Leonard Nimoy's Mission: Impossible Salary Surpassed Star Trek, But There Was A Catch
Leonard Nimoy joined "Mission: Impossible" after "Star Trek: The Original Series" was canceled in 1969, but this new venture was far from what the actor had envisioned.
Playing The Great Paris in 49 episodes across Seasons 4 and 5, Nimoy became a key character in the classic spy TV show until his departure in 1971. Speaking to the Television Academy decades later, Nimoy said that his "Mission: Impossible" fee had been greater than his earnings on "Star Trek" — but he grew to despise his role because he found it creatively unfulfilling. What began as the intriguing prospect of an IMF master of disguise devolved into a repetitive, one-note job.
"I could play a lot of different kinds of roles, and as a character actor, that was very appealing to me," he recalled. "So, I went to work for two seasons, and then the fun ran out. I wasn't interested beyond that. I found the same characters coming around again. I was again asked to play the Latin American dictator. I was again asked to play the very old man disguised as a spy."
Leonard Nimoy felt The Great Paris wasn't explored as a character
A widely celebrated TV character actor, Leonard Nimoy was best known for his portrayal of Mr. Spock in the "Star Trek" franchise. Nimoy's "Mission: Impossible" stint differed drastically from "Star Trek," however, in which he got to play a layered character who evolved over many episodes. In contrast, The Great Paris had almost no backstory and was never explored in depth as an individual.
"There was no character development, there was no internal life to these," Nimoy said of his character's many identities. "These were all charades. They were all empty characters, so there was no spiritual replenishment. I was just being asked to throw on makeup and do this or that and be gone again. I asked them to let me out, and they did."
Although Nimoy felt dissatisfied with his work as The Great Paris, he remains one of the most recognizable faces in the early years of "Mission: Impossible" — long before Tom Cruise transformed the series into a blockbuster movie franchise.