59 year old British actor Ben Cross has been cast as Spock’s Vulcan father Sarek in JJ Abrams’ Star Trek. Mark Lenard played the role in the original series and feature films (Jonathan Simpson played a younger Sarek in Star Trek V: The Final Frontier). Cross, best known for his starring role in Chariots of Fire, will play the husband of Amanda Grayson (played by Winona Ryder), the human mother of Spock (played by both Zachary Quinto and Leonard Nimoy).

I originally believed that Spock’s parents would show up in some sort of flashback, as Ryder is only six years older than Quinto. Cross, at age 59, is a lot more age appropriate. So maybe Ryder will be aged older for the role? The character of Sarek appears in the original Star Trek series, the animated series, four Star Trek movies, two episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation, and numerous Star Trek novels. He was a legendary Vulcan ambassador to the United Federation of Planets. Spock was his second son.

Star Trek hits theaters on December 25th 2008.

source: BenCross.net