How William Shatner's Star Trek Performance Changed Leonard Nimoy's Spock

Leonard Nimoy's iconic "Star Trek" performance as the reserved, deeply methodical Mr. Spock wouldn't have existed without a key acting choice by William Shatner. At the forefront of the beloved 1960s sci-fi series lived the complex dynamic between Nimoy's Spock and Shatner's Captain James Kirk, who developed a strong partnership aboard the USS Enterprise despite their different backgrounds and worldviews. Noticeably contrasting with Spock's stoic demeanor, Kirk radiated charisma and demonstrated an occasional humorous side throughout the show's three seasons. Per Nimoy, Spock would have taken on a completely different personality if Shatner's Kirk hadn't replaced Jeffrey Hunter's Captain Pike after the original, unaired pilot for "Star Trek."

Speaking with the Television Academy, Nimoy described Shatner's performance as "energy personified ... constantly looking, digging, searching ... which gave me a place to exist as Spock — much more so than I ever would have had with, with all due respect, Jeff Hunter." Nimoy explained that Hunter's more pensive and withdrawn portrayal of Pike prompted him to play Spock with a spark of energy, as he didn't believe their scenes would work if they both acted serious and contemplative. 

So when Shatner joined the cast of "Star Trek" for the official Episode 1 and beyond, Nimoy changed Spock to differentiate him from Kirk. "Bill Shatner provided all the energy you needed in a scene," Nimoy continued. "I could be more reflective and more reactive, and I think it helped me in developing the Spock character a lot."

According to Leonard Nimoy, the process of internalizing Spock's traits and mannerisms took time. In the same interview, he described having to learn and adapt to the character's restrained way of carrying himself. "There were times when I had to remind myself because that wasn't my nature," Nimoy said. "On the contrary, my training as an actor was to use my emotions, to use gesture, to use color in my speech, to use tonalities, to be interesting, and to be passionate. ... So this was quite a shift for me. It wasn't me at all."

Yet over time, Nimoy found himself becoming more and more like Spock. After all, he played the character for three consecutive years on "Star Trek: The Original Series," which involved spending 12 hours per day in character. Nimoy reprised the role on and off over the next four-plus decades, with his final on-screen appearance as Spock coming in 2013. Thus, due to how much time he spent playing Spock, the character eventually became second-nature to Nimoy. "I've adopted, personally, some of the attributes of this character because I enjoyed them, I found them comforting and comfortable, and because by osmosis I picked it up," he shared.