Star Trek: Why Timothy Olyphant Believes J.J. Abrams Didn't Cast Him As Captain Kirk

In 2009, director J.J. Abrams made the bold choice of rebooting — in a manner of speaking — the "Star Trek" franchise. Naturally, in doing so, he brought in a host of new actors to portray the most iconic characters. Chris Pine stands at the forefront of this revamped series as Captain James T. Kirk, taking over for William Shatner as the iconic Starfleet leader. The role could've gone to "Justified" and "The Mandalorian" regular Timothy Olyphant, but it ultimately didn't, and he has a theory as to why Abrams passed on him.

"I believe it was one of those things where it's like they might have been prepared to hire me, but they wanted somebody younger," Olyphant said during an appearance on the "Happy Sad Confused" podcast. He added that shortly after his audition, Abrams called him and shared that he'd found someone younger who he felt fit the Kirk role better. With that, the part went to Pine and he led the new "Star Trek" trilogy. If it gets off the ground after all these years, it stands to reason he'll lead "Star Trek 4" as well.

Though it may sound like Olyphant feels slighted over the loss of his potential spot in the "Star Trek" franchise due to his age, he actually doesn't have anything against Abrams or Pine.

During the same interview on "Happy Sad Confused," Timothy Olyphant offered some kind words to both J.J. Abrams and Chris Pine despite losing out on his spot in "Star Trek" due to both of them in different ways. Of the "Star Trek" director, Olyphant said, "He's just a lovely, lovely guy. And just a lovely, lovely audition process." He noted that auditioning in Hollywood is far from fun, so the fact that he has fond memories of auditioning for Abrams' "Star Trek" says a lot about him and the productions he runs.

As for Pine, Olyphant recalled having a great time hanging out with him during one Golden Globes ceremony. "I had the honor, we're going to say honor, to go to the Golden Globes one year...and I spent most of the evening at the bar with Chris Pine. Just really adored him. What a good guy," Olyphant shared. He also tossed some praise in Pine's direction for his acting ability, commending him as an on-screen talent who's so good at his job that he makes it look effortlessly easy. Talk about a glowing endorsement.

Even though he missed out on the part of Captain Kirk, it's safe to say that Timothy Olyphant is doing just fine. If he's not too broken up about it, fans shouldn't be either.