American film actor who played Captain Christopher Pike in the first Star Trek pilot, The Cage.
Jeffrey Hunter (1926–1969) was an American film and television actor known for The Searchers and for playing Jesus in King of Kings. In 1964 he was cast as Captain Christopher Pike, commander of the Enterprise, in the original Star Trek pilot, The Cage, in which Pike is held captive by the Talosians alongside Vina.
Hunter declined to return for the second pilot, and the role of captain went to William Shatner as Kirk. Footage of Hunter from The Cage was reused in the two-part first-season episode The Menagerie, which established Pike as Kirk's predecessor. He died in 1969.