Who would have thought I’d ever get to interview Leonard Nimoy, let alone twice in one year. The big coup was getting him for Star Trek, and to talk about Spock no less. Now he’s also recurring on Fringe, as the elusive William Bell. Last week showed the first of many returns as Olivia flashed back to her meeting with Bell in the twin towers of an alternate New York. Nimoy shared his thoughts on Fringe and sci-fi, and we can only look forward to his next episodes in the weeks to come.
Crave Online: Did you have any reservations on taking another role with the potential of such a fanatic following?
Leonard Nimoy: I love this question. I can’t help but laugh because you’re absolutely right. It’s an interesting set of circumstances. What attracted me to it was several things. J.J. Abrams, Bob Orci, and Alex Kurtzman, who I worked with on the Star Trek movie, I admire their talent and the work that they do. The series is at the very least to say intriguing. The character was somewhat of a blank slate, but we began talking about it and, therefore, attracted because there’s an opportunity to build an interesting and unpredictable character. I’m enjoying it a lot.
Crave Online: Do you find that the science fiction you did years ago has become real science today?
Leonard Nimoy: It is remarkable. I was thinking as we began this conference call about the technology involved here. It is quite remarkable and so terribly useful. It’s a very convenient way to put out a lot of information, and this is the kind of thing that was only dreamed about 10, 15 years ago. And you’re right, science fiction very often leads the way for the scientists. Scientists watch science fiction, see an idea being presented, and say, “Well, gee, I wonder if that’s really possible.” They go to work at it on the drawing board, and a lot of it comes to fruition.
Crave Online: Are you a techie?
Leonard Nimoy: Well, I use a computer. I don’t know if that qualifies me as a techie, but I’m pretty good on the computer.
Crave Online: Have you become J.J. Abrams’ go-to guy now that you’re in his circle?
Leonard Nimoy: Well, I first met him I guess about three years ago when he first contacted me about the possibility of working together, and I went to a meeting with he and Bob Orci and Alex Kurtzman and some of his production staff. They told me a very good and strong and touching story about their feelings about Star Trek and specifically the Spock character. It gave me a sense of validation after all these years. I had been out of it for some time, as you’re probably aware. There were several Star Trek series in which I was not involved and Star Trek movies in which I was not involved. This was a re-validation of the work that I had done, the work that we had done on the original Star Trek. I felt very good about it and went to work for them. I had a great time working on the movie. I think they did a brilliant job, and I think the audience response shows that that was the case and has reinvigorated the franchise. And when they contacted me about working on Fringe — the same people, the same attitude, the same creativity, the same creative team — it was very enticing.
Crave Online: Had you seen Fringe before?
Leonard Nimoy: I watched it periodically. I think it’s extremely well done. It’s very nuanced. It’s complex. It’s a mixture of science and science fiction in a very interesting and intelligent way. And I think it has a long way to go in story-telling. It tells a terribly interesting story, and the character that I was offered was potentially a very intriguing and controversial and fascinating character, very inviting for an actor.
Crave Online: What do you think of the current state of science fiction in movies and TV?
Leonard Nimoy: Well, I’m concerned about the positioning of story in terms of importance. When I see a lot of explosions and a lot of chases, I’m not terribly impressed. I think there are three terribly important elements that must be given a priority position in science fiction as well as in any other kind of drama. The first is story, the second is story, and the third is story. Story, story, story, story, story. If the story is compelling and interesting, I think all the rest will find its place. We have great technology in our industry, and that technology can be overused at the expense of story. And that’s a problem for me, but when the story is in place, I think the special effects can find their proper place. I think Fringe uses the technology brilliantly, but in the service of excellent story-telling.
Crave Online: Is there anything you’re interested in watching in sci-fi?
Leonard Nimoy: Fringe, Fringe, Fringe, Fringe, Fringe.
Crave Online: What do you think about the products that have come out in recent years, things like Lost or Battlestar Galactica, or even Fringe for that matter?
Leonard Nimoy: Well, I’m really impressed. I’m impressed. I think there’s some very, very good work being done, and certainly in terms of production value. It’s head and shoulders above what we were able to do years ago. I keep coming back to my baseline, which is the story. If the story is good and all this new technology can work to the service of the story, I’m excited about some of the work that’s being done. I look and I say, “Wow.” In tomorrow night’s episode, there are things being done that I wouldn’t know how to do. I directed two of the Star Trek films and I produced one. I don’t know how they’re doing some of these effects that they’re doing now in these TV shows and on TV budgets. I’m terribly impressed. I think it’s a very exciting medium to be working in today, particularly if the script is good, the story’s in place.
Crave Online: This was a big year for you. Did you ever anticipate having a new Star Trek and Fringe in the same year?
Leonard Nimoy: Well, I’m enjoying it. I’m very comfortable in the two offers that I’ve accepted. The Star Trek movie was a joy to do. I admire the production team that made the film. I admire the new cast. Zachary Quinto I thought was a great choice for the new Spock, and it was a pleasure to work with him and with all the other people on the project. The Fringe character was intriguing because, as I’ve mentioned, it was kind of a blank slate and we had some very interesting and intense conversations about who and what he could be and how we should perceive him, what we might or might not learn about him, what we might or might not trust about him. These are intriguing opportunities for an actor, and they came at a time and from a group of people that I had respect for. They piqued my interest and I went back to work. I did not expect to, frankly, be acting so much at this time in my life. My concentration was on my photography, but I’m having a wonderful time doing it.
