Actor Leonard Nimoy was known for his role as Spock in the original Star Trek. The actor played the role for three seasons in the show and even reprised his role for the original films featuring the same cast. He also had a cameo as Elder Spock in J.J. Abrams’ reboot Star Trek and Star Trek: Into Darkness.
As a filmmaker, Nimoy is known for helming the classic Three Men and a Baby. However, he made his debut with the third Star Trek film The Search for Spock. While the actor’s new position made it awkward for the rest of the cast, Nimoy also reportedly respectfully insulted the directors of the first two films while pitching himself for the job.
Leonard Nimoy Proved Why He Was Perfect To Direct A Star Trek Film
The Star Trek franchise gained a new fanbase and became extremely profitable after the makers pivoted to making original films featuring the cast from the series. The series already had a cult following and making films with the same cast proved to be a homerun.
After the success of the second film Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, which is still considered to be one of the best of the franchise, actor Leonard Nimoy stepped in to take over as director. The actor played the Vulcan Spock in the series and films and he reportedly wanted to think about his career beyond the franchise.
Hence, while pitching himself to Paramount to direct The Search for Spock, Nimoy acknowledged the craft of previous directors such as Robert Wise and Nicholas Meyers but felt that they did not know Star Trek like him. He said (via Captain’s Logs),
I said to Gary Nardino [producer] — I was being arrogant — with all due respect to Bob Wise, who directed the first picture, a top-notch filmmaker; and all due respect to Nick Meyer, an extremely talented writer/director who directed Trek II; I know more about Star Trek than either of them and I said I could direct Star Trek III successfully.
The actor’s pitch was reportedly taken well by the producers, though they still had some issues to sort out. The film ended up earning $87 million at the box office and Nimoy went on to direct the fourth film as well.
William Shatner Felt Awkward With The Sudden Shift In Power With Leonard Nimoy
Leonard Nimoy and William Shatner, who played Captian James T. Kirk in the original series, began their Star Trek careers together and had reportedly formed a comrade-like bond. Shatner mentioned that they used to team up while resolving any issues with upper management. But that changed when Nimoy himself became the director.
Shatner admitted that he felt uneasy with the sudden change in dynamic as suddenly the Spock actor was calling the shots. He said in the book Captain’s Logs,
Leonard and I are the dearest of old friends. We had shared a mutual struggle with the management in various stages, whether it was a script, a thought, a concept, or a dressing room, and ask each other what we thought. We’d have a plan!
Whenever we were to deal with management, we’d plan it out together. Now, suddenly, my ‘brother’ was saying, ‘Well, you should do this and I think you should do that.’
However, William Shatner mentioned that the awkwardness slowly erased over time and he became more comfortable. Shatner would go on to helm the fifth film Star Trek V: The Final Frontier which was not as well-received.
Star Trek: The Search for Spock is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.
