James Tiberius Kirk is a fictional character in the Star Trek media franchise. Originally played by Canadian actor William Shatner, Kirk first appeared in Star Trek serving aboard the starship USS Enterprise as captain. Kirk leads his crew as they explore new worlds, new civilizations, and "boldly go where no man has gone before". Often, the characters of Spock and Leonard "Bones" McCoy act as his logical and emotional sounding boards, respectively. Kirk has also been portrayed in numerous films, books, comics, webisodes, and video games. Kirk first appears in the Star Trek episode "The Man Trap", broadcast on September 8, 1966, although the first episode recorded featuring Shatner was "Where No Man Has Gone Before", which retained many elements of the first pilot "The Cage". Shatner continued in the role for the show's three seasons, and later provided the voice of the animated version of Kirk in Star Trek: The Animated Series (1973–1974). Shatner returned to the role for Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) and in six subsequent films. American actor Chris Pine portrays an alternative young version of the character in the 2009 Star Trek film. Pine reprised his role in Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) and in Star Trek Beyond (2016). Paul Wesley portrays the main timeline's Kirk on the Paramount+ series Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, set prior to Kirk's captaincy of the Enterprise.[1] Other actors have played the character in fan-created media, and the character has been the subject of multiple spoofs and satires.