Star Trek Cast Interview

MoviesOnline sat down with Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, Bruce Greenwood, and Leonard Nimoy at the Los Angeles press day for “Star Trek,” J.J. Abrams’ brilliant re-booting of the long running Star Trek franchise. The superb story written by Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman is brought to life by a terrific cast with undeniable chemistry on screen.

Zachary Quinto plays the young First Officer Spock; Leonard Nimoy, who originated the iconic role of Spock, cameos; Bruce Greenwood is Captain Christopher Pike; Karl Urban plays the ship’s Medical Officer Leonard “Bones” McCoy; and Zoe Saldana is Communications Officer Uhura.

Set in the 23rd century, the adventure begins with the incredible story of a young crew’s maiden voyage onboard the most advanced starship ever created:  the U.S.S. Enterprise. In the midst of an incredible journey full of optimism, intrigue, comedy and cosmic peril, the new recruits must find a way to stop an evil being whose mission of vengeance threatens all of mankind.

“Star Trek” is truly a masterpiece in innovative cinematic storytelling inspired by the spirit of Gene Roddenberry’s vision of an enlightened future. Abrams takes that spirit and puts a fresh spin on it to advance the legacy of Star Trek in this movie and his brilliant cast hits every note perfectly.

When the U.S.S. Enterprise leaves the dock for the first time headed for the stars, one officer aboard stands worlds apart from the rest: the man known simply as Spock. Spock was born on the planet Vulcan, a world where emotions became so out-of-control that they were done away with forever in favor of pure logic. However, Spock's mother is human, leaving Spock to grow up fighting an internal battle between the rational and the instinctual. As Spock's father, Sarek, tells him: "You are fully capable of choosing your own destiny . . . this is something only you can decide."

"Star Trek" gives audiences a chance to experience Spock in his formative years facing the choice between his human side and his Vulcan side. "Spock has to decide if he should control his emotions or embrace his humanity and struggles with the duality of who he is throughout the story," says Abrams. "I loved the idea of this character trying to figure out his place in the world."

In the beginning, Abrams admits, "we were very uncertain we could ever find the right guy to play Spock, given how much Leonard Nimoy is associated with the role." When the filmmakers saw Zachary Quinto, who is perhaps best known for his role on television's hit series "Heroes," he was convinced he'd found him. "Zach had an intelligence and thoughtfulness that is rare in a young actor. He was able to honor what Leonard achieved without in any way becoming an imitation."

Quinto also got the thrilling opportunity to work with the man who had originally created Spock, Nimoy. Abrams notes: "This was not an easy or capricious decision for Leonard. In a sense, it was motivated by wanting to give the character a sense of closure and to pass the baton to Zach. Taking the role really meant something to him but, at the same time, he had a lot of fun with it."

Nimoy says it was his initial conversation with Abrams and his first meeting with Orci and Kurtzman that spiked his interest. "I got the sense that they really understood what the very best things were about 'Star Trek,'" he says. "I felt they were going to do justice to the story and elevate the movie to a level we had not been able to reach previously. The writers had done a wonderful job of capturing the characteristics of the original characters and I was very encouraged by all of that."

Dr. McCoy is a self-professed "country doctor" who hates to fly yet, in the wake of personal problems on earth, has devoted himself to becoming a Starfleet medical officer. His methods of healing might take advantage of the latest medical technology, but his demeanor is as salty and earthy as they come, which will help him to play an essential, if often thankless, role in keeping both Kirk or Spock from taking themselves too seriously.

To take on the role of the man who will become known simply as "Bones," played in the original series to memorably comic effect by the late DeForest Kelley, the filmmakers turned to Karl Urban, the New Zealand-born actor who came to the fore in "The Lord the Rings" trilogy and played the Russian assassin in "The Bourne Supremacy." His audition left those who saw it with the impression that he was the perfect choice for the role of the cantankerous, curmudgeonly doctor who will boldly state "Space is disease and danger wrapped in darkness and silence," yet ironically takes a secret satisfaction in exploring it.

The brilliant, beautiful, xenolinguist known as Uhura brings her exceptional skills for listening and interpreting to her vital job as the Enterprise's Communications Officer.

