The Iconic Star Trek Characters Tom Hanks & Anjelica Huston Almost Played

In another Star Trek timeline that doesn't have Thor as Captain Kirk's dad, there's a point in history where the warp drive was created by Forrest Gump — well, a guy who looks like him, at least. Before James Cromwell (who has played more than one Star Trek character) was cast as Zefram Cochrane in "Star Trek: First Contact," Tom Hanks was considered for the role. At the same time, "Addams Family" icon Anjelica Huston was being eyed to play the film's big bad, the Borg Queen, a part that ultimately went to Alice Krige.

In Mark A. Altman and Edward Gross' book "The Fifty-Year Mission,"screenwriter Brannon Braga, who penned "Star Trek: First Contact," (what many deem one of the best Star Trek movies ever made) admitted that both big star names were considered early on. "There was talk of Tom Hanks for Cochrane. I remember Anjelica Huston being mentioned for the Queen, and in fact she was interested, but we felt it was too similar to the role in the Michael Jackson 'Captain Eo' thing, which was kind of Queen-like, actually."

The final pick was Braga's preferred option, though. "I was always a fan of Alice Krige in the role, because I remembered her from 'Ghost Story' and she was very sexy creepy in that movie, and that's what the Queen had to be," he explained. "I thought she would be perfect and, of course, she was."

While "First Contact" co-writer Ronald D. Moore told The Hollywood Reporter that "it never got that far," in terms of casting Hanks as Cochrane, that's not to say the Oscar-winning star would've turned it down. Speaking on the podcast "Happy Sad Confused," Hanks didn't mince his words over the dream role he missed out on. "The guy who invented warp drive? Oh come on, I would've jumped on that!" he said. "I would have come in, I would have brought gift tribbles to everybody on the first meeting. 'Guys here's some tribbles you.'"

Hanks isn't quiet about his love for Gene Roddenberry's world, either. He had a nerd-off session with Star Trek actor Simon Pegg on "The Graham Norton Show,"  while a legendary captain recalled a close encounter with the acclaimed actor. In Patrick Stewart's book "Making It So: A Memoir" (via CinemaBlend), the man behind Jean-Luc Picard revealed that Hanks has expressed his love for the show, personally. "Tom Hanks has told me he knows all the 'TNG' episodes by name, so obsessively has he watched them."

Unfortunately, Hanks still has yet to boldly go where so many have gone before, but fingers crossed that at some point in Star Trek's future, someone makes it so.

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