James McAvoy was offered Star Trek role but turned it down

James McAvoy was offered a role in the first Star Trek movie from J.J. Abrams, but wound up turning it down.

James McAvoy is a big Star Trek fan, and although he hasn’t appeared in the long-running sci-fi franchise, he did once come very close. While speaking with Josh Horowitz on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, McAvoy revealed he was actually offered a role in J.J. Abrams’ first Star Trek movie, but ultimately turned it down because he didn’t think he was right for the part.

“I got offered something. I didn’t want to do that. I suggested I can do something else,” McAvoy said. “They wanted to camera test me and I was like, ‘Do you know what, it’s alright, don’t worry about it.’  Not because I wouldn’t, because I just didn’t think I was right.“

McAvoy didn’t reveal which role he was offered (although Horowitz guessed McCoy, and there were rumblings he was up for Scotty back in the day), but he added that Abrams did end up choosing the right actor for the part. “What I said to J.J. about what I thought the role should be and the kind of actor that should be, they absolutely got. I’m not saying that he got that because I said that,” McAvoy said. “But the kind of person I thought that I’m not, is exactly the person who got it. And it’s brilliant. And I love the new ones. I love J.J.’s films. They are excellent.“

Perhaps one day, James McAvoy will appear in a Star Trek project. He once said he would love to play a young Jean-Luc Picard.

McAvoy can currently be seen in Speak No Evil, a psychological horror thriller which follows an American family who are invited to spend the weekend at the idyllic country estate of a charming British family they befriended on vacation. But what begins as a dream holiday soon warps into a snarled psychological nightmare. Our own Tyler Nichols was a fan, particularly of McAvoy’s performance. “James McAvoy is absolutely the star of the show and gives a riveting performance as Paddy. He’s electric from one moment to the next and brings such a chaotic energy,” Nichols wrote. “This is an all-time performance from McAvoy and will likely stand out as a career-best. As evil as the trailers make him out to be, the performance is much more nuanced and he draws you in. He’s like a dog playing with a new toy, just testing how best to tear it apart.” You can check out the rest of Nichols’ review right here.