But Greenwood, who is credited as “Cooper,” won’t be easy to spot. This is because the visual appearance of his character, the unhappy alien of Super 8, was computer-generated.

Performance capture work was a new experience for Greenwood. “It’s not your typical acting exercise at all, because you’re really the only person in this room with all these cameras in it,” explained Greenwood. “It was a very weird thing to offer up all this big emotion while … the rest of the people in the room are picking away at the craft services table,” he says. “And you never really how it will turn out because it’s all left in the hands of the artists and animators who are putting your work together.

“The other part that was really memorable was that I saw a bunch of other (big name) actors who were doing the same thing in other studios … and there we were: In one-piece Danskins with our pot bellies and saggy asses hanging outs.

“All the parts that we try so hard to hide beneath our nice clothes were all of a sudden very visible.

“Being an actor, you have to be OK with shameless … and that was it. There was nothing left to hide. It was a big naked moment …”

Greenwood can also be seen in the horror chiller Cell 213, which opens this Friday.

Greenwood would love to return to Trek, and he couldn’t resist giving his tongue-in-cheek opinion of Pike’s importance to the Star Trek franchise in a recent interview. “I think Captain Pike is an essential component to the whole franchise,” he said. “I think there should be a whole offshoot of Pike’s adventures.”

But what about Pike’s physical impairment? Would that make a difference? Not according to Greenwood. “There’s nothing that says Pike can’t get up and out of that wheelchair, get his own ship and go off on some adventures of his own. I’m now an admiral, but I want to get out of the wheelchair.”

It is not known if Pike will be back in Star Trek XII, but fans, as well as Greenwood, can only hope.

Nominated for five awards in four categories, awards went to the movie, to Bruce Greenwood and to Karl Urban. Zoë Saldana won an award for her work in Avatar.

Best Male Performance in a 2009 Science Fiction Film, TV Movie or Mini-Series. Karl Urban edged out Chris Pine in this category, 29% to 28%.

• Chris Pine. Star Trek
• Jackie Earle Haley. Watchmen
• Karl Urban. Star Trek
• Sam Rockwell. Moon
• Sharlto Copley. District 9

Best Female Performance in a 2009 Science Fiction Film, TV Movie or Mini-Series. Zoë Saldana collected 30% of the vote for her work in Avatar, and 21% of the vote for Star Trek XI, handily beating her rivals in the category.

• Aurora Buchanan. Doctor Who: Victimsight
• Dakota Fanning. Push
• Emma Watson. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
• Zoë Saldana. Avatar
• Zoë Saldana. Star Trek

Best Science Fiction Film, TV Movie or Mini-Series of 2009. Star Trek XI won with 37% of the vote.

• Avatar
• District 9
• Moon
• Star Trek
• Watchmen

Outstanding Canadian Contribution to Science Fiction Film or Television in 2009. Bruce Greenwood received 30% of the vote.

• Amanda Tapping. Producer and actress on Canadian series Sanctuary
• Being Erica. Canadian Production
• Bruce Greenwood. Canadian Actor, Star Trek
• Damian Kindler. Producer/Writer on Canadian series Sanctuary
• Robert J. Sawyer. Canadian creative consultant on the series FlashForward

Pike could return, according to Greenwood, and since Star Trek XII is in an alternate reality, anything can happen to the character, who is not bound by “canon Trek.” “Oh, I’ll be there in a second, in a hot second,” he said. “I know they’re writing the script and I encourage them whenever I see them to make Pike a critical element.”

Would Pike be in the wheelchair though? “I don’t know necessarily,” said Greenwood. “I think with the latitude of the parallel universe I might be able to get out of the chair, and I’m hoping the mentorship between myself and Kirk (Chris Pine) continues.”

Greenwood spoke about his experience in preparing for Star Trek XI. “I was woefully ignorant [about Star Trek],” he said. “I’d watched it as a kid, off and on, but mostly to see the hot girls in the tight outfits, and then I started doing my homework once I got the role. I became aware of Jeffrey Hunter in a more distinct way, and his contributions and the legion of fans he had from creating that role. I thought, ‘Oh, God, what now?’ because my Pike had been written as a very different character. The central dilemma for Jeffrey Hunter is not the central dilemma for my Pike. I was fortunate in that regard, that I wasn’t playing the same conflicts.”

The finished film was perfect and Greenwood gave J.J. Abrams the credit. “It wasn’t in 3-D, but the movie feels amazingly three-dimensional,” said Greenwood. “Visually, it’s spectacularly open, and the humor and tempo, I think, were perfect. I think that J.J. is a singularly talented guy. He managed to keep all these plates spinning and at the same time have this heartbeat of real people at the center of it.”

Greenwood also spoke with Hollywood.com where he revealed that although he knew very little about Star Trek XII, he did know when shooting on the film would begin. “I just know that the plan is to film in it January,” he said. “More than that, I don’t know.”

Greenwood joined seven others who were also inducted into the B.C. Hall of Fame’s Starwalk at a ceremony held Sunday night at the Orpheum Theater.

The B.C. Entertainment Hall of Fame honors British Columbians “who have made outstanding contributions to the entertainment industry in Canada and abroad.”

The Starwalk includes a series of plaques lining both sides of Granville Street between Robson and Nelson in the City of Vancouver.

