Winona Ryder lands Star Trek role

Winona is currently filming Brett Easton Ellis' The Informers

Actress Winona Ryder is to star in the new Star Trek movie as the mother of a young Spock.

Star Trek's 11th big screen outing also stars Simon Pegg as Scotty, Eric Bana as baddie Nero, and Heroes' star Zachary Quinto as Spock.

Directed by JJ Abrams, the film will centre on the Starship Enterprise crew meeting at the Starfleet Academy and embarking on their first mission.

The film will be released in the US on 25 December 2008.

As previously reported, open casting sessions are being held on Saturday in California for people with "unique" features to appear as extras in the film.

The studio said it was interested in people with unique characteristics like "long necks, small heads, bug eyes, large foreheads and oversized ears".

Hopefuls also have to agree to have their eyebrows shaved to portray a "Vulcan-type" eyebrow shape.

Former Mr Spock Leonard Nimoy also has a cameo role in the film.