Star Trek: VI actor Chris Plummer on his love for Shakespeare

In a 2021 interview with StarTrek.com, Meyer (whose The View from the Bridge: Memories of a Star Trek and a Life in Hollywood is a must-see, no matter what you think of the series) talked about how his role as a “Shakespearean fool” inspired him to adapt him to Plummer’s grand, booming personality.

Meyer’s journey into the “Undiscovered Country” began when he skipped school at age 13 to “see a movie I thought was called ‘Henry Vee.'” Meyer told StarTrek.com:

“…I didn’t know it was Shakespeare because it didn’t say it on the poster, it just said ‘Henry V’ and there were pictures of guys with swords and horses. So I sneaked 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 parts of ‘Henry V’ all to the music of the film and I love that recording but the sound was pretty inferior because it was made in the late ’40s. But in the 1980s Chandos Records made a brand new CD with Chris Plummer doing the same parts.”

When Meyer began writing Star Trek VI and came up with the idea of ​​a “Shakespeare-speaking villain,” Chang and Plummer became interchangeable in his mind. He was happy with his work. But would Plummer be as excited?