Before he awakened the Force, J.J. Abrams brought "Star Trek" back to life in theaters with, well, "Star Trek." His 2009 relaunch of the property re-imagined the heady science-fiction classic as a rollicking space adventure, yet it also avoided the "gritty movie reboot" trend that so many other franchises were embracing at that time.
Admittedly, Abrams was a bit of a surprising pick for the job, considering he had previously considered "Star Trek" to be a "silly, campy thing." Be that as it may, his
big swing led to blockbuster results, beaming up over $386 million at the global box office. It was a surprisingly substantial haul for a throwback sci-fi movie that took inspiration from the various sci-fi offerings of the 1950s and '60s.
Abrams' "rock 'n' roll" approach also resulted in one of the best-received "Star Trek" films in the franchise's long history. However, when the filmmaker looked back on the movie for the oral history book "The Fifty-Year Mission: The Next 25 Years: From The Next Generation to J. J. Abrams," he admitted there was one actor he wished he'd done more with in the film: Eric Bana.
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Abrams Wishes Bana Could've Done Something Other Than 'Be Full Of Rage' In Star Trek
"Star Trek" finds an older Spock (Leonard Nimoy, reprising his classic role) trying to save the planet Romulus from a supernova using a mysterious substance called Red Matter. Unfortunately, he's unable to do so and ends up being pulled through time and space, arriving well over a century in the past. Waiting for him there is Nero (Bana), a vengeful Romulan who blames Spock for the destruction of his home and vows to take revenge.
Looking back on the film, Abrams lavished praise on everyone in the cast and crew, but especially the movie's casting team, which helped to put together a pitch-perfect ensemble capable of filling the big shoes of the cast of "Star Trek: The Original Series." But he also admitted that Bana had the least interesting character to play:
"Our first 'Star Trek' movie was, if anything, an exercise in perfection of casting. April Webster and Alyssa Weisberg helped us find the absolutely perfect actors. I'm proud of its telling and humor, but of course only see what's wrong with it. Among other things, I wish we had given Eric Bana a bit more to do other than be full of rage, given that he is such a fine actor."
Yes, Nero spends pretty much the entire film chasing after Spock with a blood lust. But despite being saddled with a one-note character, Bana makes the most of what he was afforded. And though the end result isn't exactly one of the most iconic villains in "Star Trek," Bana is still just one piece of the movie's orchestra, and he plays his part admirably.
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