Leonard Nimoy, Star Trek’s Spock Prime, was supposed to be retiring, however that break seems to be delayed. Nimoy has already announced a number of convention appearances, and now the actor says he may be returning to TV to reprise his role on the Fox sci-fi show Fringe. Details below.
Nimoy talks return to Fringe
Last May Leonard Nimoy appeared as William Bell in the season finale for Fringe, the sci-fi show created by the Star Trek team of JJ Abrams, Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman. At the time Nimoy said it would be his last job as an actor.
Nimoy in Season 2 finale of "Fringe"
However, today the actor revealed that there may be more. This afternoon Nimoy let his Twitter followers know that there is a plan developing to return to Fringe.
Combined with his announced slate of 2011 convention appearances, Nimoy’s much talked about retirement seems to have been put off a bit longer.
This in not the first indication that Nimoy could return to Fringe this season. In October Christopher Lloyd said that Nimoy would be joining him on Fringe. That episode ("Firefly") aired last week without Nimoy, however a source tells TrekMovie that the Fringe team did attempt to get Nimoy into that episode. That episode was shot shortly after Nimoy was hospitalized for abdominal surgery, but it appears that the Fringe team have continued to persue the actor to come back to the show.
Boy, I don’t think even SINATRA came out of retirement this many times!
Mr Nimoy is a great actor and fun at the conventions. I am glad he will still make appearances.
Great news. Some of the best episodes have this man in it.
Nice. Though I do think he should just stop saying he’s retiring. It’s not really necessary to make an announcement about that anyway.
I think he’s simply finding retirement boring.
Now, if only he could be onboard for the Enterprise’s next mission.
In my opinion, Leonard Nimoy can come out of retirement as many times as he wants.
Oh, don’t get me wrong! I’m thrilled that Nimoy is still around and would like to see him in the next movie!
A-men number seven
I liked “The Firefly”, but I don’t see where William Bell would have fit in the story.
And we’re supposed to believe he won’t change his mind about doing Star Trek? ;-)
I still think the next film would be better off with a cameo of Spock Prime addressing the crew of the Enterprise, warning them about dangers, encouraging them to trust in themselves, etc. And passing his knowledge on to the new Spock via mind meld. Otherwise, without any of the charters from the original timeline in the movie (or at least their knowledge and experience), it gets a lot less compelling.
He should be SEMI-RETIRED so he can do photography exhibits in between! That makes sense to me, fascinating! :D
Nimoy should return as Bell and wrap up a series finale for “Fringe”…enjoy the show, but I feel the formula is getting stale and they should get out while its good. Don’t wait to be canceled like Heroes. Go out with dignity.
If Nimoy keeps pulling a Brett Farve, nobody’s gonna believe him when he actually DOES retire. LOL!
@14
Let’s hope he doesn’t pull a Brett Farve in other aspects of his life! ;-)
Maybe he could dub “Galvatron” again in a future live action Transformers movie.
“You are NEVER too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” – C.S. Lewis
I hope Mr Nimoy does one more Star Trek Movie. Would be great to see. Maybe have the Shat appear with him. Would be so Kool to see the orignal Kirk and Spock together one more time.
@18. Answered prayers. Mr. Shatner HAS to say goodbye to Spock somehow. And I don’t care if it gets in the way of the “new” cast. They are basically playing the “old” cast anyway.
15. “Let’s hope he doesn’t pull a Brett Favre in other aspects of his life!”
Hey, come on, he knows how to work a camera! :>)
Wow….Nimoy is the one who deserves retirement the most, and he’s having the hardest time staying away. THough I’ll say that he might consider the new convention appearances as a kind of apology to those who were expecting him at cons last year when he had his surgery.
Fascinating !!!! hes the man!!! cant wait to see him in vegas!!
He probably came back because he thought the script was delicious….
If I am 1/10 as awesome as Leonard Nimoy when I hit 80, I will be a very content man! :)
Some of you Fringe fans can help me. But I thought Walter was disintergrated. Or did he vanish into another parallel universe? Anyway, it’s great to have him back on Fringe. And how about a cameo on Star Trek 2012 where he talks about the status of the new Vulcan colony?
sometimes people go into retirement thinking, “I’ve done enough, it’s fun, but i’ve done enough, and retirement is going to be even more fun” and then they live the retired life for awhile and say “Hmm, not quite the fun I thought…”
Could be Nimoy’s case.
Woohoo! Glad to hear this news.
Retirement is a dumb concept. A person should simply scale back their workload proportionally to their energy level. That’s what I plan on doing when I grow old. I don’t believe in dead stop retirement.
for number 25. The William Bell Character (not Walter, although that’s an easy slip) basicly used himself to get the other’s back to the their universe, the last episode of the previous season. The idea was that he was no more, once he did that. What I suspect, is that we are going to see alot more flash backs. I think that would work best. IF we try and bring William back into the shows present, it’s going to need a lot of “I can actually believe that within the context of the show” explanation.
@ 15 I’m Dead Jim says, “Let’s hope he doesn’t pull a Brett Farve in other aspects of his life! ;-)” and @ 20 Harry Ballz.
Last time we saw Spock (Leonard Nimoy) he wasn’t a captain but an ambassador.
So there’s no need to show the captain’s log!
