Speakeasy with ... Leonard Nimoy
The actor formerly known as Spock shares his logic about his career and his stint on Fox’s “Fringe”.
It’s hard to think of veteran actor Leonard Nimoy without conjuring images of his pointy-eared Vulcan alter ego, Spock. Nimoy has been a staple on television shows since 1955 but it wasn’t until the Sci-Fi series Star Trek in 1966 that he became a fanboy icon.
Sixty years later, Nimoy is still busy at work. In JJ Abrams’ big screen reboot of Star Trek, Nimoy plays an older version of himself (Spock Prime) from an alternate time line as he respectfully passes the torch his younger self, played by Zachary Quinto. Last year Abrams cast Nimoy again, this time to do plot-churning cameo appearances of the enigmatic yet allusive genius William Bell on his sci-fi cop show, Fringe.
During a brief interview last week, Nimoy answered questions from the press about his work on Fringe, his impressive career, and elaborated a bit on the recent announcement of his retirement from acting. Part 2 of the Fringe season finale - “The Other Side” airs tonight at 9 p.m. on Fox.
Your character William Bell has been a mysterious one. How much did they tell you beforehand as you started to play the role what he was up to, and if you weren’t quite clear, did you think about how much do I play him? Is he perhaps evil? Is he perhaps good?
The ambiguity is the trauma of the character. I think all of those questions will be answered next week in the final episode. We are still not quite clear, as of last night, about what his intentions are. He keeps telling Olivia that she should trust him. Maybe she has to. I don’t know if she has any choice really, but there will be very strong involvement with Olivia and with Peter and particularly with Walter, which will, I think, answer the questions that you’re asking. Those are the questions that everybody’s asking. So, what’s it all about with William Bell? We’ll find out next Thursday.