Kirk played as Shatner would act it?
- Thread starter Who_Trek
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Hadn't really thought of this till now. I'm thinking it might seem too Kirky. Too much like someone doing an impersonation. I guess if the actor cud pull it off it wud be okay. I just assumed that the next Kirk would have his own style and mannerisms.
But this is going to be Kirk in his younger days right? Maybe he has not developed the 'older Kirk' style and shudder yet.
But this is going to be Kirk in his younger days right? Maybe he has not developed the 'older Kirk' style and shudder yet.
The new guy can't use Shatner's mannerisms. It would seem like he's making fun of Shatner. He's gonna have a tough job - he needs to find the core of the character and then build up a new repertoire of mannerisms and make us accept them as representing Kirk the way Nimoy gave Spock all the stuff we associate with the character: the eyebrow raise, the pained hoo-boy expressions, the barely concealed sarcasm, and on rare occasions, the suddens outbursts of sheer emotion, quickly reined in. Quinto's got it easy! 
The core of Kirk is not just that he's a jut-jawed whitebread hero. He's got a lot of interesting facets: he's an eager idealist, but not naive, and he can make gut-wrenching decisions when he has to. He can be a wild, rule-breaking loose cannon, but he respects the chain of command and Federation ideals. I just hope the new guy really comprehends how varied and complex Kirk is, and doesn't just play him as Generic Space Hero.
The core of Kirk is not just that he's a jut-jawed whitebread hero. He's got a lot of interesting facets: he's an eager idealist, but not naive, and he can make gut-wrenching decisions when he has to. He can be a wild, rule-breaking loose cannon, but he respects the chain of command and Federation ideals. I just hope the new guy really comprehends how varied and complex Kirk is, and doesn't just play him as Generic Space Hero.
^
Good point. Kirk is very identifiable and iconic because of all the physical and vocal stuff Shanter did with him but why do people really like and empathize with him? It's not because he speaks like a damn typewriter, it's because beneath all that caricature, there's a character.
I think if you can point to an version of Kirk that should be closely studied (but not emulated) is Kirk of TUC. There's still some hammy Shatnerisms in there but it's mostly just Kirk being Kirk, minus a lot of the scenery chewing that he did in TOS.
Good point. Kirk is very identifiable and iconic because of all the physical and vocal stuff Shanter did with him but why do people really like and empathize with him? It's not because he speaks like a damn typewriter, it's because beneath all that caricature, there's a character.
I think if you can point to an version of Kirk that should be closely studied (but not emulated) is Kirk of TUC. There's still some hammy Shatnerisms in there but it's mostly just Kirk being Kirk, minus a lot of the scenery chewing that he did in TOS.
Agreed and agreed. "What would Shatner do?" is probably the wrong question for our new Kirk to ask. He needs to get inside the character, and find a way to preserve the appearance of that personality with new mannerisms and diction. Shatner's performance in TUC is most certainly the best one to study.
Alternatively, he could just pop in an episode of Boston Legal.
Alternatively, he could just pop in an episode of Boston Legal.
The actor needs to figure out who the character is and take it from there. If he tried to imitate Shatner it will come off very badly.
I think it's going to be difficult to seperate Kirk from Shatner because Shater is such a 'distinct' actor. The new actor could end up being too much like Shatner and sound like an imitation or too little like Kirk and sound like a different character. Somewhere there's a balance, but I don't envy whoever the new Kirk actor one bit.
Charlie
Charlie
In a way, it's more important to me that he looks more like young Shatner (Kirk) than tries to act like Shatner's Kirk.
Not just the physical looks, but the appearance of the confidence Kirk has and projects. When Kirk walks into a room, he gets noticed. He carries himself like someone who can lead. Also, for the most part, Kirk was very comfortable in his own skin. He (Kirk) liked being Kirk.
Maybe the actor playing Kirk shouldn't talk to Shatner before speaking to a few of the Bond actors about how they went about making that role their own when they were cast.
Not just the physical looks, but the appearance of the confidence Kirk has and projects. When Kirk walks into a room, he gets noticed. He carries himself like someone who can lead. Also, for the most part, Kirk was very comfortable in his own skin. He (Kirk) liked being Kirk.
Maybe the actor playing Kirk shouldn't talk to Shatner before speaking to a few of the Bond actors about how they went about making that role their own when they were cast.
No Shatner impersonations.
Even Shatner makes fun of the way Kirk talks.
Even Shatner makes fun of the way Kirk talks.
Nah. Claudia Black.
The fact that Shatner himself portrayed Kirk in so many different ways only adds to the dilemma. Kirk's been everything from square-jawed and decisive to overacting and hammy and everything in between. Personally, I like to think that this shows the character's growth through the 30-odd years we saw him portrayed, although I'm sure the reality has more to do with Shatner's whims at the time he was reading each script. Regardless, what we have is a character that is either (a) extraordinarily multifaceted or (b) horribly inconsistent, and yet a character we recognize as singularly "Kirk" regardless, since each of these manifestations of his character were portrayed by Shatner. A new actor, however, cannot possibly give us every facet of the Kirk personality that was invented by Shatner, certainly not in one movie, otherwise he'd be switching from stern ship's captain to playboy-esque womanizer to melodramatic speechmaker to tongue-in-cheek comedian to KHAAAAAN! every five minutes. Hence, no actor can present to us the entirety of the Kirk that we all understand. What a new actor must do, then, in my opinion, is to comprehend how Kirk's character grew, why he changed and became the different character he was at different times, and then accurately predict what Kirk's personality was like before he became the Kirk we knew. This would have to be a new take on Kirk's character, and yet one we can accept as having the potential to become the Kirk we know (or at least, the the potential to become the Kirk presented by Shatner in the first few episodes of TOS). Not an easy task.
Watch a few episodes of TOS and some movies, and take note of the "Shatnerisms". You will notice that even Shatner rarely used is infamous mannerisms -- maybe a few lines per episode, and sometimes not at all in a particular episode. If you watch Shatner portray Kirk in TOS, he actually delivered his lines very calmy, quietly, and with a consistent pace most of the time.
I think all this talk about Shatnerisms is being blown out of proportion. We remember those mannerisms more because Shatner is now such a ham, and he has overused used those mannerisms in a deliberate way for the pats 40 years since TOS.
I think the new young Kirk should chart his own course --but at least keep those mannerisms in the back of his head, and use them very sparingly and subtly...Subtleness being the key.
I think all this talk about Shatnerisms is being blown out of proportion. We remember those mannerisms more because Shatner is now such a ham, and he has overused used those mannerisms in a deliberate way for the pats 40 years since TOS.
I think the new young Kirk should chart his own course --but at least keep those mannerisms in the back of his head, and use them very sparingly and subtly...Subtleness being the key.
I want a mime to play the part, with a Shatner mask.
Maybe a midget could play young Kirk.
You know, when Kirk was little...
You know, when Kirk was little...
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