'The Vampire Diaries' Alum Paul Wesley Talks Life As Captain Kirk In 'Star Trek: Strange New Worlds'

Actor Paul Wesley is best known for his role as vampire Stefan Salvatore in “The Vampire Diaries.”

However, he is also starring as a young Captain James Tiberius Kirk in the second season of “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.” Although fans weren’t expecting him until the second season, they were in for a surprise when he made his debut in the season one finale, which was released on Paramount+ on Thursday.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, the 39-year-old actor talked about what it was like to be cast as Captain Kirk and what fans can expect in season 2.

Wesley said that he “could give you about a hundred” adjectives and “it would still not really describe” what it feels like to play the role of Captain Kirk.

“Obviously, it is incredibly daunting,” he continued. “Ever since I got the role of Kirk, I'll literally be speaking to someone and there's a massive language barrier and I can't quite communicate certain words. Then I'll say ‘Captain Kirk.’ There's nobody on the face of planet earth... or I should say, most 99 percent of people know who Captain Kirk is. That is crazy.”

“It's arguably the most iconic fictional character,” he added. “There's Han Solo and there's Captain Kirk.”

Although some people know Chris Pine’s Captain Kirk and others know William Shatner’s Captain Kirk, Wesley said his own personal Kirk is “somewhere in between.”

“At the end of the day, the most important thing for me and the most important thing for the showrunners was to not insult the original series' Kirk by doing an imitation of [Shatner],” he explained. “It's an interpretation that is different. I think doing an imitation of either [Kirks] would be an insult.”

“This is a whole new look. It's a whole new Spock. It's a whole new Uhura. It's a whole new Kirk. It's a new Pike,” he continued. “They're old characters interpreted in a new way. What is most important is to pay respect to the integrity of who Kirk is — his wants, his needs, his deep desires, his morality, his spontaneity, his instinct.”

The showrunners had a very important reason for bringing Captain Kirk out early. As Paul Wesley explained, “In the season 1 finale, it's actually a Kirk that we've never seen because he doesn't really exist. It's an alternate projected timeline of something.”

“If Pike hadn't died and he was still commanding the Enterprise, what would this world look like? Of course, it doesn't exist. It's just in his mind,” he continued. “So he meets Kirk, and Kirk is not captain of the Enterprise. Kirk is captain of the Farragut. Kirk has never met Spock, he's never met Uhura, he hasn't gone through all the things that the original Kirk had gone through.”

“So, in a way, it allowed me to... I'm not gonna say whatever I wanted, but it's a looser interpretation, right? We're not sticking to a regiment. So it was a little liberating because I didn't have as much pressure,” he added, revealing that he couldn’t say too much more to prevent leaking any spoilers.

“The most important thing is, to answer your question, is to maintain that sense of Kirk having this incredible gut instinct that he relies on, that is preternaturally accurate in a way, a morality, courage, charm, humor,” he added. “We don't get to see as much of that humor in the season 1 finale because there's something very intense happening. Season 2, we get to explore a little bit more of Kirk.”

He did say that the relationship between Kirk and Pike will be explored more in-depth, explaining that “the two men have a great deal of respect for one another.”

“Pike sees this future, so he kind of knows Kirk in a way, but Kirk doesn't know him,” he continued. “So it's fascinating to see this. It's like, I've met you before, but I can't tell you that I've met you before and I can't explain to you how I've met you before.”

“I do think that the two have different command styles and different approaches, but I think there's a lot of respect between the two men. There's never really a sense of animosity or real competitiveness,” he added. “There's a deep sense of respect, 'cause ultimately they want the same thing. Kirk just knows that he'll figure it out quickly and he's relied on that his entire life.”

Fans can’t wait to see Paul Wesley in action in season 2 of “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.” As per Esquire, season two is currently in production in Toronto and is scheduled to be released in 2023.