Actor Bruce Greenwood is sad to see the end of his participation in the rebooted Star Trek franchise.
The actor shared his thoughts on finding out about the fate of Pike, the reception of Star Trek into Darkness, and his “not-so-secret” wish about his participation in a third Trek movie.
Greenwood found out about Pike’s demise before he read the script that had been sent to him. “The script was delivered and then I got a text from J.J., who wrote, ‘Call me before you read the script. Call me right away.’ I went, ‘Oh, what does that mean? Have they decided they’re going to do a different script? Something that doesn’t have Pike in it at all?’ I didn’t know what was happening. So I called him and he said, ‘I’ve got good news and I’ve got bad news. The good news is that he’s integral part of the show and a lot of the action hinges on what happens to you. The bad news is, well…you don’t survive.’ So that’s how it went down.”
At first, Greenwood was sad about the news. “Oh, I was crushed initially, but that was before I read it,” he said. “Once I read it, I realized it was a good way to go out, and we had a lot of fun doing it.”
Although Star Trek into Darkness did well at the box office, some fans were not happy with the movie. Greenwood dismissed the criticism of this group. “[There was a] disaffection of the ‘hardcore fans,’ and I’m not really sure what the percentage of hardcore fans who wanted something different really is,” he said. “I think people can focus on that, but I think by and large fans of the franchise were happy with it.”
Greenwood certainly was. “I thought it was great,” he said. “I’m so part of it that it’s very difficult for me to be objective. I’m so connected with the people who did it and I know the phenomenal amount of work that into it. So I’m predisposed to liking it…and I do.”
What’s next for Greenwood? “WildLike is a little movie we shot in Alaska last year, and it’s a beautiful story,” he said. “Endless Love, we had a lot of fun shooting that in Atlanta this summer. Devil’s Knot is at the Toronto Film Festival. A project that I’m incredibly excited about isn’t a film, but a play. It’s actually a musical that I’m about to start rehearsing, and it’s written by Stephen King and John Mellencamp. We’ll be taking it on tour in the Midwest in the middle of October. It’s called Ghost Brothers of Darkland County. It’s about this guy who has a secret that’s torn him apart for, lo, these forty years. He brings his family together to tell them about the secret and he imagines that when he finally reveals this thing that’s tortured him for so long his warring sons will lay off each other. Of course, it doesn’t go according to plan.”
If he could, would Greenwood return to Star Trek for a third movie? “My not-so-secret wish is that somehow there’s a memory lane scene where Pike gets to come back and talk to Kirk in some way,” he said. “I don’t think they can give me a drop of Khan’s blood because that would render my death somewhat meaningless if they could reanimate me. But of course I’m hoping they’ll reach into memory lane and bring me back.”
Source: StarTrek.com
