Leonard Nimoy Stands the Test of Time

The best advice Leonard Nimoy ever received was from none other than John F. Kennedy. It was 1956, and the future Mr. Spock took a job driving a taxi while he waited for his big break in Hollywood. “I got a call one night, to go to the Bel Air Hotel and pick up Mr. Kenndy,” the veteran actor recalls. “When I got there, I discovered it was Jack Kennedy, then a senator from Massachusetts.”

When Kennedy discovered his cabbie was a native Bostonian, he asked what brought Nimoy to L.A. “I told him I was trying to pick up the threads of an acting career. And he was the one who gave me the one-liner that I’ve carried with me for the rest of my life. He said, ‘There’s always room for one more good one.'”

Those proved to be prophetic words, for both Kennedy and Nimoy. In 1960, Kennedy became President of the United States. And in 1966, Leonard Nimoy became Mr. Spock of the starship Enterprise.

More than 30 years later, Nimoy tackled another icon – the prophet Samuel in the TNT production of David (Amazon.com, $13.46). Also starring Jonathan Pryce, Sheryl Lee and Nathaniel Parker in the title role, this miniseries followed several successful biblically based productions on the network, such as Joseph and Moses, both of which garnered Emmy nominations for TNT. All three films are available on videocassette and DVD.

“If you had said to me, ‘What do you know about the biblical story of David?'” he laughs, “I would say that he write Psalms, he slew Goliath, and he married Bathsheba. What intrigued me is this very interesting story of the Israelites deciding that they need a king.” The role of Samuel, a prophet and the Israelites’ spokesperson to God, remains close to Nimoy’s heart. “I learned the 23rd Psalm as a child: ‘Thou anointest my head with oil . . .’ It’s Samuel who does the anointing! It’s a wonderful role. I’m very excited about having been there and having done it.”

“Most of the scenes that I play are with the character of Saul, played by Jonathan Pryce.” In this production, Saul is a serious manic-depressive, and Samuel’s task is to let Israel’s first king know that his reign is over.

There are dangers, Nimoy warns, in portraying historical and/or biblical figures. “If you aren’t careful,” he says, “you find yourself spouting platitudes and very ponderous sounding speeches without being a human being. And the challenge, I think, is to find the human person inside that character and illuminate it so that the audience comes away with some fresh insight. That, to me, is the exciting challenge of the job, to try to bring it to life, because it’s coming off of very, very old pages.”

A period piece like David requires costumes and makeup with which Nimoy, veteran of genres from science fiction to Western, has become quite comfortable. In fact, he says, sometimes the costume helps to create the character. “When I was a very young actor, I studied and read the great books of people like Stanislavski from whom we developed many of our acting theories. There were whole chapters devoted to how putting on a hat or a coat or a cravat or carrying a case could affect the internal life of a character. When I get into the wardrobe department and look in the mirror, very often an important aspect of the character starts to take shape.”

While Nimoy claims to be slowing down and taking time to enjoy his success, his schedule appears to be busy as ever. In addition to his role in David, he has also published a book of his poetry, called A Lifetime of Love, for Blue Mountain Press ($16.95). This book, he says, illustrates in verse his own search for serenity and peace within himself.

Photography has also long been a passion of Nimoy’s; within this medium he has also been able to express his spiritual search. Shortly after publication of his book of poetry, he introduced a photographic essay called Shekhina – on the feminine presence of God. He is currently on a national tour to promote the book which is arriving in bookstores now.

In addition, he and his wife, Susan, recently donated $1 million to the Los Angeles Griffith Observatory renovation effort. Susan has served on the museum’s Board of Trustees since 1999 and has chaired the board’s development committee. When the landmark reopens later this year, Nimoy will have a 200-seat theater named after him.

Will he make time to return to the Mr. Spock role? “It depends on the circumstances. I always said I would be willing to discuss any ideas about the future use of Spock . . . depending on how it would be used.”

Still, he says, “Time is very precious to me. I guess I would take myself to task if I didn’t enjoy as much of my life as I possibly can. I’m exploring different passions now.”