Uhura was a groundbreaking character on the original television series. Played by Nichelle Nichols, she became one of the first major African-American characters on TV and a participant in American television's first interracial kiss. To take up her mantle, the filmmakers' search led them to Zoe Saldana, the rising actress of Puerto Rican and Dominican descent who came to prominence as the tough pirate Anamaria in the modern adventure classic "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl." It was the power of her presence that made her right for the role, says J.J. Abrams. He says: "Zoe is so beautiful, with these wide eyes that just kill you, but she's also tough. I love the dichotomy of her soft femininity and confident strength. It's so right for Uhura."

When she researched the shows, Saldana was especially moved by the role of Uhura on the original series. "Not only was she an African-American, but she was the only woman in a cabin full of men and she held a very high rank," she notes. "The character and Nichelle were true pioneers for all types of women in Hollywood, not just women of color, and I felt it was a beautiful honor to get to reprise this role."

The legendary first captain of the U.S.S. Enterprise, Captain Pike appeared in only three of the original TV series episodes, played first by Jeffrey Hunter, then by Sean Kenney. Seen for the first time in depth, he is now played by Bruce Greenwood, the Canadian actor whose roles have ranged from President John F. Kennedy in "Thirteen Days" to a former surfing hero in the offbeat HBO series "John from Cincinnati." "Bruce was the perfect father figure to Kirk," says Abrams. "He has such a strong, confident, adult presence that it's suddenly very noticeable when Pike leaves the ship. It makes for a real shift in the energy."

It was the script that drew Greenwood. "I loved the way the writers had explored the characters," he says. "It's a journey into the motivations of Kirk and Spock and their inner conflicts and I thought it was filled with tremendous drama."

Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, Bruce Greenwood, and Leonard Nimoy are fabulous people and we really appreciated their time. Here’s what they had to tell us about their new movie:

Q: Mr. Nimoy, this Star Trek takes place in an alternate timeline and the young Spock is different from your Spock. He’s much more emotional and human.  He has a relationship with a girl...

Leonard: He does, doesn't he? I noticed that, yeah. [laughter]

Q: How did you feel about that when you first read the script? 

Leonard: I was bemused by it when I read it in the script.  I was amazed by it when I saw it on the screen.  I thought it was incredible.

Q: Do you think it works?

Leonard: Brilliantly, don't you?

Q: Isn't it more of a human Spock and less of a Vulcan Spock?

Zach:  I don't necessarily agree with you.  I think there's a duality and an eternal conflict because he's really split between those two halves of himself, but I just don't think he's gained the control over that duality that Leonard had when he played the character. That's the journey of this character.  It's not that he won't arrive there and it's not that he possesses more humanity than vulcanity. [laughter]

Leonard: [laughing] Go with it! That's great!  I love it! I like that, “vulcanity.”  That's a new one.

Q: Zach, you portray one of the most iconic characters in the Trek universe.  How intimidating was it for you to do that and how even more so with [Leonard] present?  And Leonard, what do you think of the new Spock?

Zach:  I think all of us were faced with a certain level of intimidation stepping into these roles theoretically, although J.J. did a phenomenal job of diffusing that from step one in terms of really dictating that we were encouraged to use the original performances as points of departure, but from there we were expected to really develop our own points of view and perspectives on these characters.  And, for me, Leonard's involvement was only liberating frankly.  I knew that he had approval over the actor who would play young Spock so when I got the role, I knew from the beginning it was with his blessing.  And, from that point, we developed our own relationship.  I was the first one cast in the movie. I got cast in June and we didn't start shooting until November so, over those months, Leonard and I spent a number of times hanging out and talking about just life and about the character, and just getting to know him personally was incredibly freeing and helpful in the process.

Leonard:  I think it's appropriate when the old-timer walks on the set that everybody be intimidated. [Zach laughs a lot].  It's classic.  It's classic.  I used to be the kid on the set.  I was intimidated.  Why shouldn't they be? [laughter by all].

Q: Zoe and Zachary, this relationship didn't exist at all in the series.  Uhura never expressed any interest at all in Spock. Was this in the script from the beginning or something that evolved as you went along?  How did you approach this?

Karl pipes up:  If I may, let me just express some of my Star Trek knowledge here.  I remember one particular episode where Spock was playing the lyre and Uhura was singing and caressing his ears and it was one of those hypnotic scenes in the original series.  So, I think that, while that relationship wasn't developed, it certainly was there in sub-text.

Zoe: Oooooo!

