Mark Wahlberg Turned Down A Massive Star Trek Role For A Hilarious Reason

When J.J. Abrams was tasked with rebooting the "Star Trek" franchise, he made it a priority to assemble a top-notch cast, looking for big names to fill out his film. Abrams cast a wide net, with actors like Adrien Brody and Joshua Jackson almost starring. But another major Hollywood heavyweight was actually offered a role in the 2009 reboot: The "Italian Job" star and former rapper Mark Wahlberg. According to the star himself, he turned down the role because he didn't understand the script. 

"I tried to read the script, but I couldn't understand the words or dialogue or anything, and I said, I couldn't do this," Wahlberg admitted in an interview with Total Film a few years after the movie's release. At the time of "Trek" casting, Wahlberg was coming off of the box office flop "Max Payne," and had also recently starred in the M. Night Shyamalan thriller "The Happening." This could have been his first shot at starring in a major sci-fi franchise, but losing out didn't slow him down. He would get another chance a few years later, starring in Michael Bay's "Transformers: Age of Extinction."

Still, Wahlberg's confusion over the sci-fi-heavy script isn't as odd as it sounds. Sean Connery turned down a leading role in "The Lord of the Rings" for similar reasons. Like Connery, Wahlberg admitted after the fact that he may have made the wrong choice: "I saw the movie and I was like, 'Holy s***, he did a great job.'"

While J.J. Abrams considered plenty of actors for the biggest roles in the "Star Trek" reboot film, it ironically might not have been Kirk (Chris Pine), Spock (Zachary Quinto), or Uhura (Zoe Saldana) that was the toughest to cast. In fact, it might have been the small role of Kirk's dad, George. That role eventually went to then-emerging star Chris Hemsworth, before he jolted to fame as Thor, the Marvel Cinematic Universe's god of thunder. Before Hemsworth, though, a major star declined a chance to play the part. This time, it was Matt Damon.

When word got out that Damon was being considered for a part in Abrams' "Star Trek," most fans assumed Damon was up for the role of Captain Kirk. Years later, the director set the record straight — the offer had been for the Kirk patriarch. "I actually approached Matt and we had some discussions, but everything happens for a reason," Abrams told Life Magazine (via Digital Spy). "On the one hand, it would have been great to work with Matt — but at the end of the day, it was such a better move to cast the movie with unknowns."

As Abrams said, it was all for the best, as the part helped Hemsworth get noticed in Hollywood. His star power only grew in the years since his brief role as Kirk's dad, giving Hemsworth the influence to say no to returning as George Kirk for the still-unmade fourth Kelvinverse "Star Trek" film.