Crave Online: Were you always a big sci- fan before it became your calling card?
Leonard Nimoy: Well, it’s a good thing if you can find your niche as an actor and be able to support a family. Very early on — I’m talking about many, many years ago, probably 1950 or ’51 — I acted in my first science fiction project, and I have acted in science fiction over the years ever since. The first one was probably not terribly well known. I thought it was going to rocket me to stardom, if you’ll pardon the expression. It didn’t quite work. It was a great project called Zombies of the Stratosphere, and I was the third of a group of zombies that came to earth to take over earth’s orbit. It’s funny, as I think about it now, but it was a way of making a living. And science fiction has seemed to be a fertile ground for the kind of work that I do, the kind of presence that I offer. I’m grateful for it. I’m grateful for the niche that science fiction has given me.
Crave Online: Do you believe, as William Bell does, that there are soft spots in the world?
Leonard Nimoy: Well, what the show deals with in this wonderfully intriguing way is a question of an alternate universe, through which one can slip through, from one universe to another. I’ve been involved in stories of this kind before. I did a series called In Search of… some years ago in which we dealt with subject matter like this. I think the question is one that you would, in terms of whether it’s scientifically accurate, you’d have to ask people like Stephen Hawking. I’m not a scientist, and I can’t really tell you whether or not there is a soft spot where you could slip through to another world, but I think the Fringe series deals with that idea in a very intriguing way.
Crave Online: What’s your take on William Bell so far in the two times you’ve played him.
Leonard Nimoy: Well, the first thing was some wonderful and creative conversations that I had with J.J. Abrams and Bob Orci and Alex Kurtzman, the writers, and with Jeff Pinkner, who’s the show runner, to try to create from scratch a character that’s never been seen before, only been referred to. In terms of characteristics, we started from scratch.
Crave Online: So far, your scenes in Fringe have been with Anna Torv. Will you get to work with any of the other cast?
Leonard Nimoy: No, I have not worked with the others. I’m looking forward to meeting and working with all the others. They’re very talented people, and I admire the work they do. But so far, all my work has been with the Olivia character, and I think she does a wonderful job on the show, by the way. They all do. They’re very good.
Crave Online: Considering how different television is today than when Star Trek was made, do you like it better or is it harder to adjust?
Leonard Nimoy: Well, I’d say that’s a good question. Thank you. I think it’s safe to say that what an audience is seeing today on screen in the television episode is far more complex than what we were doing when we were, for example, making the original Star Trek series in the ‘60s. We were very, very heavy on pages and pages of dialogue and very little special effects, but because the technology has advanced so greatly, it’s possible to do some very complex and very exciting and very useful technical stuff on the shows these days, so we don’t have to rely quite so much on the story being told by the actors speaking. On the other hand, there is a danger, as I mentioned earlier, of going too far with the special effects at the expense of story. But if the story is well done, if the story’s in place strongly, the special effects can be enormously helpful to the actors, far more so than they were years ago when we were making the original Star Trek series.
Crave Online: Are you saying that these days you’re allowed to do a little more nuance in the acting and not have to so much deliver the exposition?
Leonard Nimoy: Oh, thank you. Thank you. Exactly, exactly, exactly. Delivering the exposition is the toughest part of the job, and if it can be done visually and physically, it’s a big help. Exactly.
Crave Online: Do you imagine retiring from acting at a certain point?
Leonard Nimoy: I thought I had reached that point some years ago. I think about myself as like an ocean liner that’s been going full speed for a long distance and the captain pulls the throttle back all the way to “stop,” but the ship doesn’t stop immediately, does it? It has its own momentum and it keeps on going, and I’m very flattered that people are still finding me useful. I try to pick my spots so that I have a balance between the work and my personal life, which I enjoy very much. I don’t know that I would actually any longer say, “No, I’m going to stop ten, twelve, fifteen months or two years from now.” I don’t know. I still feel strong and healthy and active, and as long as there’s interesting work to do, I’ll probably keep on doing it.
Crave Online: Are you working on any other projects besides Fringe and Star Trek?
Leonard Nimoy: I’m doing a lot of photography work. That’s one of my major creative outlets right now. I have an exhibition which is opening in Massachusetts at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art next year. I’m really excited about that. Check out my Web site, LeonardNimoyPhotography.com. Isn’t that an amazing title for a Web site?
Crave Online: How did you end up taking an interest in photography on the side?
Leonard Nimoy: Well, I became enamored with photography when I was about 13 or 14 years old. I’ve been at it ever since. I studied seriously in the ‘70s. I have a master’s degree in photography as a fine art, and I would call my work primarily conceptual. I don’t carry cameras with me wherever I go. I get an idea of a subject matter I want to deal with and I pull out my cameras. I have published two books. One was called Shekhina about the feminine aspect of God, and the second was called The Full Body Project, which deals with body image issues in our society.
Crave Online: What is still on your “to do” list with all the things you’ve done in the world?
Leonard Nimoy: Well, I’m looking forward to developing the William Bell character further. I hope the writers are interested in working with the character. I am. I don’t know how much further we’ll go with it, but the character, so far, has been very intriguing and the whole Fringe company has been very good to me. I’m delighted to be involved. I am still actively involved with my photography work. I’m working on a current project, which is called Secret Selves, which is about hidden or fantasy or private personalities that people bring for me to photograph. And there will be an exhibition of that name, Secret Selves, at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art opening next summer, a solo exhibition. I’m excited about that.