Karl: Snap!

Q: So how did you approach that relationship? What did you see in an outwardly emotionless character? What was that dance like considering it's not a normal romance?

Zoe: I try not to publicly announce the scenes that I'm in or the storyline that I'm in is a favorite but, in this situation it was. That whole relationship, to me, gave me the desire, as a newer generation, to completely fall in love deeply with these characters and, after reading and doing research and going to fan sites and reading up on them, I realized that Spock and Uhura had more in common in terms of their characteristics than any of the other characters in the script.  She's an apt pupil.  She only lives to work.  She loves to study.  She wants to be the best at what she does.  And, all of a sudden, here's this mentor that is a couple of years older than she is and he's witty.  He has pointy ears.  He's sexy.

Zach: [very low voice and eyebrow raise] Oh yeah!  [laughter]

Zoe: He always knows every answer.  It just made more sense.  The privilege, too. It's also the friendship and the connection that they have.  For him, being a Vulcan, always having this battle, to allow Uhura to be the only person to see, not even his father, to see him on a human scale, was absolutely priceless and, for Uhura to only have this man call her by her first name [Nyota] I just thought it was kind of awesome.

Zach: I think, for me, the relationship provides a great source of levity in the film between Kirk and Spock, between Kirk and Uhura.  But, between Spock and Uhura, I think it provides a really interesting depth. And that Uhura ultimately represents a canvas onto which Spock projects the emotions that he can't really otherwise express, I think that dynamic, for me, was really rewarding as an actor and the scene that Zoe and I played in the elevator was definitely one of the most present experiences through shooting and that has a great deal to do with Zoe and her emotional availability and her openness and it was such a comforting, confined space that we were in on that day and in that moment.

Q: Zach, what do you say to Kirk when he overhears you say her first name?

Zach: He says, “Her first name's Nyota?” And I say, “I have nothing to say on the matter.” [laughter].

Q: Mr. Nimoy, how do you describe your own scene when you kissed her character?

Leonard: When I kiss Kirk? [laughter]

Q: No, when you kiss Uhura.. [everybody tells him that was Bill Shatner, not Leonard]

Leonard: It was Kirk. First interracial kiss on television between Nichelle and Bill Shatner.

Q: Mr. Nimoy, did you have any hesitation going back to this after all this time and was it the script or J.J.?

Leonard:  It was a combination of the script and J.J.'s enthusiasm and then J.J. and the writers, Orci and Kurtzman, talking about their sensibility, their sense of what “Star Trek” was about and what the Spock character could be about.  And, frankly, I had felt marginalized for a long time.  I hadn't been asked to be involved in “Star Trek” for seventeen or eighteen years and I just felt like somebody said “There's a value here that we'd like to take advantage of and do something with” and it felt good.  It felt like being, frankly, appreciated and I was happy to go back to work.

Q: What is your fondest memory of Gene Roddenberry and what do you think he would have thought of this movie?

Leonard:  He was a brilliant, complicated man and we had a complicated relationship.  There were times when it was like a father/son relationship – typical, classic, sometimes it was great and sometimes it was really bad. Sometimes we would disagree strongly about certain issues but, obviously, he was a very special mind.

Q: Zachary, did any of the vulcanisms give you any trouble; the eyebrows or the hand salute?

Zach: I spent a little time actually training my hands to be able to do the salute.  That wasn't something that came particularly easy so I would rubber-band my ring finger and my pinky finger together while I was driving around Los Angeles and do little finger exercises in the months leading up to shooting, but that was about it.  Everything else fell into place. It was okay, I think.

Q: Are there things that this Star Trek can do that the original never accomplished?

Leonard: Well, I think, at its best, for me, when we were making the series, I was always curious about what issues the writers were going to tackle in Star Trek that they could not tackle in other series and other television and those were the things that made Star Trek interesting for me.  In this film, I think it's a question of vengeance.  It's the defeatism and the emptiness of vengeance and that makes it meaningful to me.  We tackled some very interesting issues over the years; racial issues, economic issues, ecological issues, all kinds of very interesting subject matter and that's what made Star Trek meaningful for a lot of people. Writers were given an opportunity in Star Trek to tell stories about issues that they could not express in other television shows and they did. They'd often come in and say “I've got a great feeling about this subject.  I'd like to write a script that deals with that issue.”

