Leonard Nimoy became known to the world as Spock when he played the role in the original Star Trek. The actor became a household name as the popularity of the show and the character gradually increased. He was one of the three actors to get top billing in the show’s opening credits.
While Nimoy and co-star William Shatner were known for hogging the spotlight, Nimoy was reportedly more receptive to his co-stars’ grievances. The star reportedly made sure actors like Nichelle Nichols and George Takei were hired back for Star Trek: The Animated Series.
Leonard Nimoy Championed The Hiring Of Two Minority Star Trek Actors
Gene Roddenberry’s Star Trek has always had a positive outlook towards the future. According to the creator, the future would have humans who were dedicated to their work and would be more accommodating of people of other cultures, races, and genders. This set it apart from other sci-fi dystopian futuristic franchises.
Hence, the show became revolutionary for featuring actors such as Nichelle Nichols and George Takei in leading roles in the series. Nichols played Uhura while Takei played Hikaru Sulu in the original series. However, the two actors were reportedly not called back in for the animated series, which was produced after the original gained traction during reruns.
Leonard Nimoy, who gained fame for his role as Spock and had top billing in the show, reportedly took the issue to the front office and threatened to walk if the two actors were not hired back for Star Trek: The Animated Series. According to Trek Movie, Nimoy said,
There was also the case where George and Nichelle were not hired to do their voices in the animated series. I refused to do Spock until they were hired. Mr. Roddenberry started calling me the conscience of Star Trek.
Nimoy reportedly also stood up for Nichols when he got to know that she was getting paid less than Takei and Walter Koenig.
Leonard Nimoy And William Shatner Got An Angry Letter From Star Trek Creator Gene Roddenberry
While Leonard Nimoy was known for being a champion for the issues of his co-stars, he and star William Shatner were known for hogging the spotlight on the series. The production office reportedly had an open-door policy to address issues on the show from actors, but the two lead actors were known to have often misused it.
Reports of Shatner changing lines of co-stars and giving it to himself and Nimoy positioning himself as the lead has surfaced on the Internet. After receiving complaints from the production, creator Gene Roddenberry reportedly wrote an angry letter to both the actors. As revealed in the book The Fifty-Year Mission (via Slash Film),
Toss these pages in the air if you like, stomp off and be angry, it doesn’t mean that much since you’ve driven me to the edge of not giving a damn…For as long as I stay with the show, starting Monday, there will be no more line switches from one to another. No more of the long discussions about scenes which lose us approximately a half day of production a show.
The showrunner reportedly bashed both the stars for not being professional and misusing the open-door policy. He reportedly even lashed out at Shatner for setting a bad example as Captain Kirk.
Star Trek: The Original Series is available to stream on Paramount+.
