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

James T. Kirk James Tiberius Kirk, often known as Captain 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 ''Enter ...

in the fan film series '' Star Trek: New Voyages''.

''Star Trek: New Voyages''

A big ''

Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the Star Trek: The Original Series, series of the same name and became a worldwide Popular culture, pop-culture Cultural influence of ...

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

, but he never lost his love for the Star Trek franchise 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 Port Henry is a Hamlet (New York), 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, New York, Moriah and is app ...

and then he and a group of Star Trek fans began filming fan episodes based on ST:TOS, which became Star Trek: New Voyages. 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. 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.

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'' fictional universe, universe. Created by Peter David, Calhoun is an Extraterrestrial life in popular culture, extraterrestrial from the planet Xenex, and ...

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 ''Star Trek'' fan productions are Video production, productions made by fan (person), fans using elements of the ''Star Trek'' Media franchise, franchise. Paramount Pictures, CBS, and their Licenses#Intellectual property, licensees are the only ...

'' titled ''The Captaincy''. The starship ''Ticonderoga'' in the ''

Star Trek: Enterprise ''Star Trek: Enterprise'', originally 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, 200 ...

'' episode "

The Aenar "The Aenar" is the fourteenth episode of the fourth season of the American science fiction television series '' Star Trek: Enterprise'', and originally aired on UPN on February 11, 2005. It was written by André Bormanis from a story by Manny ...

" 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 Star Trek: Enterprise season 4, fourth season of the American science fiction television series ''Star Trek: Enterprise'', and originally aired on UPN on April 22 and&n ...

" 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 American newspapers on January 7, 1929, and subsequently appearing in Sunday newspapers, international newspapers, b ...

'', which began filming in late 2009, with planned 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 (genre), Western, spy film, spy, and science fiction on television, science fiction television series that ran on the CBS television network for four seasons from September 17, 1965, to April 11, 19 ...

''.

References

External links

* *James Cawley on

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

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The Early Show
*James Cawley o
Star Trek: New VoyagesStar Trek Original Series Set Tour
{{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