Speleers was frustrated by his casting of Jack. He said to SFX that his difficulties finding a handle on the character brought nothing but stress and had him questioning his craft altogether. He said that he was:
“… almost being in tears because I couldn’t quite find my way in with the part. […] I was just incredibly frustrated. I nearly gave up. I think I had a big, melodramatic hissy fit moment where I was like, right, that’s it, I’m giving up acting and giving up all of it!”
It was then that showrunner Terry Matalas gave Speleers a great deal of “Star Trek” homework to put him on track. Matalas compiled a list of pertinent “Star Trek” episodes and movies that would be vital to the construction of Jack. The e-mail, according to SFX, was called “Star Trek University.” Speleers did not show the list to his interviewers, sadly, so Trekkies cannot peruse it, stroking their chins, quietly judging Matalas’ choices. Speleers said:
“It was an extensive list of Star Trek episodes all the way up from TNG, then films going all the way back to ‘The Wrath Of Khan’ all the way through to ‘First Contact.’ They obviously left out ‘Nemesis.’ Don’t look at that.”
Stuart Baird’s 2002 film “Star Trek: Nemesis” is one of the less beloved movies in the long-running “Star Trek” series, having made less money than any of the others, even accounting for inflation. Speleers was clearly goofing on the film’s bad reputation. Whether or not Matalas actually warned the actor away from “Nemesis” much remain academic.