'Star Trek Beyond' Star Zachary Quinto: 'I Feel Leonard Nimoy With Me in a Very Powerful Way All the Time'

Quinto (left) and Nimoy stage a Spock summit in 2009’s ‘Star Trek’ (Paramount)

A week ago, at a Star Trek fan event at Paramount Pictures in Los Angeles that culminated with the dedication of a street on the lot in honor of Leonard Nimoy, Zachary Quinto spoke eloquently of his predecessor as Spock.

“In a way I feel like he was more a part of this film [Star Trek Beyond] than he was of the other two,” Quinto said of Nimoy, who died in February 2015 at age 83, about four months before filming began on Beyond. (Nimoy had appeared in 2009’s reboot Star Trek and the sequel Star Trek Into Darkness.) “We all held him in our hearts so much more fully. I believe that to a person, everybody showed up to work in the spirit of celebrating his life and his indelible contribution to this franchise. I do not see how it could have lasted as long without him, both as an actor and director.”

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Nimoy’s death continues to reverberate with Quinto. Last July, when I visited the Vancouver-based set of Beyond, Quinto was still struggling with the loss of a man who had become a mentor and dear friend. It was the first time since filming had begun that Quinto spoke about Nimoy’s passing.

“Leonard long ago gave me the legacy of Spock and the responsibility of carrying it forward. I will never be the person who originated the role, I will never hold a flame to the level of admiration from people all over the world and the impact he made on millions and millions of lives over multiple generations,” Quinto said during a break in filming.

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“I spent a lot of time dealing with the personal impact that Leonard’s death had on me emotionally … then I came up here and started the movie and was washed over again with this whole new wave of emotion for stepping into the role for the first time without him.”

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Quinto then paused for a moment, and added: “I think he’s very much a part of this — with me, for me.… I feel him with me in a very powerful way all the time. And doing this film, I feel he’s a part of it for all of us. Everybody feels his absence. We want to honor him with continuing to tell these stories with integrity.”

Or, one might say, to have Star Trek, and by extension the spirit of Spock, live long and prosper.