When he joined the cast of Star Trek in the mid 60's. He says the setting was science-fiction action but it was the great stories that kept the series alive.

"That's why it's lasted so long. It's not just about ships, and chasing, and guns, and explosions. I mean we have our share of that, but there's also some very interesting ideas behind all of the episodes and they're good stories.

(...)

Nimoy now shares the role of Spock with actor Zachary Quinto who plays a younger version of the character in the new Star Trek film series. Nimoy says he's pleased with the work Quinto did with the famous character.

"It made me very proud that the character was strong enough that it could be passed onto someone else so successfully. I'm very proud of him. I'm very proud of the movie."

More audio at MyNorthwest.com

A Halloween double feature complete with aliens and dinosaurs. First, join Leonard Nimoy and other actors from STAR TREK and STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION as they recreate the classic radio thriller. Originally performed by Orson Welles and his Mercury Theatre of the Air, WAR OF THE WORLDS is truly the mother of all space invasions, offering a rare combination of chills, thrills and great literature. Then, Arthur Conan Doyle’s rollicking adventure tale THE LOST WORLD follows a scientific expedition deep into the Amazon jungle – right back into the time of dinosaurs and cavemen. The broadcast includes a conversation with Leonard Nimoy and a special insider's tour of the Dino Lab at the Natural History Museum of L.A.

While Jenkins says Nimoy's performance as Spock was a marvel of sensitivity and nuance, he is looking forward to a new actor playing Spock in an upcoming movie. Jenkins is brave enough to make a comparison to Hamlet: Like Shakespeare's conflicted hero, Jenkins says, Spock is a character for the ages.

"We can imagine seeing hundreds of different actors play Hamlet, and indeed the richness of Hamlet is seeing differences and the different interpretations of that character," Jenkins says. "With the new movie, we will for the first time see Spock as a character larger than an actor."

"SIMON: You note this book for the photography teacher who once told you to do what scares you. Now, your respect for these women notwithstanding, was that part of your fascination with this?

Mr. NIMOY: Actually, it began with an individual lady who came to me after a presentation I was doing. It was a seminar of some previous work. And she said to me you're working with a particular body-type model, which was true at the time. She said, I'm not of that type; I'm of a different body type. Will you be interested in working with me? And she was a very, very large lady. And this was in Northern California - I have a home up there - and we invited her to our studio in the home and photographed her there. (...)"

Leonard Nimoy On The BBC

May 23, 2005, by Sam Sloan

While Leonard Nimoy was in London, England this past week for the London Expo he dropped in on Danny Baker and gave a fun interview on BBC’s famous Breakfast Show.

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When asked by Baker when he became aware of the power of the Star Trek series Nimoy stated that almost immediately after the show was put on the air there was a core of intense viewers, “not in hugh numbers but an extremely intense audience” was there from the beginning.Star Trek series

Leonard Nimoy stated he still remembers the day he got the call from a NBC Vice President telling him that Star Trek was being cancelled. The first words out of his mouth to the executive were, “You’re a fool!”

Leonard Nimoy Talks 'Zombies Of The Stratosphere'

The whole world is familiar Leonard Nimoy from his role as Spock on the original Star Trek series. But what's a lot less known is that Nimoy originally expected to become a star by playing a completely different kind of alien.

"I had a very important job in what we used to call a serial," Nimoy said last week on a BBC Radio breakfast show, recalling one of the first jobs he had as a 21-year old actor. "[They played] ach Saturday afternoon, a 50-minute with a cliffhanger at the end. The hero or the heroine is in terrible trouble, come back next week and see what happens. And I was in one of those, I was very important in it, and I thought it would rocket me to stardom. It was called Zombies of the Stratosphere. And I was one. One of four that came from Mars. We stole a pickup truck and a revolver, and we were going to take over Earth."

Unfortunately, the role didn't prove to be quite as lasting as Nimoy he had hoped, and for the next dozen years the actor found himself struggling to make a living. "I was always a supporting player, ocassionally a guest star, but usually a supporting player. Second or third man through the door, they used to call them. It was a period in which good-looking guys that lived next door were the kind of people they were looking for. And I was not that type, I was considered off-beat, ethnic-looking so forth, and my eyes were too small, my nose a little too crooked, my hair not quite right, and the wrong colour. And I hadn't really come into myself."

Many of our recent scientific advances were first predicted by science fiction: cloning, genetic engineering, even a computer that can beat you at chess. Does science fiction help us prepare for the future or fill us with fear? And are real scientists influenced by science fiction? This hour, we'll talk about the relationship between science and science fiction with special guest Leonard Nimoy.

Guests: Leonard Nimoy Actor, Director, Author Beverly Hills, California John Cramer Professor, Physics University of Washington Seattle, Washington Robert Sawyer Science Fiction Writer President Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Toronto, Canada