Stewart recalls:
“One more novel twist to the whole experience: On that same Sunday; I was contacted […] by Corey Allen, who explained that he was the director of the new ‘Star Trek’ show’s pilot episode. He admitted that he was operating outside the chain of command, and that his call was unauthorized by the higher-ups in the production, but he wanted to know if I was interested in meeting up with him ahead of the audition, at eight a.m. the following day, so that the two of us could read the script together. I told him that it sounded like a splendid idea.”
Stewart went to the Paramount lot for the meeting but wasn’t allowed to park on the lot, needing to find parking on a side street. Los Angeles denizens know how notoriously horrible parking is on Melrose right around the Paramount lot, so this was a horrendous damnation for the actor. He did eventually make his way in with the aid of a mysterious visitor in the car behind him, passed through security, and sought Mr. Allen. He continued:
“I found my way to Corey Allen’s ‘office,’ which was actually one outhouse temporary cabin-like trailers you sometimes see on studio lots. He had a pot of coffee waiting, and we got right into the reading. Corey was a gentlemanly fellow in his fifties and an excellent dialogue coach. He gave me numerous helpful notes, particularly the advice that I should dial down the size of my voice, making it more conversational. Having mostly done theater and epic-style movies, I was used to speaking in stentorian tones, so this was something that I really needed to understand.”
From this meeting, Stewart was able to infer that he was the front-runner for the coveted, as-yet-unnamed role.