Leonard Nimoy explained why he said “no” to one project and “yes” to another, and then said something sure to cause some fan conversation.
Movie spoilers are behind the cut.
For those who went into Star Trek into Darkness unspoiled, they got the surprise of seeing Nimoy back as Spock in a brief cameo, and the actor spoke about why he accepted the role and also about his future with Star Trek.
Nimoy had turned down a role in Star Trek: Generations and he explained why he said yes to both Star Trek and Star Trek into Darkness and no to Generations. “This cameo in Star Trek into Darkness was about the Spock character,” he said. “The cameo in Generations was not about the Spock character. It was just somebody named Spock saying some lines that had nothing to do with Spock. It wasn’t about the character at all. The character was just being used to say some lines that needed to be said about the exposition of the story. I suggested to them that they could take those lines and give them to other members of the cast and no one would know the difference. And that’s exactly what they did. So that indicates to you how clear it was that it wasn’t about Spock. It was about something else. So I just let it go. There was no need for me to be there. This story lent itself to the idea that Spock would contact me to ask for information.”
The Star Trek into Darkness scene was shot at Bad Robot, and Nimoy was happy that word on his appearance in the film hadn’t leaked out ahead of the movie release. “I was very pleased that it worked out that way,” he said. “I was asked time and time again if I was in the movie, and I managed to avoid answering without lying.”
Is Star Trek into Darkness Nimoy’s last Spock appearance? “That’s impossible to answer,” he said. “I don’t know. I don’t know what J.J. is going to do. I consider him a very good friend. I think he’s done a great thing for Star Trek. I’m very grateful to him. We all owe him a lot. When someone comes along like he has done and picks it up and elevates it, we should be grateful. So when J.J. calls me, I take the call.”
Now that Abrams is headed to the Star Wars franchise, would Nimoy appear in the next Star Wars movie if asked by Abrams? “Oooh. Oooh, wouldn’t that be fun,” said Nimoy. “I would love to. I think it would work wonderfully. I think it would work just great. I think it would be a great idea, and somebody ought to tell him that.”
Source: StarTrek.com
