With the rumors and speculations soaring around the upcoming final installment (Star Trek 4 ) of the J.J. Abrams-produced Star Trek franchise, which is more than likely to include the reprise of the Enterprise crew portrayed by Chris Pine (Captain Kirk), Zachary Quinto (Spock), Zoe Saldana (Lt. Uhura), and others. Despite Quinto’s convincing performance as Spock in the Kelvin timeline, should Star Trek creators decide to go in a different direction with a new cast, here are four talented Oscar-nominated actors who could take on the role of the archetypal Vulcan.
1. Kodi Smit-McPhee (The Actor)
28-year-old Kodi Smit-McPhee has been racking up acting accolades since his feature film debut at age 11 with co-star Eric Bana in Romulus, May Father, for which he [Smit-McPhee] received the Young Actor’s Award from the Australian Film Institute. Building upon his early success, in 2022, Kodi received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his role in The Power of the Dog.
Kodi is likely best known for his role as Nightcrawler, a blue-skinned mutant with the ability to teleport in two X-Men movies (X-Men: Apocalypse and X-Men: Dark Phoenix). However, his role as Nicholas Ravenscroft in the critically acclaimed psychological thriller Disclaimer truly showcases his talent.
Disclaimer is an Apple TV mini-series in which Kodi shows his depth and range to tackle complex characters and subject matters such as revenge, substance abuse, and family dysfunction. As Spock, Kodi certainly has the acting chops to portray the complicated nuances of a half-human, half-Vulcan with daddy issues and a penchant for logic, science, and space exploration.
2. Lucas Hedges (The Chameleon)
Lucas Hedges is a talented 28-year-old actor who may have inherited his talent and artistry from his father, Oscar-nominated screenwriter and director Peter Hedges. Lucas has been associated with great filmmaking since co-starring in director Wes Anderson’s 2012 movie Moonrise Kingdom alongside fantastic character actors such as Oscar winners Tilda Swinton and Frances McDormand and Oscar nominee Edward Norton.
Lucas has a chameleon-like acting ability to convincingly portray a troubled teen and creatively transition into all the complicated subtleties to manifest an adult in crisis. Hedges earned his 2017 Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Manchester by the Sea, and it’s his age-defying acting talent that Star Trek 4 creators could leverage, albeit in a flashback or current-day scene for Spock.
Lucas would bring a grounding seriousness to Spock that a shortlist of actors could convincingly portray. An Enterprise crew cast with Hedges in the mix as Spock would raise the acting level with any scene partner of his and ultimately elevate the movie as a whole.
3. Timothée Chalamet (The Movie Star)
At 29, Timothée Chalamet is arguably the most accomplished actor on this list, with two Oscar nominations before he turned 30. In 2018, he earned a Best Actor Oscar nomination (at age 23) for his role in Call Me by Your Name, and he followed that up with his 2025 Best Actor Oscar nomination (at age 29) for A Complete Unknown.
Timothée is a Bonafide movie star who can play almost anyone, from an eccentric, yet lovable chocolate maker in Wonka, to a boy king (Henry V) in The King, to a homeless, bloodthirsty vampire in Bones and All. However, Chalamet shined as an action-adventure protagonist in Dune: Part One and Dune: Part Two, as Paul Atreides—the reluctant, yet determined “supreme being” to lead Dune’s indigenous Freeman to peace and prosperity from the politics of spice production.
- Star Trek creators would certainly be lucky to get Chalamet as Spock, notwithstanding the salary and logistics it would likely take to get this in-demand actor. Salary and logistics aside, Timothée would likely bring an entirely new and fresh perspective to the role of Spock, given the right director allows him the time and space to develop the character.
4. Paul Mescal (The Talent)
Paul Mescal is a phenomenally gifted actor from Ireland who has been receiving and winning acting accolades since his 2020 role as Connell in the TV mini-series Normal People. The 29-year-old actor earned his first Best Actor Oscar nomination in 2023 for his role in Aftersun and he’s been giving award-worthy performances ever since. Most notably in All of Us Strangers (2023) and the blockbuster sequel to Gladiator (2000), Gladiator II (2024).
Paul has all the skills and acting talent to create an iconic version of Spock, worthy of his predecessor, Leonard Nimoy. The character of Spock is layered with intense bouts of emotion suppression, shame of his part-human heritage, and over-achiever tendencies to please his father, Sarek.
Regardless of whatever direction Star Trek creators want to take Spock’s character in Star Trek 4, Paul is a talented, well-rounded actor with the physical prowess and life experience to give Spock’s storyline a new sense of mystique and raw energy that the dichotomy of logic and reason versus emotion and spontaneity could manifest.
As the saying goes,” There are no losers here,” as each of these actors is worthy and capable of portraying Spock in Star Trek 4. Whether J.J. Abrams wants an “actor” in Kodi Smit-McPhee, a “chameleon” in Lucas Hedges, a “movie star” in Timothée Chalamet, or the “talent” of Paul Mescal, either one of these Oscar-worthy actors could be “fascinating” in the role of Spock!