James Cawley (born June 23, 1967) is an American executive film producer and actor, known for his portrayal of Captain James T. Kirk in the fan film series Star Trek: New Voyages.
James Cawley | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | James Cawley II June 23, 1967 |
| Years active | 2004—present |
Star Trek: New Voyages edit
A big Star Trek fan growing up, Cawley, at age 17, contacted Bill Theiss, the head costume designer for the original Star Trek series (ST:TOS) for advice on making his own Captain Kirk costume. The two became friends and this led to Theiss hiring him as an intern in the costume department of Star Trek: The Next Generation (ST:TNG). Theiss left ST:TNG after the first season and Cawley subsequently left the show to pursue a career as an Elvis impersonator, but he never lost his love for the Star Trek franchise [1]
After Theiss died in 1992, Cawley received a package in the mail from his estate with complete sets of blueprints for the sets of both ST:TOS and ST:TNG. Using money earned from his thriving career performing as Elvis, Cawley began building some of the ST:TOS sets in a former car dealership in Port Henry, New York and then he and a group of Star Trek fans began filming fan episodes based on ST:TOS, which became Star Trek: New Voyages. [2]
Cawley and the New Voyages cast and crew shot and released eleven episodes of the show online, but then discontinued the series when Paramount introduced stricter rules about fan productions.[3] Cawley then moved the sets to a former dollar store in Ticonderoga, NY, his home town, completed building the remaining ST:TOS sets and in July 2016 opened the set to tours by the public. [4]
Other projects edit
Cawley’s prominent role in Star Trek: New Voyages gave him the opportunity to play small roles in a few other Star Trek fan episodes. He portrayed Mackenzie Calhoun in the 41st Star Trek: Hidden Frontier episode Vigil, and had a cameo as Captain Kirk along with ‘’New Voyages’’ co-stars Jeff Quinn and John Kelley in the premiere episode of Starship Farragut titled The Captaincy.
The starship Ticonderoga in the Star Trek: Enterprise episode "The Aenar" was named as a nod to Cawley's hometown. His sets, props and costumes have also been used by Star Trek: Enterprise in the episode "In a Mirror, Darkly" and in the fan film Of Gods and Men in which Cawley also plays one of Captain Kirk's nephews.[5] In addition to producing more episodes of Phase II, Cawley appeared in the cameo role of a bridge officer in the new Star Trek movie.[6]
In 2009, Cawley and his production company, Retro Film Studios, secured the license to Buck Rogers, which began filming in late 2009,[7] with planned to offer episodes online in 2010.[8] However, as of 2022, no episodes have been produced or released. Cawley is also developing a continuation of the cult spy/western series The Wild Wild West.
References edit
- ^ "Meet the Elvis Impersonator Who Builds Exact Replicas of Star Trek Sets". vice.com. October 25, 2017.
- ^ "To Boldly Go Where No Fan Has Gone Before". wired.com. December 1, 2005.
- ^ "Unswayed by Axanar, CBS and Paramount offer 10 rules for fan film makers". arstechnica.com. June 26, 2016.
- ^ "Ti Star Trek sets opening to tours". suncommunitynews.com. July 14, 2016.
- ^ Brian Mann (July 22, 2006). "Star Trek Fan Films Live Long and Prosper". NPR.
- ^ "James Cawley To Appear In New Star Trek Movie + Talks About Visit To Set". trekmovie.com. 2008-01-23. Retrieved 2008-01-23.
- ^ McKinstry, Lohr "Buck Rogers returns" Press Republican (Plattsburgh, NY) (November 7, 2009)
- ^ Anders, Charlie Jane (January 13, 2009). "Buck Rogers Brings Retro Space-Swashbuckling To The Web". io9.com. Retrieved June 1, 2009.
External links edit
- James Cawley at IMDb
- James Cawley on CBS's The Early Show
- James Cawley on Attack of the Show
- Star Trek: New Voyages
- Star Trek Original Series Set Tour