‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’: Paul Wesley Talks Playing ‘Glimmer of That Heroic Captain Kirk’

[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 3 Episode 6 “The Sehlat Who Ate Its Tail.”]

“Goodnight, Captain Kirk.” Yes, Paul Wesley‘s character is captain in this episode — temporarily, when the Farragut‘s crew, including its leader, is injured. The Enterprise comes to its aid, giving us a glimpse into the TOS future with Kirk working alongside Spock (Ethan Peck), Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding), Chapel (Jess Bush), and Scotty (Martin Quinn).

Under other circumstances, Kirk would be happy with the promotion, but with his ship in need of serious repairs and scavengers boarding the Enterprise, it’s less than ideal. When he freezes, it’s Spock who talks him through it, noting that good leaders know when to listen and when not to (something Kirk still has to learn). He advises him to listen to his human intuition. That works, and in the end, they do beat the scavengers — only to discover that they were descendants of the first group of scientists who set out during the 21st century’s environmental crisis in search of a new home for humanity.

After, Pike (Anson Mount) sits down with Kirk and offers some advice: What he learned when he got bumped up to first officer is that the big decisions seem simple when someone else has to live with the consequences but there are some decisions you make in the captain’s chair you’ll regret the rest of your life. Kirk feels terrible upon learning the scavengers whose deaths he was responsible for were humans, but Pike points out that empathy for your adversary is part of the job. And it’s because of the way he feels now that Kirk will use the knowledge that they’re not that different from their enemy going forward. With that, Pike leaves the first officer with that “Goodnight, Captain Kirk.”

Below, Paul Wesley takes us inside the big Kirk episode, discusses the beginnings of Kirk and Spock’s bond, and more.

It feels like with this episode, we’re really starting to see the Kirk we expect to see as captain more than we ever have before, and we get to see what one will be one day with the Enterprise crew members we have on the bridge and in engineering. How was exploring that version of Kirk?

Paul Wesley: It was amazing. When we first see Kirk in the chair and you see Uhura and Spock and Chapel, you’re like, “Whoa, I’ve seen this before.” But I wanted to create — when Kirk first assumes command in that episode, he’s still not the fully-formed captain. He’s confused. He doesn’t know really how to make decisions in the right way. He has a lot of learning lessons, but you see a glimmer of that sort of heroic Captain Kirk that we all know, that really self-assured, sure-footed individual, but it’s the genesis of that, and that’s what makes it so interesting to play. But then we also wanted to make sure that we got the dynamic between Kirk and Uhura and Kirk and Spock, and their shorthand, the way they can quickly communicate. We need to see that they can work cohesively together really well. And hopefully we did that.

I feel like we really see the way that Kirk’s feelings about being in charge change throughout the episode because he says, under better circumstances, he’d be thrilled, but because of the circumstances, he is really getting to understand what being captain means.

Right. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. It was cool because in that episode we did, it was like he’s just captain temporarily. So it was a fun way to introduce Captain Kirk without going fully there.

Why did Kirk need Spock to be the one to talk to him when he was feeling frozen? What was it he needed at that point? That was such a good scene.

Yeah, it was. Kirk and Spock, the sort of brilliance of that relationship and the reason why people love what Leonard Nimoy and William Shatner did, is the fact that they are yin and yang, and they both have different parts of their brain that are activated and they help one another because together they are the perfect combination of logic, a.k.a. Spock, and then just sort of this instinctive drive, which is Kirk. Kirk uses his instincts, and Spock uses his logic. And I think Kirk was lost and he needed someone with a different perspective to give him some advice. And of course, that’s Spock, and that’s why Spock and Kirk really do become best friends because they are polar opposites, but they complement each other so well.

Yeah, everyone knows what that dynamic is going to be one day. So how has it been building to that?

It’s beautiful because Ethan Peck and I are very good friends, and interestingly enough, I’m not sure if we’re method acting or if it’s just really good casting, we have a Spock and Kirk dynamic in real life. Ethan is just such a genuine, artistic, but also quirky individual in the best way. And we have this really funny relationship where we laugh at things for different reasons and we get along really, really well and just sort of have this odd sense of humor with one another. And it really helps. I mean, I gotta tell you, when you get along with somebody that you’re working with, it shows on screen. It really does. And so I’m having a blast working opposite him.

And then we get that great Kirk and Pike scene at the end with Pike calling him Captain Kirk. Would you say that after that conversation, Kirk might be the closest to being ready to be captain that he has been yet?

I think he learned a very valuable lesson that he needs to then go and sit with himself and come to terms with. I think he still has a lot of work to do. I think Pike is such a mentor to Kirk. He really is. It is a true — When we’re on set, Anson really is the leader in terms of just being the cast member who is the anchor of the series. And then as far as his character, he’s also the anchor of the series. And I think Kirk really looks up to Pike. And when Pike will eventually meet his fate, which is in canon, I think at that point, Kirk will have learned enough lessons to be ready to assume the role.

Talk about filming those key scenes for Kirk, with Spock and Pike.

It was a really big episode for me. I was in virtually every scene. I think when you’re working opposite somebody who’s equally prepared and ready to do the best work possible, that’s what I was — In the final scene with Pike, I got emotional and I was able to get emotional. We both did. I remember we both had tears in our eyes. You feed off one another. When you’re an actor, you really pull from the person who’s working opposite you and you feed off each other. It’s like a game of tennis, and the game is only going to be as good as the person who’s playing opposite you. And I’m just lucky. I’m lucky because I have two very talented people that are working opposite me. Frankly, everybody on the cast. It’s a rare thing when everyone is very gifted and committed.

What can you tease about what we’ll see from Kirk in upcoming episodes? Can you say if it’s this Kirk we’re seeing or if it’s another version of Kirk?

I will say that the writers are deeply imaginative. And as you have seen already in the episodes that have aired, they take really big swings and they do things that you think, “Oh gosh, they’ve run out of ideas.” And then they come up with something that is so left of center, that you’re just like, “Well, how are we going to do this?” But then we, oddly enough, we pull it off and everything from a musical, which you’ve all seen, to use your imagination because it’s probably going to happen. And so Kirk, even though I’m not in every episode, I do get to do some really fun stuff that I just simply can’t reveal, but just know you guys are all in for treat.

With whom would you say Kirk has the most significant conversation coming up?

He has significant conversations with everyone, but La’an [Christina Chong] has always been his love, and her and Spock are…  The point is Kirk and La’an have a history as we all already know, and I think let’s see how that goes. Let’s see what happens. People really love that time travel episode. And I think people want to see more of them together as do I think. I love Christine, and I love working with her. So let’s see.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Thursdays, Paramount+