Star Trek Actor Reacts To Klingon Role Being Cut
An acclaimed star of film, television, and stage has spoken up about having his role as a Klingon cut from Star Trek.
Star Trek was released in 2009 and quickly became a blockbuster reboot of the storied franchise. Directed by J.J. Abrams, the film catapulted stars Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto into new roles as leading men of a science fiction action movie, embodying characters previously made famous by William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy. Transitioning the franchise from television and movies into a well-positioned reboot was no easy feat for Abrams. Still, actor Victor Garber might disagree as he saw his scenes end up on the cutting room floor.
According to a report by Comic Book, Victor Garber was supposed to be featured in Star Trek as a Klingon, but he never appeared onscreen in the finished film. J.J. Abrams had worked with Garber on the television series Alias and asked the veteran actor to play the role because he thought it might be a fun idea to implement on the set. During an interview promoting The Orville, Garber noted to CinemaBlend this week that he had to learn to speak Klingon for the part and was disappointed when his appearance in the movie was cut for time. Surprisingly blunt in the interview, Garber goes on to say that he will never learn Klingon again for a role as it was devastatingly challenging to do, and he only did so because of his close relationship with Abrams.
Star Trek became a box office knockout, grossing more than $350 million in theaters and solidifying J.J. Abrams’ hold over rebooting famous film franchises. Abrams would go on to direct the sequel Star Trek Into Darkness and another science fiction franchise with Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Even though Victor Garber didn’t enjoy seeing his face on the big screen in the Star Trek franchise, his scene has since been included in the DVD and Blu-ray extras of the film. The scene highlights Nero (Eric Bana) as a prisoner and explains the events after the USS Kelvin was destroyed. Victor Garber’s character can be seen using the Centaurian slug, a weapon that Nero uses later on Captain Pike (Bruce Greenwood).
Fans of Victor Garber probably best remember him for his portrayal of Jack Bristow, father to Jennifer Garner’s Sydney Bristow in Alias. His career onscreen and on the stage has seen the Canadian actor nominated for a slew of awards, including six Primetime Emmy Awards and four Tony Awards. Besides Alias, Garber has notable roles in Titanic, Milk, Argo, The First Wives Club, and Legally Blonde. Recently, he has been featured as part of the DC Extended Universe, playing Dr. Martin Stein, aka Firestorm (well, half of him), in The CW’s Arrowverse shows The Flash and Legends of Tomorrow. In addition to promoting his involvement with The Orville, Garber is joining Sam Elliott, Gary Busey, Cary Elwes, and William Fichtner as the voices for a documentary on Abraham Lincoln’s famous speech in The Gettysburg Address directed by Sean Conant. No release date has been set yet for The Gettysburg Address.
