10 Notorious Star Trek Urban Legends
3. Eddie Murphy Had A Major Star Trek Role Cut
In 1986, Eddie Murphy was one of the biggest stars in the world. Coincidentally, he also happened to be a huge Star Trek fan. With scripts being put together for a fourth movie in the series, producers began working overtime to find a way to incorporate him into the story.
Once the decision had been made to send the crew back to 1980s San Fransico, the part of a Berkeley astrophysicist was written specifically for Murphy. He was going to be a key player of the story, given top billing with Shatner and Nimoy, and made one of the major parts of the film's marketing. However when he was approached for the role, he didn't think much of the script and turned the part down.
In the end, this role was reworked into the part of Dr. Gillian Taylor, the assistant head of Cetacean Institute, who was ultimately played by Catherine Hicks.