James Cawley (born June 23, 1967) is an American executive film producer and actor, known for his assumption of the role of Captain

James T. Kirk James Tiberius Kirk is a fictional character in the ''Star Trek'' media franchise. Originally played by Canadian actor William Shatner, Kirk first appeared in ''Star Trek'' serving aboard the starship USS ''Enterprise'' as captain. Kirk leads ...

in the fan film series ''

Star Trek: Phase II ''Star Trek: Phase II'' was the initial working title for what officially became titled ''Star Trek II,'' an unproduced American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry as a sequel to (and continuation of) the original ''S ...

''.

''Star Trek: Phase II''

A big ''

Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vari ...

'' fan growing up, in 1997 Cawley began collecting props and costumes from the original series and acquired the original ''

Enterprise Enterprise (or the archaic spelling Enterprize) may refer to: Business and economics Brands and enterprises * Enterprise GP Holdings, an energy holding company * Enterprise plc, a UK civil engineering and maintenance company * Enterprise ...

'' blueprints when he interned on '' Star Trek: The Next Generation''. He spent over $100,000 constructing near-flawless recreations of sets in an abandoned car dealership in

Port Henry, New York Port Henry is a hamlet (and census-designated place) in Essex County, New York, United States. The population was 1,194 at the 2010 census. Port Henry lies on the eastern side of the town of Moriah and is approximately one hour's drive (52 mile ...

. Funding the project through his career as an

Elvis impersonator An Elvis impersonator is an entertainer who impersonates or copies the look and sound of American musician and singer Elvis Presley. Professional Elvis impersonators, commonly known as Elvis tribute artists (ETAs), work all over the world as ent ...

, Cawley and fellow ''Star Trek'' fans gathered together to begin shooting new episodes and by 2003 a pilot “ Come What May” was shot as a

proof of concept Proof of concept (POC or PoC), also known as proof of principle, is a realization of a certain method or idea in order to demonstrate its feasibility, or a demonstration in principle with the aim of verifying that some concept or theory has prac ...

. Cawley left the role of Kirk following the episode "Kitumba" to focus solely on the production aspect of the series. However, he makes a humorous cameo in the following episode "Mind-Sifter" as an Elvis impersonator in an asylum who confronts Kirk (now played by Brian Gross), referred to as having "been here forever," with the new Kirk declaring, "I hate that guy!"

Other projects

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 Mackenzie Calhoun (born M'k'n'zy of Calhoun) is a fictional character from the ''Star Trek'' universe. Created by Peter David, Calhoun is an extraterrestrial from the planet Xenex, and is captain of the Federation starship ''USS Excalibur''. Calh ...

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 ''Star Trek: Enterprise'', titled simply ''Enterprise'' for its first two seasons, is an American science fiction television series created by Rick Berman and Brannon Braga. It originally aired from September 26, 2001, to May 13, 2005 on Uni ...

'' episode " The Aenar" was named as a nod to Cawley's hometown. His sets, props and costumes have also been used by ''

'' in the episode "

In a Mirror, Darkly "In a Mirror, Darkly" is the eighteenth and nineteenth episodes of the fourth season of the American science fiction television series '' Star Trek: Enterprise'', and originally aired on April 22 and 29, 2005. This installment was dev ...

" and in the fan film '' Of Gods and Men'' in which Cawley also plays one of Captain Kirk's nephews. In addition to producing more episodes of ''Phase II'', Cawley appeared in the cameo role of a bridge officer in the new ''

'' movie. In 2009, Cawley and his production company, Retro Film Studios, secured the license to ''

Buck Rogers Buck Rogers is a science fiction adventure hero and feature comic strip created by Philip Francis Nowlan first appearing in daily US newspapers on January 7, 1929, and subsequently appearing in Sunday newspapers, international newspapers, books ...

'', which began filming in late 2009, with plans to offer episodes online in 2010. 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 ''The Wild Wild West'' is an American Western, espionage, and science fiction television series that ran on the CBS television network for four seasons from September 17, 1965, to April 11, 1969. Two satirical comedy television film sequels ...

''.

References

External links

* *James Cawley on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

'
The Early Show
*James Cawley o

*Star Trek: Phase I
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cawley, James 1967 births Male actors from New York (state) American male television actors American television producers Living people 21st-century American male actors