Star Trek VI Cast Chris Plummer for His Love of Shakespeare

In a 2021 interview with StarTrek.com, Meyer, known for his insightful book “The View from the Bridge: Memories of a Star Trek and a Life in Hollywood,” revealed how being an ardent fan of Shakespeare helped him craft a role tailor-made for Christopher Plummer’s grand persona.

Meyer’s fascination with Shakespeare began when he was just 13 years old. He shared with StarTrek.com an experience that left an indelible mark on him and undeniably influenced his work on “The Undiscovered Country.”

“…I didn’t know it was Shakespeare because it didn’t say on the poster, it just said ‘Henry V.’ There were pictures of guys with swords and horses. So I snuck out of school and had a religious experience. I was like Saul of Tarsus on the road to Damascus. I had a vision… And [Laurence] Olivier made a recording of excerpts of ‘Henry V,’ and it was all done to the music from the film and I loved this recording. But the sound was quite inferior as it was made in the late ’40s. But in the 1980s Chandos Records produced a brand new CD with Chris Plummer doing the same excerpts.”

From this moment of inspiration, Meyer’s path to “Star Trek VI” began to unfold. While writing the script, he envisioned a “Shakespeare-spouting villain,” a character whose intellect and grand demeanor could only be matched by Plummer’s theatrical brilliance.

Thus, in his mind, Plummer and the character of Chang became interchangeable. Meyer felt genuine excitement over his work and eagerly anticipated whether Plummer would share this enthusiasm.