29
“Last time we saw Spock (Leonard Nimoy) he wasn’t a captain but an ambassador.
So there’s no need to show the captain’s log!”
Then just get the Shat into the sequel. You’ll have your “captain’s log” right there!
People, please remember that last year he had two surgeries. That he was ill probably factored into his decision to announce his retirement in no small amount. Now that he has obviously healed he’s back making plans for the FUTURE. That’s something to rejoice about, not berate him for changing his mind.
Good 4 mr nimoy. He seems to enjoy working with JJ and company. Also goes to show Fringe is a dam good show. Was scared 4 it, when it was moved to Fridays. Even though i don’t live in the US of A i do know that can kill a show but she seems to be holding her own. Sorry if my grammer isn’t much cop. I have just been sedated at the dentist
Leonard Nimoy is too good and too driven to walk away. If there’s something creatively challenging to do, and it interests him personally, he’ll do it! He’s always been that way…!
Good for him! He immediately provides class and credibility to any production he participates in….!
@25 and @ 28. William Bell used himself as “fuel” because his molecules were so unstable, but of course being an engineering genius it could all be smoke and mirrors.
Remember also that there is another William Bell, on on the other side who is presumably dead, but what if that William Bell isn’t really dead? That OTHER William Bell was always the ace-in-the- hole that J.J Abrams could play if Mr. Nimoy chose to return to the show.
And if that’s the case, then you have any number of possibilities:
I’m betting that his brain has also been cut up like Walter’s and that he’s been wandering around as a mentally ill homeless man, myself. Or maybe the William Bell that we know is really the alternate William Bell, and he’s stolen the identity of the real William Bell or…well, you get the picture.
In amy event, I’m hoping that when William Bell returns he falls for Olivia and we get some major May-December action next Fall. A pity to waste such a sexy guy as Leonard Nimoy (even at 80.)
P.S.- Please don’t blame Mr. Nimoy for falling ill. I was at MassMOCA this summer and we were already seated in the audience when the announcement was made that he would be unable to attend. I know that he fully expected to be there, and tried his darnedest to get there, but his doctors overruled him. He only cancelled at the last minute because he had to have EMERGENCY bowel surgery right there in Western Massachusetts. We are very, very fortunate to have him still with us and in good health, because what he had, a ruptured diverticulum, is what led to his father’s death. He wrote very movingly about this in “I Am Spock.”.
This makes me feel pretty positive that if Mr. Nimoy is asked to join the next film he would at least strongly consider it.
Why should Spock Prime be trapped in an alt universe? Correct me if I’m wrong, but in every other similar circumstance the character in the wrong timeline has been placed back where he belongs.
Would love to see Nimoy back on Fringe. Love the episodes with him in them – and his facial expressions when Walter does his off-the-wall stuff are priceless. Those two play off each other wonderfully.
By the way, if you’re reading, Bob Orci, loved the season opener – great show, and I hope it flourishes on Friday nights. Also, took your advice about seeing “City Island” last week. My wife and I enjoyed it, thanks –
“the Fringe team have continued to peruse the actor to come back to the show. ”
Well, I know that I’ll “peruse” pretty much anything Leonard Nimoy does these days. But I’d bet that the Fringe folks will continue to PERSUE him.
37:
Or even PURSUE?
I’m guessing Christopher Lloyd’s character’s son was originally supposed to be William Bell. Instead of getting a visit from his son, he probably was a old friend of Bell’s.
Your audience awaits Leonard. Please we want more.
Being a retiree myself, I can fully understand how Nimoy feels. You want to be and feel useful. He knows that he still has much to offer. Most of us feel the same way. The thought of us being “Put out to pasture” is NOWAY! In Nimoy’s case this is especialy true. Get back to work Spock you still have alot to do……you’e devoted fans await you, God bless.
#13
Are you kidding? The show’s storytelling is at an all time high. It’s only improved with each episode/season. Let’s hope a series finale is a long way off.
personally I want to see hmi again on the series. I believe he keeps coming out of retirement because people keep trying to get him on their show. I know for certain that William Shatner says that he is going to do his best to make sure Leonard doesn’t retire. He is trying to get Leonard on his show. Shatner always attempt to get Leonard out of retirement.
I like Nimoy a lot.
That being said I feel compelled to let you
know that actors never “retire”. This is one
of the oldest gimmicks in Hollywood
history to let creators & producers know
that the actor is looking for a raise. Money
ALWAYS talks.
The only celebrity I can remember retiring
and staying out of the spotlight afterwards
was Johnny Carson. Everyone else comes
back if the price is right (or if they just plain
need the money).
31
who on here was berating him for pushing back his retirement.
Everyone seems to pretty much agree its a welcome thing to hear from him.
He’s been dead before.
Another Q…. Sean Connery…. When that guy disappeared… he disappeared.
great news! now we need to see (or hear) mr. nimoy as smaug in “the hobbit.”
AP, Nimoy is still accurate in stating Bell would be his last role.
.
Please stop portraying him as having changed his mind about retirement. He retired from doing any other acting. Bell is his last role… he said that. He did NOT say he wouldn’t continue to portray Bell as needed. Semantics.
I believe Sean Connery officially retired, like Gene Hackman did. But who knows – when someone offers you a deck of cash to come out of retirement for a few weeks, Hell – I’d do it.