Matt Damon Almost Played An Important (But Underused) Star Trek Character

Matt Damon made the successful transition from early roles in "Mystic Pizza" and "Good Will Hunting" to a solid box office career as the action hero behind the Ocean's and Jason Bourne franchise. But several years before farming potatoes on Mars in 2015's "The Martian," Damon was offered a small but pivotal role in another intergalactic venture as George Kirk, the father of "Star Trek" legacy character Captain James T. Kirk (Chris Pine), in the 2009 J.J. Abrams "Trek" reboot. 

In an interview with MTV, Abrams shared, "I went to Damon for the role of Kirk's father, and he declined in the most gracious and understandable and logical of reasons." The part instead went to Chris Hemsworth, who played the Kirk doomed to become captain for mere moments just as his famous Starfleet son was being born in what Trek fans call the Kelvin timeline. Abrams later concluded that having someone as famous as Damon might have taken away from the storytelling, adding, "We lucked out with Chris Hemsworth, and he did a great job." 

While Hemsworth would get ripped to play Thor in the Marvel Cinematic Universe a couple of years later, he was still a relatively unknown actor at the time of "Star Trek's" release. As Abrams recounted on the DVD commentary, the casting turned out to be so good that Abrams' sister even asked him, "Why'd you cast the same actor as the father and Kirk?"

While it's known that Matt Damon passed up a short appearance in "Star Trek" as George Kirk, internet rumors have persisted for years suggesting that the Bourne actor was almost set to play his more iconic son. In fact, the gossip predates the first Kelvin film's release while the casting of James Kirk was still anyone's guess. Responding to the speculation in a 2007 interview with IGN, the actor shared that even "Original Series" Captain Kirk William Shatner believed Damon would be a good fit for the role, which he "thought was really cool." 

However, among talking with director, Damon learned that there were different intentions casting-wise. "I know J.J. who's directing it and I talked coincidentally to J.J.," Damon stated. "And he's like, 'the Kirk in my movie is much younger ... it's like the early years ... so no, it's just an internet rumor.'" Even so, Damon indicated he'd be open to playing the role when the character had moved up in age, telling IGN, "Maybe if they do the progression then I can play him." Sadly, "The Martian" actor has yet to join Hemsworth in the ever-growing roster of celebrities you forgot appeared on "Star Trek."