Alice Eve Redid Her Star Trek Into Darkness Audition Almost 20 Times

J.J. Abrams' 2013 film "Star Trek Into Darkness" was a parallel universe retread of Nicholas Meyer's 1982 film "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan." In Abrams' movie, the central villain, Khan Noonien Singh, was played by Benedict Cumberbatch, while in Meyer's film, Khan was played by Ricardo Montalbán. Both films feature the death of Kirk and/or Spock, and both films feature the survivor yelling "Khaaaaan!" The plots of the films differ, however, as Khan remains the central villain of the 1982 film, while he was supplanted by a vengeful Admiral Marcus (Peter Weller) in "Into Darkness."

Both films also feature Dr. Carol Marcus, a paramour of Captain Kirk (Chris Pine in "Into Darkness" and William Shatner in "Wrath of Khan"). In "Star Trek Into Darkness," Dr. Marcus was played by Alice Eve, taking over for Bibi Besch in "Wrath of Khan." Because the characters in "Into Darkness" are younger than they were in "Wrath of Khan," Kirk and Dr. Marcus don't yet have their son, David. Dr. Marcus was also transformed from a benevolent scientist into a Starfleet officer proficient in weapons technology.

Eve was happy to audition for the role of Carol Marcus, although it seems her audition was a wonderful yet harrowing experience. During a Build Series interview in 2019, Eve revealed that she received the call to play Dr. Marcus while she was driving in her car and that she had to pull over. When it came time to actually audition, however, Eve said she was heavily directed by Abrams, explaining that she had to read certain sections over and over and over again.

Eve said that she received a frantic call from her agent revealing that Abrams was about to call. Sure enough, two minutes later, Abrams called her directly. Eve knew that "Star Trek" was a big deal and safely pulled her car off the road to talk to him. The next step was the audition and boy, did it seem difficult. According to Eve:

"I must have done it 17 times in a row in the room with J.J. Like, various different ways. I was heavily auditioned for that role, yeah. But [I] really enjoyed auditioning for him. Sometimes it's not fun to audition, but with J.J it felt a little bit more like a workshop and a work in progress rather than a test. [...H]e's always doing that and he's very amenable. And so in the middle of it, if I didn't like it, I'd be like, 'No, no, I want to go again.' 'Yeah, yeah, go again! Yeah, yeah, yeah, go again! Yeah, yeah, yeah.' It was very kind of [inter]active, the process."

The Dr. Marcus in "Into Darkness," as noted, is a wholly different character from the one seen in "Wrath of Khan," so Abrams and Eve were able to, essentially, create her from scratch. This also allowed Dr. Marcus' father to play a major part in the film despite not being mentioned in "Wrath of Khan."

Sadly, just as Carol Marcus didn't appear in "Star Trek III: The Search for Spock," nor did she appear in the "Into Darkness" sequel "Star Trek Beyond." A pity; Eve did an exemplary job in the role, even if it was only a small one.

There was some controversy to the Dr. Marcus character as she was depicted in "Into Darkness," specifically in a scene wherein she had to change uniforms in Kirk's presence, with the camera being careful to catch a glimpse of her in her underthings. (Strangely, it seems brassiere technology won't change much from the 21st to the 23rd centuries.) The shot was clearly included for mere titillation's sake, and there was criticism of it upon the release of "Into Darkness." Abrams admitted he understood the criticism, and co-writer/producer Damon Lindelof even apologized for it. 

Eve, however, did not feel exploited in any way, and she was happy to shoot the underwear scene. Speaking to Inverse in 2021, she explained:

"It was something I voluntarily worked with a trainer to be fit for, was very much prepared for, and very much enjoyed [doing] — filming, executing, promoting. [...] The feeling I shouldn't have done it, or that it was exploitation, was confusing to me. [...] There are many things in the world that are confusing. I put it down to one of those anomalies. I'm proud of that scene, and all the work I did." 

Despite the cheesecake moment, Dr. Marcus was still presented in "Into Darkness" as expert, professional, and capable. She's not hung up on Kirk and doesn't define herself by her relationship with a man. "Sci-fi is cool because it shows powerful women," Eve said. "They're working for their passion." Dr. Marcus was, to her, a powerful woman whom she got to workshop with her director. There was, it seems, nothing to regret.