10 Actors Who Turned Down Star Trek

Star Trek: First Contact, released in 1996, is, in this humble writer's opinion, the pinnacle of the Star Trek film series. The struggle between Jean-Luc Picard and his obsession with destroying the Borg for what they did to him plays out almost like a Greek tragedy, and the moral struggle is explored poignantly amidst the spectacular space vistas and dazzling laser battles.

While half the crew remain in space to sort out the cyborg ruffians, the other half are stationed on Earth in the 21st century, aiding in the creation of the world's first warp drive. The drive's inventor, Zefram Cochrane, was originally to be played by Tom Hanks, who had just won an Academy Award for his role as Forrest Gump in 1994. Hanks was a fan of a show and was enthusiastic about the part, but had already committed himself to production of his 1996 directorial debut film, That Thing You Do!.

If it's any consolation, James Cromwell took up the role of Cochrane after Hanks and knocked it out of the park. Still, that doesn't explain how the same character is at least 20 years younger in the original series...