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Star Trek The Original Series set the stage for decades of iconic television. The Star Trek The Original Series cast played a huge role in cementing the series' place in history, but a lot has changed since then. In this video, we're taking a look at the Star Trek The Original Series cast then and now to see how they changed through the years.

▬Contents of this video▬
00:00 - Intro
00:18 - Grace Lee Whitney as Yeoman Janice Rand
01:49 - James Doohan as Montgomery "Scotty" Scoot
02:56 - Majel Barrett as Nurse Christine Chapel
03:59 - DeForest Kelley as Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy
05:08 - Leonard Nimoy as Commander Spock
06:17 - George Takei as Lieutenant Hikaru Sulu
07:38 - Walter Koenig as Ensign Pavel Chekov
08:50 - Nichelle Nichols as Lieutenant Nyota Uhura
10:13 - William Shatner as Captain James T. Kirk

Star Trek made celebrities of its cast of largely unknown actors. Kelley had appeared in many films and television shows, but mostly in smaller roles that showcased him as a villain. Nimoy also had previous television and film experience but was not well known either. Nimoy had partnered previously with Shatner in a 1964 episode of The Man from U.N.C.L.E., "The Project Strigas Affair," and with Kelley (as a doctor) in a 1963 episode of The Virginian, "Man of Violence," both more than two years before Star Trek first aired. Before Star Trek, Shatner was well known in the trade, having appeared in several notable films, played Cyrano de Bergerac on Broadway, and even turned down the part of Dr. Kildare. However, when roles became sparse he took the regular job after Jeffrey Hunter's contract was not renewed.

After the original series ended, cast members found themselves typecast because of their defining roles in the show. (Star Trek: The Next Generation actor Michael Dorn stated in 1991, however: "If what happened to the first cast is called being typecast, then I want to be typecast. Of course, they didn't get the jobs after Trek. But they are making their sixth movie. Name me someone else in television who has made six movies!")

The three main characters were Kirk, Spock, and McCoy, with writers often playing the different personalities off each other: Kirk was passionate and often aggressive, but with a sly sense of humor; Spock was coolly logical; and McCoy was sardonic, emotional, and illogical, but always compassionate. In many stories, the three clashed, with Kirk forced to make a tough decision while Spock advocated the logical but sometimes callous path and McCoy (or "Bones", as Kirk nicknamed him) insisted on doing whatever would cause the least harm. McCoy and Spock had a sparring relationship that masked their true affection and respect for each other, and their constant arguments became popular with viewers. The show so emphasized dialogue that writer and director Nicholas Meyer (involved with the Star Trek films) called it a radio drama, playing an episode for a film class without video to prove that the plot was still comprehensible.

The Spock character was at first rejected by network executives, who were apprehensive that his vaguely "Satanic" appearance (with pointed ears and eyebrows) might prove upsetting to some viewers, and (according to Leonard Nimoy) they repeatedly urged Roddenberry to "drop the Martian." Roddenberry was also dismayed to discover that NBC's publicity department deliberately airbrushed out Spock's pointed ears and eyebrows from early publicity still sent to network affiliates because they feared that his "demonic" appearance might offend potential buyers in the religiously conservative southern states. Spock, however, went on to become one of the most popular characters on the show, as did McCoy's impassioned country-doctor personality. Spock, in fact, became a sex symbol of sorts—something no one connected with the show had expected. Leonard Nimoy noted that the question of Spock's extraordinary sex appeal emerged "almost any time I talked to someone in the press...I never give it a thought...to try to deal with the question of Mr. Spock as a sex symbol is silly."

Star Trek: The Original Series Cast Then and Now (2022)

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