Q: Mr. Nimoy, are you surprised that it took this long for the studio to reinvigorate the franchise by recasting the roles you guys had played before?

Leonard:  I frankly didn't spend a lot of time thinking about that. I was busy doing other things.  I simply figured that, for me, Star Trek was finished.  I had done what I could and was asked to do and it was over for me.  When the first Next Generation film came along, I was left out of it and Kirk was killed.  I think somebody was sending us a message [laughter].  It's over for you guys.  It's somebody else's game now and that's the way it was for a long time.

Q: Zoe, what was it like to be the only girl amongst all these male characters?

Zoe: For me, personally, I love it.  What I loved the most about playing Uhura was the fact that Uhura was also very comfortable in that environment so I was able to infect her with that [part] of myself.  She needed to be that way in order for her to still hold court and have authority and still be very, very feminine and commanding and deliver her job excellently.  I think I'll let the guys be the judges of that; what kind of girl I am [Zach laughs kind of knowingly]. It gives you the ability to sort of be completely androgynous and not add any unnecessary tension to an environment that needs to be primarily professional and artistic.

Q: Karl, playing the classic role of Doctor McCoy, I loved how they put in one of the classic lines, "Damn it, Jim, I'm a doctor, not a physicist," that was so part of the doctor in the original series.  Was that your choice to do that?

Karl: No.  I had no choice whether that line was in or out but I must say, as a longtime fan of the show, it was quite surreal to be in that position of delivering those iconic lines.  I had such a huge admiration and respect for the wonderful contribution that Mr. Kelly donated to Star Trek in developing his character so well for forty years.  It was a real privilege to be given the opportunity to develop a younger version of the character and a challenge and I certainly did not want to mimic him or develop some sort of caricature which would have sold the character and Mr. Kelly short, so really the challenge, for me, was to identify some sort of spirit and essence of that character and then funnel it through my interpretation of what a younger version of that character would be.  But there were certain moments and certain lines that were very challenging to find myself, in the moment, actually delivering those iconic words.

Q: Zach, it seems that Spock has to strip himself of every emotion.  What did you have to strip yourself of to play him?

Zach: I didn't really see it that way, actually.  I think Spock experiences deeply run emotions and I think that, especially, in the context of his relationship with his mother, I think there's a real depth of feeling. The only thing I feel like I had to strip myself of was the ability to express it in a conventional way and I think that's really the dilemma of Spock ultimately because if he doesn't feel emotion, then there's no conflict within him.  So, the conflict exists in the deeply-rooted and sublimated feeling of emotion without the opportunity to do much with it other than hold it which is really challenging and can be painful.

Q: Bruce, you had much less to work with from the original series than these guys did.  What that liberating or more challenging?

Bruce: I think Zach says it really clearly when he says that we were invited by J.J. to use the original characters as a point of departure.  I went back and looked at what Jeffrey Hunter had done, of course.  I felt like it would have been foolish not to but they have very different dilemmas so there was room for me to do something that referenced what Jeffrey Hunter did without repeating it.

Q: Zach, what do you say to "Heroes" fans who don't like it that you are playing Spock and Star Trek fans that don't like it that Spock is playing Syler?

Zach: A fan war?  I don't know.  Fan reaction doesn't tend to be something that I attach myself to very much.  I care deeply about the work that I do and I'm grateful on so many levels for these very contrasting and challenging opportunities that I've had in the past couple of years.  But, my focus is my work and people's reaction to my work falls in the category of things that I have absolutely no control over.  I would certainly love to invite my "Heroes" fans to join us on this journey and, if not, don't be pissed.  It's all good! [laughter]

Q: Karl, McCoy seems to be the character that gets the most laughs…

Leonard:  I resent that. [laughter] I thought I had.

Q: He's the world's youngest curmudgeon already. How did you get into that?

Karl:  It was not easy.  I found what worked for me was to come up with a kind of a simple mantra, something that could envelope me like a jersey and it was simply this:  that McCoy is this sort of cantankerous, grumpy doctor with often the most appalling bedside manner, but beneath that exterior, beneath that often prickly surface, you have the most compassionate, altruistic, loyal, dedicated friend that you could possibly find.  And, to me, that's a real treasure of a character because he often gets to do the complete opposite of what he says.  For example, when he serves Kirk aboard the Enterprise, he's grumpy and cantankerous about it but what he's actually doing is helping his friend and sticking by his friend and that, to me, is a wonderful tribute.

