw Sandra Smith play Captain Kirk in a body swap story. One of Kirk's many former flames, Janice Lester (Sandra Smith) is presented as a bitter female scientist whose career options were limited due to her being a woman. It's an odd plotline given Roddenberry's supposed vision of a utopian society where all humankind's contemporary issues have been solved, but Lester instigates an elaborate plot to finally achieve her dream of becoming a starship captain - using an alien device to instigate a body swap with Captain Kirk.

Star Trek's final episode before cancelation might have been a well-meaning but mishandled allegory about gender inequality, but Sandra Smith's performance as both Jim and Janice deserves plaudits. While Shatner as Janice plays a more exaggerated version of Kirk rooted in Lester's hatred of him, Sandra Smith takes a different tack. The essence of Kirk is trapped inside Janice Lester's body and Sandra Smith perfectly captured this by nailing William Shatner's unique mannerisms and delivery in a precise and exacting performance.

5 Chris Pine Is Captain Kirk In J.J. Abrams' Star Trek Movies

Star Trek (2009), Star Trek Into Darkness (2013), and Star Trek Beyond (2016)

In 2009, J.J. Abrams rebooted Star Trek's movies by having an older Spock (Leonard Nimoy) and the Romulan villain Nero (Eric Bana) trigger a chain of events that leads to the death of James T. Kirk's father, Lt. George Kirk (Chris Hemsworth), on the USS Kelvin and the creation of Star Trek's Kelvin timeline. The death of Kirk's father considerably changed the future Enterprise captain's origin story. While Pine's Kirk still has William Shatner's unorthodox approach to the Starfleet rulebook, it's rooted in a rebellious streak that began in his difficult childhood.

Chris Pine was spot-on casting as Kirk, as he replicated the swagger and machismo of Shatner's portrayal while making the character his own. Pine's Kirk drills into the Enterprise captain's more vulnerable side, emphasizing his need for a role model in the absence of his father, and his need for a more by-the-book Starfleet officer like Zachary Quinto's Spock to keep him in check. It's still hoped that Chris Pine could play an older Kirk in Star Trek 4, but the fourth J.J. Abrams-produced Star Trek movie remains in development hell.

4 Jimmy Bennett Played Young Kirk In J.J. Abrams' Star Trek

Star Trek (2009)

James T. Kirk's troubled childhood is depicted in an early Star Trek (2009) scene where he steals an antique car and drives it off a cliff to the sound of the Beastie Boys' "Sabotage". In the prime Star Trek timeline, Kirk was living off-world with his parents before his teenage years. Therefore, the scenes of young Kirk's miserable Earth-based upbringing subtly show the extent of J.J. Abrams' Kelvin Timeline's changes. Jimmy Bennett captures that devil may care attitude of the older Kirks, and his near-fatal recklessness is a neat callback to Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, when Kirk states he always thought he'd die alone.

3 Paul Wesley Is James T. Kirk In Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

Lt. James T. Kirk has a recurring role in Strange New Worlds.

Paul Wesley is the latest actor to take on the role of James T. Kirk in Star Trek, playing a younger version of the future Captain of the Enterprise in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. Paul Wesley's Kirk combines the same swagger as William Shatner and brings the same youthful vulnerability as Chris Pine to the role. Wesley is playing a younger Kirk who's at a crossroads in his life; as he will soon be forced to choose between settling down with his fiancée Carol Marcus, and following his ambitions to be a great starship captain.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' provides a fresh take on James T. Kirk that gives Paul Wesley ample opportunity as an actor. He's driven, and slightly self-involved, but he can also seek out like-minded individuals like Ensign Nyota Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding) and Lt. Spock (Ethan Peck), who will play a big role in their future. However, the most remarkable thing about Paul Wesley's Kirk is that he embodies the Starfleet legend we know and love, while never overshadowing Strange New Worlds' regular cast. Paul Wesley's Kirk is, therefore, an incredibly well-judged performance by the star of The Vampire Diaries.

2 Paul Wesley Played 2 Other Alternate Reality Kirks In Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

In Star Trek: Strange New Worlds - "A Quality of Mercy" and "Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow".

Paul Wesley played two alternate reality versions of Captain James T. Kirk in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds before debuting as the Prime Universe version. In Strange New Worlds season 1's finale, "A Quality of Mercy", Wesley's Kirk was the Captain of the USS Farragut. "A Quality of Mercy" took place in an alternate timeline where Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) remained in command of the USS Enterprise. Pike's vision of his future proved to him that Kirk was his perfect successor, and convinced Star Trek fans that Paul Wesley could follow in the footsteps of William Shatner and Chris Pine.

In Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2, episode 3, "Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow", Paul Wesley played Captain James T. Kirk of the United Earth Fleet ship, Enterprise. This alternate UEF timeline was caused by the death of Kirk's future nemesis, Khan Noonien Singh (Ricardo Montalban) as a child. Although this Kirk was from a darker timeline, Paul Wesley brought bags of charm and wit, and demonstrated his ability to play the romantic lead opposite Christina Chong's Lt. La'an Noonien-Singh; crucial aspects of Captain Kirk's character.

1 William Shatner Almost Played Tiberius Kirk On Star Trek: Enterprise

With ratings flagging for Star Trek: Enterprise, showrunner Manny Coto and executive producer Rick Berman met with William Shatner to discuss a different type of Captain Kirk comeback. Shatner proposed that the Mirror Universe's Kirk hijack the Enterprise NX-01 in an attempt to escape the pocket dimension in which he was imprisoned. The concept of Shatner playing an older, villainous Mirror Kirk, named Tiberius, is a tantalizing Star Trek "What if?" scenario, but unfortunately it was rejected for budgetary reasons.

To this day, William Shatner is still asked about returning to the role of Captain Kirk in a future Star Trek movie or TV show. While Shatner says that he's open to the idea, it feels like a no-win scenario. It feels like there's no OG Kirk comeback story that would satisfy every single fan. However, Captain Kirk doesn't believe in a no-win scenario, and with Star Trek's 60th anniversary fast approaching, William Shatner could get one last hurrah.