1986

Larry King introduces Leonard Nimoy as one of his favorite people and begins to ask him about his relationship with the character Spock.
Leonard Nimoy: "We have gone through a romance- and a romance has its ups and downs."

LK: "When did that change?"
LN: "In the late 70ies I was approached by Paramount to do the character again. ST I was a homecoming. ST III was a total remarriage for me, myself with the character."

"…. All the TV work (opportunities) sprang off Star Trek. I fulfilled a lot of dreams and fantasies. I did 'Lights, Camera, Action' …."
"I really wanted to be a working actor"
LK: "How did you approach the character? How did you approach something which was not human?"
"In a sense he is a very human character He had mixed feelings about things and was trying to preserve his dignity and identity as a Vulcan. A lot of people can identify with him.
I liked and admired him. He knows exactly what to say and to do."
Talking about his directing:
"It began a long time ago. I directed plays at night".

… he talks about Night Gallery, Vincent (van Gogh). a. o.
"Paramount wanted to have me on board, so I said I'd like to direct the picture."
LK: "What is so special about science fiction?"
LN: "It is very different I think. A show of ideas. A show of people, characters. 'Less hardware, more heart' I would say."
"The chemistry of that group of actors was wonderfully successful. Always has been and still is. We had some wonderful writing. "

About make up: "It took about an hour and a half. For movies - because it happened on the big screen - we had to be a bit more particular."
Voyage Home:
LK: "Who's the guest villain?"
LN: "We do not have one, and I am proud of it. The villain is circumstances and we will have to deal with it."

LK: "How about directing yourself?"
LN: "It's hard and I'd rather not" (laughing) "I could do it in Star Trek. I wouldn't want to do it again, frankly. I could do it in Star Trek because I knew the Spock character so well. If I would be creating a new character I'd say I rather do the one or the other."

Q&A session:
Q: "When will ST become unbelievable?"
L: "We have to dealing on a case by case basis. The picture we are shooting is the strongest we have done so far. The picture we are dealing with is a kind of "at home" real kind of contact film."

Q "Have you personally absorbed any of the characteristics?"
L: "I am much more intelligent since playing Spock then I was before - and much more humble." (laughing)
Q: "Do people kind of treat you spockish?"
L: "Scientists as a matter of fact …"
Q: "M:I - Had you enjoyed doing that?"
L: "I got to play an enormous variety of roles to play ..."

Q: "ST - was there a lost episode?"
L: "There is no lost episode, the so called one is "The Cage", a story which was later used in a double episode of the show ..."

Q: "ISO - Did you learn out of the experiences?"
L: "Yes, I did learn a lot. Some scientific, some fantasies ..."
Q: "About the comparison of cost of Star Trek now and earlier."
L: "It is an interesting question. I don't know how to give you a real comparison. I think they are around 8, 9 hundred thousand Dollars or more per episode.
Back in the sixties they were made for 165 000 Dollars a week. Now you have to take inflation into account … "

Q: "I enjoyed the commercial you did for Western Airlines. Why did you do the commercial in the first place?"
L: "It was my first commercial together with Bill Shatner. We had a good time ..."

Q: "Mr. Spock's first name?"
L: "Mr. Spock's first name is "Mr." - "The only reference to his first name I recall is an episode which includes a beautiful love scene. In the end she said: 'You never told me your first name' and I said: 'You wouldn't be able to pronounce it'. "

Q: "On Vincent ..."
L: "I did the final writing on it and directed it. I played the show for 150 times around the country. And I found out a lot of interesting things about him. Not many people know that he was an epileptic."

Q: "About Gunsmoke. Did you play a villain?
L: I don't remember whether I did do villains, I did a very sympathetic Indian character; I did whatever I could get to make a living and to learn my craft. …. I did a lot of Westerns in the 50ies and 60ies."

Q: "Star Trek is good quality TV without Sex and violence."
L: "I would like to think so. A lot of the success is based on the fact that it is a very positive show. …. A lot of interesting, positive and provocative ideas. "
"(Referring to Star Trek) It was very hard work. … I thought it was a very rewarding work to do."

Q: "I'd like to know whether there is any physiological basis for the Spock pitch."
L: (laughing) "I doubt it." (Laughing) "You have to take it on faith it works. " …
"The reason I established it was very simple: Vulcans have made a study of the human anatomy and know exactly where the proper pressure points are and they exude a particular kind of energy from their fingertips which, if applied to the proper pressure points, render the human unconscious. We all know that, don't we?" ; )
Larry King: "What power you have, you never get carried away with it."
L: "I tried to have a sense of humor."