Tom Hanks would undoubtedly be a great addition to the Star Trek universe, but I’m glad he wasn’t cast as Zefram Cochrane in Star Trek: First Contact. The Academy-award winning star is a huge Star Trek fan, and has talked about his love for the show in chat show appearances and interviews. Admiral Jean-Luc Picard, Patrick Stewart himself, even testified to the level of Tom Hanks’ Star Trek fandom in his memoir Making it So, revealing that the Oscar-winning actor “knows all the TNG episodes by name, so obsessively has he watched them.”
In 1996, Tom Hanks was on a list of names being considered to play warp speed inventor, Zefram Cochrane in Star Trek: First Contact. In the end, Cochrane became one of James Cromwell’s many Star Trek roles, to the apparent disappointment of Tom Hanks. In 2023, Tom Hanks appeared on Josh Horowitz’s Happy Sad Confused podcast to promote Pinocchio, and reflected on his missed Star Trek opportunity, and how he might have responded to being cast as Zefram Cochrane:
“The guy who invented warp drive? Oh come on, I would’ve jumped on that! I would have come in, I would have brought gift Tribbles to everybody on the first meeting. ‘Guys here’s some Tribbles for you.'”
However, Tom Hanks’ unimpeachable nice guy persona, and his handing out imaginary Tribbles to a hypothetical Star Trek movie set is why I’m not convinced he would have made a good Zefram Cochrane.
Why Tom Hanks Wouldn’t Work In Star Trek: First Contact
Having played heroic astronaut Jim Lovell in Ron Howard’s Apollo 13 a year earlier, it’s easy to see why Tom Hanks’ name was on the list to play Zefram Cochrane. The character of Zefram Cochrane in Star Trek: First Contact is a complex figure; a scientific genius, and an insecure drunk grappling with a destiny he’s yet to fulfill. One of the best jokes in the movie is when Commander William T. Riker (Jonathan Frakes) chides Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton) for telling Cochrane about the statue.
Jim Lovell in Apollo 13 was a heroic astronaut while Zefram Cochrane pulled off the world’s first warp speed flight with a hangover…
Tom Hanks’ career was soaring in 1996, and so the idea of him playing the shabby, down-at-heel Zefram Cochrane doesn’t fit with the types of characters he was playing at that stage in his career. If anything, Hanks would have been a better fit for the idealized version of Cochrane that the Enterprise crew had in their heads. Jim Lovell in Apollo 13 was a heroic astronaut while Zefram Cochrane pulled off the world’s first warp speed flight with a hangover – admittedly heroic for completely different reasons.
Interestingly, it appears that Tom Hanks was never seriously considered for Zefram Cochrane. To celebrate the 25th anniversary of Star Trek: First Contact in 2021, Ronald D. Moore spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about the making of the movie. Over the course of the interview, Tom Hanks’ name comes up, and Moore revealed that he wasn’t a contender, saying:
“At that point in the process, there are lots of names on a wishlist for many, many reasons. I’m sure his name was floated in some capacity, but it was never really on the table.”
Presumably, Tom Hanks’ Hollywood profile and fee put him out of First Contact’s price range. However, while Hanks wasn’t the right fit for Zefram Cochrane, I’m still keen to see him appear in Star Trek.
What Role Could Tom Hanks Play In Star Trek?
If you’re going to cast Tom Hanks in a Star Trek movie, then it needs to be in a role that’s worthy of a Hollywood legend. With the Star Trek origin movie set to enter production soon, Hanks could finally fulfill his dream of playing a character of vital importance to the history of the franchise. While the inventor of warp speed is already taken, Tom Hanks could easily play the first President of the Federation, or a charismatic Starfleet admiral who helped to found the organization following the formation of United Earth.
…the casting of Paul Giamatti in Star Trek: Starfleet Academy gives hope that huge Hollywood actors like Tom Hanks would take a pay cut to satisfy their fannish desire to play in the Star Trek sandbox.
Obviously, the casting of Tom Hanks in a Star Trek movie would be a big deal that would run the risk of inflating the production budget and overshadowing the other characters. However, the casting of Paul Giamatti in Star Trek: Starfleet Academy gives hope that huge Hollywood actors like Tom Hanks would take a pay cut to satisfy their fannish desire to play in the Star Trek sandbox. For the right role, I’m sure Tom Hanks would jump at the chance to finally fulfill the dream that Star Trek: First Contact denied him.