The raison d’être of J.J. Abrams’ 2009 “Star Trek” film was to reboot the original “Star Trek” timeline with younger, more impulsive, sexier versions of the Enterprise crew. It was set a few years before the events of “Star Trek,” and all the characters were just starting out, some of them fresh from Starfleet Academy, allowing the film’s writers to make them less professional/diplomatic and more passionate/violent. Captain Kirk, played by 35-year-old William Shatner in 1966, was now played by the 29-year-old Chris Pine. Spock actor Leonard Nimoy, also 35 when “Star Trek” began, was replaced by Zachary Quinto, 32 (but looking much younger).
Curiously, Sulu actor George Takei was 29 when he first appeared on “Star Trek,” while his 2009 replacement, actor John Cho, was already 37. This, it seems, is a testament to Cho’s youthful appearance; he looked younger at 37 than Takei did at 29.
The 2009 “Star Trek” movie was a big deal. Four years prior, “Star Trek: Enterprise” had been unceremoniously canceled after only four seasons, and it seemed as if “Star Trek” would never return. The rebooted 2009 film was taken over by an entirely new creative team, and its high-octane action and flashy young cast snagged the attention of a mass audience. “Star Trek” made $385 million, the biggest hit in the franchise’s history.
Naturally, actors fought tooth and nail to get roles in Abrams’ project. Once you’re associated with “Star Trek,” Trekkies never forget. It’s likely every young actor in Hollywood aimed to gain the attention that “Star Trek” would bring. John Cho was so enthused, in fact, that he signed on to play Sulu before he even looked at a script. He admitted as much in a 2011 interview with StarTrek.com, saying that he wasn’t concerned with his amount of screen time until he was already committed.
John Cho didn’t care how big his role was in ‘Star Trek’
Because “Star Trek” is an ensemble show, it sometimes can be difficult for writers to give every single character their due. It’s especially hard, since most original “Star Trek” stories focus on Kirk, Spock, and McCoy, with the rest of the crew often stuck playing second fiddle. A character like Sulu might have a standout sequence, but he wasn’t the lead character in “Star Trek,” the show or the 2009 film. As such, the interviewer asked Cho if he felt Sulu was given enough to do. Cho was positive and pragmatic, eager to take part, no matter how big his role was. The actor said:
“I was happy. When I took the role, I hadn’t read the script, even. I just knew that I wanted to be a part of it. I wasn’t sure how it’d juggle out. There were just a lot of characters to get to — it was a big story to tell — and I wasn’t expecting a huge arc. But that scene, the fight, was spectacular. It was something I hadn’t done before. It was new territory for me. So I was very happy with what I had.”
The fight Cho referred to is a larger-than-life action sequence wherein Sulu got to skydive onto a tiny, precarious platform only to extract a sword and spar with a Romulan. Sulu’s propensity toward sword fighting comes from the original series episode “The Naked Time” when a virus made Sulu perpetually drunk, causing him to remove his shirt and charge around the halls of the Enterprise with a fencing foil. In the 2009 version of “Star Trek,” Sulu was now a fencing champion, able to take his sword into combat. Cho liked that.
Cho was too distracted by how good ‘Star Trek’ was to notice his own performance
Cho said that when he saw the final cut of the film, he wasn’t even aware of his own involvement. “Star Trek” is an exciting, electrifying, supra-incidental movie, and a mass audience seemed to appreciate the franchise’s turn away from philosophy and diplomacy, and toward violence and revenge. It’s just where American minds were in a post-9/11 world, it seems. Cho amusingly recalled that he and his fellow castmates were having too much fun watching the film to make criticisms of their own performances. He said:
“I was just screaming the first time we screened the movie. It was on the Paramount lot. The main cast was there and everyone was going nuts, as I was. I kind of forgot that I was in the movie. A lot of actors watch movies, watch themselves, in a very critical way and they start nitpicking. The movie was so exciting that I actually forgot to beat myself up. And I thought the guy playing Sulu was okay.”
Cho returned as Sulu in the sequels “Star Trek Into Darkness” in 2013 and “Star Trek Beyond” in 2016. Ever since, there has been talk of making a fourth film in the same alternate timeline as those, but nothing has manifested. Also, Cho is now 52, so the novelty of having younger versions of the “Star Trek” characters has very much worn off. I think Trekkies and non-Trekkies alike can turn away from the Kelvinverse and enjoy what “Star Trek” is coming out of Paramount+. Check out “Star Trek: Lower Decks.” It’s great.
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