‘Star Trek: Discovery’: Ethan Peck on How Leonard Nimoy, Zachary Quinto Influenced His Spock

With Star Trek: Discovery‘s second season, Ethan Peck will become the third actor ot play the iconic Vulcan Spock in the Star Trek franchise. Leonard Nimoy originated the role in Star Trek: The Original Series. Zachary Quinto plays the alternate universe version of the character from the Kelvin Timeline in Paramount’s rebooted Star Trek film franchise.

Speaking to ComicBook.com at the TCA Winter 2018 Press Tour, Peck addressed how his predecessors’ performances as Spock influenced his own.

“I mean, well the Quinto question’s a little different because he’s a part of the Kelvin timeline and my Spock becomes Nimoy’s Spock, which is the prime timeline,” Peck says. “And yeah, I spent a lot of time in the beginning, I would be studying my lines and have an episode on and just like literally just felt like I was spending time with him. I felt like he was in my head and I just tried to try to internalize what he did with the character. Also noticed what he did as an actor. I mean, he’s inevitable. You can’t, I wasn’t going to try to mimic him. He’s just amazing. So I really just tried to internalize it and regurgitate it my own way and hopefully, it works. I don’t know. I haven’t seen any of it.”

When Peck’s casting was announced, Star Trek: Discovery showrunner Alex Kurtzman commented on how he fits into the Spock legacy.

“Through 52 years of television and film, a parallel universe and a mirror universe, Mr. Spock remains the only member of the original bridge crew to span every era of Star Trek,” said Kurtzman in a statement. “The great Leonard Nimoy, then the brilliant Zachary Quinto, brought incomparable humanity to a character forever torn between logic and emotion. We searched for months for an actor who would, like them, bring his own interpretation to the role. An actor who would, like them, effortlessly embody Spock’s greatest qualities, beyond obvious logic: empathy, intuition, compassion, confusion, and yearning. Ethan Peck walked into the room inhabiting all of these qualities, aware of his daunting responsibility to Leonard, Zack, and the fans, and ready to confront the challenge in the service of protecting and expanding on Spock’s legacy. In that spirit, we’re thrilled to welcome him to the family.”

Are you excited for Peck’s debut as Spock in Star Trek: Discovery? Let us know in the comments!

New Star Trek: Discovery episodes become available to stream Thursdays at 8:30 p.m. ET on CBS All Access.