The Star Trek Replacement Actor Who Won Fans Over

The first major, visible recasting in "Star Trek" history arguably came back in 1966. In the show's original pilot episode, "The Cage," the USS Enterprise featured an entirely different cast of characters, with only Spock (Leonard Nimoy) remaining constant. The ship was captained by a character named Christopher Pike, who was played by the handsome, hot-headed Jeffrey Hunter. The pilot wouldn't be aired in its complete form to the public until 1989, but flashback clips of "The Cage" were shown in the two-part "Star Trek" episode "The Menagerie." "The Menagerie" posited that the Pike character had suffered a terrible accident, and was now covered with burns and relegated to a high-tech hover-chair. The burned-up version of Pike in that episode's present-day sequences was played by Sean Kenney. 

Since then, there have been a few other notable cast changes, although fewer than you might assume. For example, in 1982's "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan," a Vulcan/Romulan character named Saavik was played by a then-up-and-coming Kirstie Alley, while in "Star Trek III," she was replaced by Robin Curtis. On the original series, the character of Zefram Cochran was played by Glenn Corbett, and he was replaced by James Cromwell for the 1996 feature film "Star Trek: First Contact." When such recastings happen, Trekkies tend to take them in stride. 

The most famous recastings in "Star Trek" history came with the release of J.J. Abrams' feature film "Star Trek" in 2009, and with the release of "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" in 2022. Both the film and the show recast every single character from the original "Star Trek" to much acclaim. Both the Kelvin-verse cast and the "SNW" cast have been praised for their performances and their chemistry. 

But none of those actors has been better than Anson Mount as Captain Christopher Pike.  

As mentioned, Captain Christopher Pike was the captain of the Enterprise in "The Cage," and, thanks to "The Menagerie," "The Cage" became a part of actual "Star Trek" canon. That meant that Pike was taking the USS Enterprise on missions with Spock long before Captain Kirk (William Shatner) ever showed up.

This conceit was explored in the 2017 series "Star Trek: Discovery," which was set about a decade before the events of the original "Star Trek." On that show's second season, the USS Discovery ran into the Enterprise, and met the version of Captain Pike played by the devastatingly handsome Anson Mount. For the second season of "Discovery," Captain Pike commanded the Discovery, and Trekkies immediately fell in love with the actor's affable approach to the character. In "The Cage," Jeffrey Hunter played Captain Pike with a temper, a character who was constantly pushing against his rage and impatience. Anson Mount played the character as friendly and approachable, more prone to acts of diplomacy than violence. 

Trekkies loved Mount so much, and were so tantalized by the early days of the Enterprise, that Paramount+ created "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds," a series that continued to follow Captain Pike on his own five-year mission on board the USS Enterprise, prior to Kirk's command. Mount didn't just win over fans, he inspired a whole TV series of his own. The series recast many familiar faces from the 1960s, not least among them being Spock, now played by an amazing Ethan Peck. "Strange New Worlds" allowed Mount to expand Pike's friendliness, eventually re-establishing the character as the world's best boss, happy to have crewmates swing by his quarters for a freshly cooked breakfast. 

It should be noted that "Strange New Worlds" followed the same casting philosophy as J.J. Abrams' ultra-popular 2009 "Star Trek" movie. The 2009 film recast Captain Kirk, Spock, Sulu, Uhura, Dr. McCoy, Scotty, and Chekov as younger, sexier versions of themselves. Most audiences loved the new cast, notably Karl Urban as Dr. McCoy (taking over from DeForest Kelley). In that film, Bruce Greenwood played an older Captain Pike. The 2009 film, however, takes place in an alternate timeline, so we can keep that whole cast neatly compartmentalized.

"Strange New Worlds" did the same thing as Abrams' film, but with Captain Pike, Spock (again), Uhura (again), Dr. M'Benga, Nurse Chapel, and Number One. As "Strange New Worlds" has progressed (it's currently in its fourth season), the cast was also joined by a younger Scotty and a younger Kirk. As the events of "Strange New Worlds" progress closer and closer to the starting point of the original "Star Trek," the original characters (played by new people) are all being inexorably established. 

But Anson Mount is the backbone of the series. "Strange New Worlds" is a lighthearted, almost comedic show, and Captain Pike's approachable geniality drives a lot of its tone. He is a very different character than what we saw in "The Cage," and I think all Trekkies have now come to regard Mount as creating the definitive version of the character. Jeffrey Hunter was fine, Sean Kenney didn't get to do much, and Bruce Greenwood was appropriate, but Anson Mount won everyone over.