While all eyes are currently on director J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek Into Darkness to see if the sequel can live up to expectations (and to find out once and for all who the damn villain is), a new, fascinating bit of trivia about Abrams 2009 reboot has now come to light.  As most everyone knows, the film opens with a rather thrilling sequence involving the father of Captain James T. Kirk.  Chris Hemsworth famously made his Hollywood debut in the brief role, but apparently a much more high profile actor was first sought after for the part, as Mark Wahlberg recently revealed that he was asked to play Kirk Sr. in the film.  Hit the jump for more.

Speaking with the folks at Total Film (via The Playlist), Wahlberg revealed that he could have taken on the role of George Kirk in Star Trek:

"I remember [J.J. Abrams] asking me to play Captain Kirk's father in Star Trek.  I tried to read the script, but I couldn’t even—I didn’t understand the words or dialogue or anything, and I said, ‘I couldn’t do this. I think you’re really talented but I couldn’t do it.’ Then I saw the movie and I was like, ‘Holy shit, he did a great job.’”

Wahlberg went on to say that he was never a huge sci-fi fan as a kid and he’s only seen the first Star Wars, so I guess his decision to pass on the role on account of the jargon-filled script makes sense.  The pic certainly would have had a different feel to it had Mark Wahlberg been featured prominently in the opening sequence, and I feel like casting the little-known Hemsworth was probably the better way to go.  Nevertheless, Wahlberg will be taking a stab at a different sort of sci-fi movie in the immediate future with Michael Bay’s sequel Transformers 4, which starts filming this year.  Watch the short interview with the actor below.