Greenwood said that it was “wonderfully wonderful” to be recognized by his peers.

Others inducted at the ceremony included singer-songwriter Susan Jacks (1969′s Which Way You Goin’ Billy with the Poppy Family), radio personality Dave Abbott, theater manager Rae Ackerman, musical theater director Bruce Kellett, music director Bruce Pullan, Firehall Theater Society’s founding director Donna Spencer, and conductor/artistic director Jon Washburn.

The call from Abrams came out of the blue to Greenwood, who nevertheless jumped at the opportunity to be involved in Star Trek XI. “I wasn’t aware that J.J. knew I was on the planet,” Greenwood said. “Why would he? But he called me out of the deep blue … and wow, OK, sure I’ll come in! I’d love to do it.”

There were differences between the Pike played by Greenwood and the Pike played by Hunter. “I think the fundamental difference between the two, the Hunter Pike and the Greenwood Pike … is the dilemma that Jeffrey Hunter’s Pike had is entirely different from my dilemma and Hunter’s thing that he was terribly ambivalent about is his place in the Federation, he was really torn about whether or not he wanted to go back and have an authentic smaller life or the large life of a commander. And that is not the dilemma of the Captain Pike in this Federation.”

Greenwood’s concern was with Starfleet’s training of officers. “He [Pike] does have second thoughts and misgivings about the way Starfleet is training his officers and the kind of officers they produce. In that they’re very ‘by the book.’ The very ‘by the book’ products that they turn out may not be, by the end of the day, be what’s required of a great leader. So he keeps his eye out for that kind of young man, and as it happens, Kirk seems to fill that bill.”

The rest of the audio interview can be heard by heading to the link located here.

The Constellation Awards, honoring excellence in science-fiction film and television, announced their nominations last week in a televised announcement on G4 Canada’s EP Daily.

Star Trek XI has been nominated five times, in four of the nine possible categories:

Best Male Performance in a 2009 Science Fiction Film, TV Movie or Mini-Series:

• Chris Pine. Star Trek
• Jackie Earle Haley. Watchmen
• Karl Urban. Star Trek
• Sam Rockwell. Moon
• Sharlto Copley. District 9

Best Female Performance in a 2009 Science Fiction Film, TV Movie or Mini-Series:

• Aurora Buchanan. Doctor Who: Victimsight
• Dakota Fanning. Push
• Emma Watson. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
• Zoë Saldana. Avatar
• Zoë Saldana. Star Trek

Best Science Fiction Film, TV Movie or Mini-Series of 2009:

• Avatar
• District 9
• Moon
• Star Trek
• Watchmen

Outstanding Canadian Contribution to Science Fiction Film or Television in 2009.

• Amanda Tapping. Producer and actress on Canadian series Sanctuary
• Being Erica. Canadian Production
• Bruce Greenwood. Canadian Actor, Star Trek
• Damian Kindler. Producer/Writer on Canadian series Sanctuary
• Robert J. Sawyer. Canadian creative consultant on the series FlashForward

Voting in the awards is now open to the public, with a deadline of June 7. Winners will be announced at a ceremony in Toronto on July 17. To see the full list of nominees and to learn how to vote, head to the link located here.

“I can hardly wait,” said Greenwood, talking about the sequel to J.J. Abrams‘s Star Trek reboot. Greenwood has spoken to Abrams about Star Trek XII, and Greenwood’s participation in the film. “…there are no guarantees,” said Greenwood. “J.J., one of the nicest guys on the planet, has indicated there will be a place in the project for me.”

Star Trek XII is expected to begin shooting next summer.

Greenwood’s latest project, a Hallmark Hall of Fame movie called A Dog Named Christmas, will air on November 29. A Dog Named Christmas is the story of a developmentally-challenged young man who convinces his family to participate in an “adopt a dog for Christmas” program. Greenwood plays the father of the young man.

As reported by The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, in the original series, Christopher Pike, as played by Jeffrey Hunter, had to find a reason to go on with his career. “Hunter’s Pike had this internal dilemma,” explained Bruce Greenwood.The problem that Greenwood’s Pike faced was related to another person, and not his own personal issues. “My Pike’s dilemma is whether or not to take a chance on a young man named James T. Kirk,” said Greenwood.

Greenwood himself is also taking a chance when it comes to Star Trek fandom, but he doesn’t seem fazed by the possibility of

As reported by Examiner.com, Greenwood is optimistic about Trek’s future. “I think these guys are clever enough to do at least two more and have the final one do a really hard dovetail into the beginning of [the storylines] for the original series,” he said. “My expectations are very high for them.”
And what about Christopher Pike in the next Star Trek movie? “The only thing I’d like to see, from a personal standpoint, is the mentor relationship between Kirk and Pine to continue,” said Greenwood.

Although he played Pike, if he had had his druthers and been younger, Greenwood would have been interested in playing one of the other characters. “If circumstances would’ve been different,” he said, “Pike would’ve remained the captain of the Enterprise and there wouldn’t have been a Kirk. The whole thing would’ve been about Pike. To be really honest, I would be Kirk. But I’m a generation too late, that’s all.”

To read more, including Greenwood’s thoughts on the popularity of Star Trek XI, as well as observations about Star Trek fandom, head to the article located here.