Nimoy: Spock Won't Be Back

Spock will probably not return to Star Trek, Leonard Nimoy told an interviewer recently.

Nimoy had traveled to Brazil, where he spoke to science writer Salvador Nogueira about his acting, his artwork and his relationship with Star Trek. The interview from Trek Brasilis is available at TrekWeb.

The actor revealed that he has had little relationship with Rick Berman since declining a small role in Star Trek: Generations and said he is unaware of any discussion of any possibility of bringing Spock back as a character.

He also denied knowledge of William Shatner's ideas for a new Star Trek series, saying that he had not discussed the subject with his good friend who played Captain Kirk through Generations.

Nimoy did not direct that film, he said, because "I just felt that the story did not really successfully come to grips with any major concern that interested me...it wasn't something that touched me, or something that I felt was accessible for me."

The actor-director declined to comment on the newer Star Trek shows, which he said he had not had time to keep up with. Of the original series, he said, "I do believe that in the earliest years, the three years we did the series and the first few films that we did, we were very concerned with social and political commentary, and I think that was a major part of the success of the work."

Asked about his recording of "The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins" which is experiencing a resurgence of interest due to the Lord of the Rings films, Nimoy said that he thought the song "was very charming" and that he had been interested in The Hobbit when he recorded it, but he doubted that the song would gain great popularity now.

Explaining that travel and photography are now more important to him than television, Nimoy said that in following his artistic vision for his book Shekhina, which contains many nude images of women, he realized that the book might cause, if not controversy, then "intense discussion."

"I doubt very much that there's anything in films and television that could draw me back to that kind of time commitment," he added.

"The most difficult thing for me was acting in a film that I was directing. That is really physically very difficult," noted Nimoy. "I have great admiration for people who have done it for many years, people like Clint Eastwood."

Nimoy said that he sees Shatner regularly and dismissed reports of feuding among the original cast, relating an anecdote in which James Doohan reportedly said he could no longer remember why he had been angry with Shatner.

For more on Nimoy's recollections about Trek, his views on the importance of the fantastic and his interests now, see the full translation at TrekWeb.

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