Nichelle Nichols on 'Heroes'

"Die-hard Trekker fans are die-hard Hero fans," says Nichols, who plays Nana Dawson on the popular Heroes.

Speaking with Crave Online recently, Nichelle Nichols shared her experiences in working on Heroes, including Trek fan reactions to the announcement that she would have a role in the show. "...Trekkers had heard the rumor and here I am in Las Vegas before 30,000 people," she explained, "and a couple of weeks later in Atlanta before 40,000 people and when I had gotten permission to say, yes I am, I can confirm the rumor that I will be joining the cast of Heroes. That place came apart, like you absolutely could not believe, it was thunderous."

She went on to describe working on Heroes. Asked about the importance of family on the show, she said, "family is very important in Heroes and especially a New Orleans family. I'm feeling that it’s very similar to my own family. I come from a large family and we're always at each other's beck, there for one another. It's a very loving family and a very diverse family. I find the same thing here. I have these two young grandchildren who bring out that I'm a strong woman who's gone through an awful lot and has lost her daughter and now is raising and providing a home for these two beautiful grandchildren. That's the focus of my life now because we've gone through Katrina. We've survived and to establish a strong and safe environment for these beautiful children whom I'm very proud of."

Nichols was more coy about future plans for her character. When asked if she had a power yet, she replied, "I couldn't tell you if I knew. We very jealously guard what is coming. That's because it's kind of wonderful for the audience to discover it in the moment."

Turning to discussion of the upcoming Star Trek XI movie, she had praise for the casting of Zachary Quinto as a young Spock. "The moment I met him, I saw him in one of the episodes. I said, Oh my God, what an actor. Then when I met him in person, I said, this is the young Spock, so they did a brilliant job in casting him." Nichols also felt that Gene Roddenberry would have loved what J.J. Abrams was doing with the new movie. "I know that he's up in heaven going like, right on," she said.

For more of Nichelle's thoughts, head over to the interview located here.

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