Q: Zoe, in a sequel, where would you like to see your character go? Would you like to see your character get more combative or do more action? And what would you like to see happen with Uhura and Spock?

Zoe: I'd like to kick some butt.  Just be more definitely physical and have more participation in the action.  But, in terms of how the story unfolds with Spock, I really leave it up to J.J. and the writers.

Q: Leonard, you also direct.  Would you like to go behind the camera again?

Leonard: No, I'm done with all that, thank you.  I never set out to be a director.  When I was asked to, after Spock had died...sort of, in Star Trek 2 and they brought me in for a meeting and asked me if I'd like to be involved in Star Trek 3 and the making of it, I thought I'd been told I should be directing and I took it as an insult because I thought what's wrong with my acting? [laughter] But I thought maybe now, I should do that and I said “I'd like to direct the movie” and I suddenly found myself with a directing career which I enjoyed and I have enough of it. I directed I think 5 or 6 films. I had a good time.

I would like to say that, over the years, one of the questions I've often been asked is what contributes to the longevity of the interest in Star Trek and what makes it successful?  And I think one of the things that's easily overlooked is the fact that all of the people on this Enterprise crew, all of the people involved in these various characters in Star Trek are highly educated, highly professional people. They're, for the most part, scientists and they really know how to do their jobs.  I think people admire that.  People may not be consciously aware of it but somehow you sense that these are very professional people that know what they're doing and each makes their own contribution to the solution of a problem and I have to point out that there's great authenticity in this movie.  I think you believe these characters.  You believe these people are professionals and that has something to say about the quality, the professionalism and the challenge of all the people who are portraying these characters.  It's a brilliant cast they've put together here and I'm an admirer of all of the cast in this movie.  I think they've done a great job.

Q: Bruce, at the end of this film, we see your character in a wheelchair.  Do you expect we'll see how he got in that beeping box [in the series]?

Bruce:  I hope we don't see that for a long time.  I'm hoping that the marvels of future medicine will have him ambulatory.

Q: Leonard tried to distance himself from the series.  He wrote a book entitled "I Am Not Spock."  Zach, are you too concerned now about being too associated with Spock?

Zach: I think that was a different time.  I think there was a stigma attached to Science Fiction that doesn't exist anymore.  It's become so much more mainstream.  I think also people's attention spans, for better or worse, have diminished significantly since that time.  And I feel like really, it's incumbent upon myself to define the kind of career I want.  And, for me, that's a career of longevity and diversity.  So now, it's my job to hopefully utilize this exposure as a platform to do other kinds of work and immerse myself in other genres and to invite the avid fanbase of science fiction and Star Trek, specifically, to come with me on that kind of a journey now because that's the kind of actor I want to be, so no [laughter].

Q: Zoe, did you talk to Nichelle Nichols at all or watch some of her key episodes?

Zoe: I did not see the series.  As actors, we're prone to imitation and I was very, very afraid of falling into that pattern.  Nichelle did not deserve that and also, primarily, Uhura deserved better and my entire focus.  I do know that, by trusting J.J. and that's the wonderful thing about working with a director like J.J. Abrams, is that whatever he says he's gonna do, he absolutely delivers and it's majestic.  He's known for taking care of his characters while he's blowing up buildings and the characters are jumping off the highest tower in Tokyo, he's still very loyal to that. And as an actor, that is the warmest sensation you can ever feel.  So there were fundamental things about Uhura that were already in the script and he definitely helped me whenever I was not capturing enough or whatever, but I definitely wanted to have a very clean slate with her because she was young.  She can't really be this confident woman that has it all together all the time.  She's a kid and she’s infatuated and she's put under pressure and Pike literally tells her on the spot “Translate this frequency” and she's just like ”Oh my God!”  She's very much that way.  When I met Nichelle, that was the biggest sigh of relief for me to know that there was this complete and utter support and pride on her behalf towards me and the fact that she was very happy that I was playing Uhura made me feel so star struck.  I'm like “Wow, she know who I am.”  She was very happy and she basically told me to definitely follow my instincts and whatever my gut was telling me about Uhura to do it but to do it well and I slept very well that night.

“Star Trek” opens in theaters on May 8th.