Like being President of the United States (yeah, we're looking at you Dubya), it appears that the role of Chief Engineer Montgomery Scott on the USS Enterprise should be a birthright. At least Chris Doohan, son of the late James Doohan, believes so.

The younger Doohan, an actor in his own right, says that he should get a shot at the role of Scotty in J.J. Abrams' planned "Star Trek XI," which apparently has begun auditions recently for secondary roles, a Paramount source told Airlock Alpha.

Chris posted to his MySpace blog (and shared courtesy of TrekWeb) that he would be very interested in taking on the role his father made famous.

"They are not looking to fill all the spots with known actors, so I thought that maybe I would give it a try," Doohan said. "Here's why: 1. I kind of look like my dad. 2. I can do a great Scottish accent. 3. We share the last name. 4. I like money."

Doohan apparently hasn't been approached for the role, however, as he added that he has no idea how to set up an audition. However, he is considering a write-in campaign from his friends to try and persuade Paramount Pictures and Abrams to give him a shot.

If Doohan is interested, he apparently already has some competition. Various news outlets are reporting on the rumor started by London's Sunday Mail that Scottish actor James McAvoy is rumored to be the studio's top choice to play Scotty. The 28-year-old actor is probably best known to genre fans as Mr. Tumnus, The Faun in "Chronicles of Narnia." He also appeared as Leto Atreides II in the SciFi Channel miniseries "Children of Dune" in 2003. Of course that same report also named Matt Damon as the star of the movie, playing Kirk, which has been repeatedly called a bad rumor in the past.

Doohan is 20 years older than McAvoy, according to Internet Movie Database, and his screen credits only include playing Garth Brooks in a 1999 television special "Your Big Break" and an uncredited role in "Star Trek: The Motion Picture."

The elder Doohan died in July 2005 after bouts of pneumonia and Alzheimer's disease.