Actor Timothy Olyphant nearly played the iconic role of Captain Kirk in the 2009 Star Trek reboot from J.J. Abrams, but it didn't work out because he was too old.

　　Speaking to Josh Horowitz on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Olyphant said he went to the audition years ago, trying out for Dr. Leonard McCoy AKA Bones. However, Abrams already gave the role to Karl Urban, so Olyphant tried out for Kirk instead.

　　"Somewhere in there, I was auditioning for Doc or something, he’s like, 'I already got a guy for Doc, so I don’t need you for that. But I don’t have a Kirk,'" Olyphant recalled, as reported by IGN.

　　Olyphant went on to say Abrams might have offered him the role, but "they wanted somebody younger."

　　"He was having a hard time finding somebody younger, and somewhere along the line, J.J. called and said, 'I found a guy, younger, who's really good,'" he said.

　　That turned out to be Chris Pine, who would play Kirk in the 2009 reboot and its sequels Into Darkness and Beyond. He is 13 years younger than Olyphant.

　　Olyphant said he later met Pine and is a "huge fan of him both on and off screen." "What a good guy. I really like his work. He’s one of those guys who makes it look simple and easy," Olyphant said of Pine.

　　Olyphant might have missed out on starring in the Star Trek series, but he appears in the Star Wars TV series The Mandalorian as Cobb Vanth.

　　The role of Kirk isn't the only major part that Olyphant auditioned for and didn't get. He also tried out for Iron Man, but the part ultimately went to Robert Downey Jr.