Paul Wesley’s New TV Role Is Out of This World

Paul Wesley is getting ready to beam himself up.

The Vampire Diaries actor has been cast as Captain Kirk in the upcoming Paramount+ series Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. Wesley joins the show’s second season, which is currently in production.

And, per the show’s creators, Wesley’s love of Star Trek landed him the coveted role. “Paul is an accomplished actor, an astonishing presence and a welcome key addition to the show,” said executive producer Alex Kurtzman and showrunners Akiva Goldsman and Henry Alonso Myers in a statement. “Like all of us, he is a life-long Star Trek fan and we are excited by his interpretation of this iconic role.”

On Instagram, Wesley celebrated the news with a heartfelt message. “I am deeply humbled and still a little startled to have been given the honor of playing the inimitable James T Kirk,” he wrote. “Ever since I was a kid, I have been awed by the imaginative world Gene Roddenberry created.”