Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country - Cast

Cast

The Undiscovered Country's cast includes the final group appearance of the major characters from the original television series, and new actors and characters. Casting director Mary Jo Slater loaded the film with as many Hollywood stars as the production could afford, including a minor appearance by Christian Slater, her son; Cinefantastique considered the cameo a likely attempt to lure younger audiences. Meyer was interested in casting actors who could project and articulate feelings, even through alien makeup. Producer Ralph Winter said, "We were not looking for someone to say 'Okay, I'll do it', but people who were excited by the material and would treat it as if it was the biggest picture ever being made."

William Shatner plays Captain James T. Kirk; Shatner felt that though dramatic, the script made Kirk look too prejudiced. Kirk's second-in-command, the Vulcan Spock, is portrayed by Leonard Nimoy. DeForest Kelley plays Leonard McCoy, the chief medical officer of the Enterprise; Kelley's appearance as the doctor in The Undiscovered Country was to be his last. With Leonard Nimoy the film's executive producer, the 71-year old Kelley was paid US$1 million for the role, assuring a comfortable retirement for the veteran actor. Kelley and Shatner shot their prison scenes over the course of six to eight nights; the two actors got to know each other better than they ever had.

Other members of the Enterprise crew include James Doohan as chief engineer Montgomery Scott, Walter Koenig as navigator Pavel Chekov, and Nichelle Nichols as Uhura, the communications officer. Uhura was supposed to give a dramatic speech in Klingon during the film, but midway through production the element was scrapped and a scene where Uhura is speaking garbled Klingon, surrounded by books, was added for extra humor. Nichols protested the scene, wondering why there were still books in the 23rd century, but accepted the change since it would be the last Star Trek film she would appear in. Being African-American, Nichols was uncomfortable with some of the dialogue's racial undertones. Nichols was originally to speak the line "Guess who's coming to dinner" as the Klingons arrive on the Enterprise; Nichols refused to say the part, which was given to Koenig's character in the final print. Nichols also refused to say the line "yes, but would you like your daughter to marry one ", and it was dropped from the film altogether.

Kim Cattrall plays Valeris, the Enterprise's new navigator and the first Vulcan to graduate at the top of her class at Starfleet Academy. Valeris becomes the protégé of Captain Spock, who intends her to be his replacement. Initially, the character of Saavik, who appeared in the second through fourth Star Trek films, was intended to be the traitor, but Gene Roddenberry objected to making a character loved by fans into a villain. Cattrall was unwilling to be the third actress to play Saavik (a part she had originally auditioned for), but accepted the role when she became a different character. Cattrall chose the Eris element of the character's name, for the Greek goddess of strife, which was Vulcanised by the addition of the "Val" at the behest of director Nicholas Meyer. Cinefantastique reported that during filming, Cattrall participated in a photo shoot on the empty Enterprise bridge, where she wore nothing but her Vulcan ears. The story claimed Nimoy personally ripped up all of the photographs and negatives when he learned about the unauthorized photo session, because he feared harm to the franchise if it ever came to light.

The main Klingons are portrayed by Christopher Plummer as Chang, David Warner as Gorkon, and Rosanna DeSoto as Azetbur. Plummer and Shatner had performed together in various performances in Montreal. Meyer wrote the role for Plummer, who was initially reluctant to accept it. The role of Gorkon was initially offered to Jack Palance. Warner had appeared in Meyer's first film, the 1979 science-fiction film Time After Time, and had played a human ambassador in The Final Frontier. The actor's make-up was made to resemble Abraham Lincoln, as another way of humanizing the otherwise alien Klingon leader. When filming his character's death, a large lamp exploded and rained down in pieces on Warner and Kelley; one heavy piece barely missed striking Warner's head, which Kelley was sure would have killed him.

Iman plays the role of Martia, a shapeshifting alien on the prison planet Rura Penthe who leads Kirk and McCoy into a trap. When Flinn originally developed the character, he had in mind a space pirate which he described as the "dark side of Han Solo". Flinn imagined an actress like Sigourney Weaver in the role, who was "as different as night and day" from Iman. Meyer described Martia as "Kirk's dream woman", and when the makeup artists learned Iman was cast for the role they decided to enhance her graceful bird-like appearance with feathers. Yellow contact lenses completed the look.

Other Starfleet officers include Brock Peters as Fleet Admiral Cartwright, a high-ranking officer in Starfleet who vehemently protests Klingon immigration into Federation space. Peters had previously appeared as Cartwright in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. Director Nicholas Meyer chose Peters for Star Trek VI partly based on his acting as the wrongly convicted black man Tom Robinson in To Kill a Mockingbird. Meyer thought that Cartwright's vitriolic speech would be particularly chilling and meaningful coming from the mouth of a recognized minority. The content of the speech was so repugnant to Peters that he was unable to deliver it in one take. Peters later went on to play Joseph Sisko, father of Benjamin Sisko in the series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. René Auberjonois plays Colonel West, the would-be assassin of the Federation president. Meyer was a friend of Auberjonois and offered him a chance to cameo months before filming. His part was cut from the theatrical version but reinstated on home video. Auberjonois would later portray security chief Odo on the series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Also, in a nod to the Next Generation series, Michael Dorn plays Colonel Worf, who defends Kirk and McCoy at their trial.