Editing James T. Kirk (section)

===Conception and television===
[[File:William Shatner Photo Op GalaxyCon Richmond 2020.jpg|thumb|Shatner portrayed Kirk in ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series]]'' and the first seven [[List of Star Trek films|films]].]]
[[Jeffrey Hunter]] played the commanding officer of the USS ''Enterprise'', Captain [[Christopher Pike (Star Trek)|Christopher Pike]], in the rejected ''Star Trek'' [[television pilot]] "[[The Cage (Star Trek: The Original Series)|The Cage]]".<ref name="Encyc" /> In developing a new pilot episode, called "[[Where No Man Has Gone Before]]", series creator [[Gene Roddenberry]] changed the captain's name to "James Kirk" after rejecting other options like Hannibal, Timber, Flagg and Raintree.<ref name="uptillnow120">{{cite book|title=Up Till Now: The Autobiography|first=William|last=Shatner|author-link=William Shatner|pages=[https://archive.org/details/uptillnowautobio00shat/page/120 120]|year=2008|publisher=Macmillan|isbn=978-0-312-37265-1|url=https://archive.org/details/uptillnowautobio00shat/page/120}}</ref> The episode title may have been inspired by Captain [[James Cook]], whose journal entry "ambition leads me ... farther than any other man has been before me" inspired the episode title,<ref>{{cite book|first=Martin|last=Dugard|author-link=Martin Dugard (author)|title=Farther Than Any Man : The Rise and Fall of Captain James Cook|isbn=978-0-7434-0068-8|date=May 22, 2001|publisher=[[Atria (publisher)|Atria]]}}</ref> and became the series catch-phrase in the opening voice-over. The character is in part based on [[C. S. Forester]]'s [[Horatio Hornblower]] hero,<ref>{{cite video|date=September 28, 1991|title=Star Trek: 25th Anniversary Special|publisher=[[Paramount Pictures]]}}</ref> and [[NBC]] wanted the show to emphasize the captain's "rugged individualism".<ref>{{cite book|title=Living with Star Trek: American Culture and the Star Trek Universe|first=Lincoln|last=Geraghty|isbn=978-1-84511-265-3|year=2007|publisher=I.B.Tauris}}</ref> Roddenberry had previously used the middle name of Tiberius for the leading character in his earlier television series, ''[[The Lieutenant]]'', which was to feature several actors who would later go on to be part of the production of ''Star Trek''.

[[Jack Lord]] was [[Desilu Productions]]' original choice to play Kirk, but his demand for fifty-percent ownership of the show led to him not being hired.<ref name="startrekmemories">{{cite book|first=William|last=Shatner|author-link=William Shatner|title=Star Trek Memories|author2=Chris Kreski|isbn=978-0-06-109235-0|date=May 27, 1994|publisher=[[Harper (publisher)|Harper]]|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780061092350}}</ref> The second pilot episode was successful, and "[[Where No Man Has Gone Before]]" was broadcast as the third episode of ''Star Trek'' on September 22, 1966.

William Shatner tried to imbue the character with qualities of "awe and wonder" absent from "The Cage".<ref name="uptillnow120" /> He also drew upon his experiences as a [[William Shakespeare|Shakespearean]] actor to invigorate the character, whose dialogue at times is laden with jargon.<ref name="startrekmemories" /> Not only did Shatner take inspiration from Roddenberry's suggestion of Hornblower, but also from [[Alexander the Great]]&nbsp;– "the athlete and the intellectual of his time"&nbsp;– whom Shatner had played for an unsold television pilot two years earlier. In addition, the actor based Kirk partly on himself because "the fatigue factor [after weeks of daily filming] is such that you try to be as honest about yourself as possible".<ref name="dillard9">{{cite book|last=Dillard|first=J.M.|author-link=Jeanne Kalogridis|title=Star Trek: "Where No Man Has Gone Before" — A History in Pictures|publisher=[[Pocket Books]]|year=1994|isbn=0-671-51149-1|pages=9}}</ref> A comedy veteran, Shatner suggested making the show's characters as comfortable working in space as they would be at sea, thus having Kirk be a humorous "good-pal-the-captain, who in time of need would snap to and become the warrior".<ref name="dillard26">{{cite book|last=Dillard|first=J.M.|title=Star Trek: "Where No Man Has Gone Before" — A History in Pictures|publisher=[[Pocket Books]]|year=1994|isbn=0-671-51149-1|pages=26}}</ref> Changing the character to be "a man with very human emotions" also allowed for the development of the Spock character.<ref name="uptillnow120" /> Shatner wrote that "Kirk was a man who marveled and greatly appreciated the endless surprises presented to him by the universe ... He didn't take things for granted and, more than anything else, respected life in every one of its weird weekly adventure forms".<ref name="uptillnow120" />