New rumor out of TrekMovie.com is that “Stargate: Atlantis” star Paul McGillion is up for the role as Scotty in director J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek, which now makes him the second logical name we have heard in connection with the role, the other being James McAvoy.
If I may, I would like to offer up why I don’t think he will get the part… He’s 38 and will turn 39 in the middle of production. This would mean he would be on a ship with Zachary Quinto as Spock at the age of 30, Zoe Saldana as Uhura at the age of 29 and Anton Yelchin as Chekov at the age of 18. Suffice to say I think 8 years is a bit too much, especially when previous rumors around the 28-year-old McAvoy make so much more sense.
Early on it was said that both Adrien Brody and Matt Damon were being considered for the roles of Spock and Captain Kirk respectively, but it was said that Damon fell out of consideration since he would be 37 when production started, which would have made him older than William Shatner was when he first played the part, something that doesn’t jive with a prequel story.
As for Brody, he confirmed to MTV that he was in consideration at one point and that he was even excited about the prospect. I have to assume that while I believe Quinto is actually a better choice, at least as far as the look goes, that Brody’s age played a part as he is 34-years-old.
This is a prequel story and a young cast is necessary and I don’t remember Scotty being any older than the rest of the crew. Oddly, 48-year-old son of James Doohan, the man that originated the role of Capt. Montgomery ‘Scotty’ Scott, Chris Doohan has expressed interest in the role, but I really don’t see that happening. Chris however does give McGillion an endorsement on TrekMovie’s site.
There have been others rumored to be up for the role including Abrams’ fav Greg Grunberg and another “Alias” star in Kevin Weisman, but McAvoy has always been the loudest, but it seems this McGillion fella is going to give that title a run for its money.
EDIT: It was brought up to me that James Doohan was actually 11 years older than William Shatner, and I should have mentioned this in my comments. I agree I should have, however, when I say, “I don’t remember Scotty being any older than the rest of the crew,” I actually mean the character specifically, not the actor, and if I am wrong on that then someone please let me know. I should have also said my comments are based on that I think McGillion simply looks much older than the rest of those that have been cast so far. This is just my opinion and of course we haven’t seen them in make-up yet. I just want the best Trek we can get.
