Chris Pine: The New Captain Kirk Speaks!

Chris Pine, who plays the young Captain James T. Kirk in JJ Abrams‘ Star Trek, spoke ever-so-briefly with Entertainment Weekly at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. Check it:

Are you feeling any pressure to evoke William Shatner? I actually feel the exact opposite. I think the biggest mistake I could ever do would be to try to re-create what Mr. Shatner did. There are certain qualities that Kirk has that are vital for someone who is a leader of men. And those qualities, I definitely wanted to take from what Mr. Shatner did in the original series. But my job is to take something new, to take that and build upon it, really do my own thing. I just feel no pressure when it comes to that.

Is the pressure coming more from the fanboys and their off-the-charts expectations? Yeah, sure, the Internet is not my friend in this case. Best to stay away. I can understand, I don’t have that many credits and people are very worried that their Kirk is going to be destroyed. But I can only say that we’re having a great time. J.J. [Abrams, the director] has been wonderful and the cast is phenomenal. I think what we’re doing is very special.

Have you talked with Shatner? I have not talked to Shatner. I wrote him a letter early on in the process and corresponded that way. I got a letter back from him, which is very nice. And I’ve met Mr. Nimoy a couple of times. He’s been on set and we have a couple of scenes in the film, which will be nice, and I’m excited for those.

The new Star Trek film opens on Christmas Day. For the full Chris Pine interview, check out EW.com.