When Bruce Greenwood first walked onto "Star Trek's" sleek, sexy, futuristic set he and his eager young co-stars did one thing: They stayed away from the Captain's chair -- the legendary nerve centre of U.S.S. Enterprise.

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"On most sets people are draped over every available surface. This was no different except nobody was in the chair. No one was touching it," says Greenwood, J.J. Abrams' pick to play Capt. Pike, Enterprise's first commander.

"For a second I thought what is it? Is it wet? Is the paint not dry? What's going on with this zone of respect for the chair?" Greenwood, 52, told CTV.ca during Toronto promo stop for Abrams $US150 million-dollar prequel.

"I'm not normally affected in that way by furniture," he said with a laugh.

Greenwood and company were awestruck by the vast, ergonomically-designed set created by production designer Scott Chambliss. The mythology of this chair began in the 1960s TV series "Star Trek," where Capt. James T. Kirk sat.

When he finally took the captain's chair, Greenwood says, "I circled it. I took my time. I didn't want to be unprepared when that moment came. It really was a big deal."

Trek fans couldn't agree more.

Co-starring in what could be the blockbuster of 2009 and Hollywood's biggest money-maker ever, Greenwood was initially stunned at the idea of joining Abrams' sci-fi behemoth.

Abrams saw a sure thing in Greenwood. The actor's strong, confident presence made him "the perfect father figure to Kirk."

"When my agent called and said 'J.J. wants to talk to you. He's doing 'Star Trek'' that took a second to absorb. I questioned it a bit. I thought they'd wrung everything out of 'Star Trek' that they possibly could," says Greenwood.

When he asked Abrams to see the script, the director apologetically refused.

"I had to fly to L.A. and read it in a room with somebody standing outside," says Greenwood. "That's how tight the security was on this project."

Moved to tears and laughter by this brash tale of Enterprise's maiden voyage, Greenwood was hooked.

"I realized halfway through that I was really involved in the story independent of the sci-fi environment. That's what drew me to it," says Greenwood.

"Yes, you've got huge sets and big sound design. And yes, it all comes together to create this boundless three dimensional whole where you feel like you really are in space. But at the centre are these characters. They're just so human. You really feel them."

Fine times in the final frontier

Blasting through this bold new adventure like a bunch of exuberant pups on their first day at the park, "Star Trek's" palpable sense of energy and excitement comes from the new script and the off-screen bonds his actors forged.

"J.J. managed to cast people who had an instant connection with one another," says Greenwood, whose roles have ranged from President John F. Kennedy in "Thirteen Days" to a former surfing hero in the offbeat HBO series "John from Cincinnati."

"There were lots of musicians in the cast. We'd play guitar together. We'd hang out at my house. It was amazing. We felt like we had known each other for years," says Greenwood.

In fact, when the cast returns to L.A. after "Star Trek's" whirlwind press tour they'll reunite to indulge in Greenwood's favourite new sport: Vertical wind tunneling.

Nerve-wracking though this indoor skydiving may sound it's easier on him than sitting through one of his movies.

"I usually spend most of the time chewing my nails down to my second knuckle," says Greenwood, a Canadian actor who made his film debut in Sylvester Stallone 's 1982 action flick, "First Blood," which was filmed in B.C.

Stints on TV's "St. Elsewhere" and "Knots Landing" followed between 1986 and 1992.

"I've been lucky," says Greenwood. "Offers for big movies and indie flicks came to me, and still do. But I never presumed to give my 'Star Trek' co-stars career advice. I'm not an advice giver."

Despite appearances in such big Hollywood pics as "Double Jeopardy" (1999), "I, Robot" (2004), "Capote" (2005) and "National Treasure" Book of Secrets" (2007) Greenwood knew "Star Trek" wouldn't be easy.

He worried about living up to "King of Kings" star Jeffrey Hunter -- the actor who first portrayed Capt. Pike in the 60s "Star Trek" series.

"Jeffrey's performance was so effortless. He also had this physical presence that was right off an ancient Greek coin," says Greenwood.

When Greenwood's Pike first encounters the young James Kirk (Chris Pine) after a bar-room brawl, his impact is no less potent.

From his quiet, compassionate gaze to his dare to Kirk to become more than his late father, Greenwood delivers a seasoned, battle-tested warrior who sees something good in the wayward Kirk.

"I've always liked father-son stories and there's something of that in Pike and Kirk," says Greenwood.

Moved, too, by the futility of vengeance expressed in this story Greenwood liked the script's optimism and enthusiasm for solving big, life-threatening problems in a smarter, co-operative way.

"The story really reaches back to what Gene Roddenberry showed us in his original TV series," says Greenwood. "People worked together to try to coexist peacefully. That message has geopolitical implications and parallels which speak to our current political climate.

"Roddenberry's vision was phenomenal. This new movie champions it in a way that makes you glad to be part of it.