Matt Damon Was Nearly Kirk

6 months ago 21st Apr 13:30

Matt Damon was almost cast in 'Star Trek'.

The 'Bourne Identity' star was set to take the lead role of Captain Kirk - which eventually went to 'Just My Luck' actor Chris Pine - in the forthcoming sci-fi remake but director J.J. Abrams insists he is glad he opted for a cast of unknowns because they were more convincing.

The filmmaker told Life online: "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. Not because it is fun to discover the stars of tomorrow, but even more so, just like with the first 'Star Wars', you didn't know who those people were when you saw the movie. You believed that guy was Luke Skywalker. You didn't recognize him from six other movies. You bought into who this guy was.

"It is a slippery slope when you cast any actor that is somewhat known. What is the cut off point? If you cast half famous faces and half unknown, it can throw an audience - but this way, we weren't beholden to any fame meter.''