Quinto-As-Spock Deal Almost Done [UPDATED]

You heard it here first. We have been reporting on Zachary Quinto as Spock since last December and it appears our sources that recently told us that Quinto is in talks were correct. E is now reporting that the Heroes star has a deal in place to be Spock for the new Star Trek movie, and all that is left to do is a few lawyers to sign off.

Assuming that this is true this means two things we have been reporting would also be true

  1. Abrams is looking at lesser known actors for the major roles
  2. Abrams is looking at young actors, but not as young as 20 (Quinto is 30)

UPDATE: Deal complete – Quinto will split time between Heroes & Star Trek

Good choice
In my opinion Quinto is a good choice for the new Spock. He has shown good range and the kind of intensity that the role as Trek’s most famous Vulcan will require. I also think it is a good sign that Quinto truly seems to want the role. In the May issue of Starburst magazine the actor is quoted as saying…

The exploration and immersion to be done with such a character would be amazing….

 

I tend to be the type of person who acts from a very visceral place and reacts emotionally to situations, and to ‘become’ a character that is completely the opposite of that is one of the reasons why I’m an actor. I would love the opportunity to understand what it is to only operate from a place of logic and look at things so specifically from that perspective

 

So we are still a couple days away from Comic-Con we already appear to have both our new Spock and our old Spock. Now…on to the new KIRK! 

MORE on Quinto:

IMDB Page

Wiki Page

Heroes Wiki Page

Unofficial Fan Site 

VOTE: What do you think of Quinto as Spock?

vote in the latest poll (right column)

for those who have did not see it in our previous article, here are some Quinto vids

scenes from the Heroes episode "Parasite" (note at the beginning Sylar’s character is pretending to not be Sylar)

Here is an interview with Quinto

Quinto along with his character Sylar has become quite popular. This is evidenced by the many musical mashups with Sylar clips you can find on YouTube….like this one

 

 

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He’ll be awsome. He’s great in Heroes.

Hmmmmmmmmmmmm.

Not knowing remotely anything about the guy, I’ll reserve judgement until I know a bit more about him, etc etc.

However, my first gut initial reaction is, no. He isn’t right for the part. My gut rarely if ever fails me. It would be a pleasant surprise to be mistaken.

Addendum:

The problem with casting Spock is the necessary gravitas and sheer presence required for the character of Spock. Spock has an aura about him that when you are in his presence you immediately feel you are in the presence of greatness. This is not a learned or practised ability. Certain people naturally have it, others do not. Leonard Nimoy has it.

Whoever is ultimately cast as Spock should be able to get a rooms attention with an “ahem.”

still can’t get my head around Shatner’s absence from the project…..

BEST!!

=h=

2,3
Perhaps he has the gravitas you require, we’ll wait and see.

Exactly Orbs, we’ll just have to see.

Think along the lines of Spocks entrance in TMP. The man commands attention.

Interesting… As the Comic Con gets closer I get more and more excited! What will we learn this week!

Aaron R.

Oh I have to disagree completely with that assertion.

Spock is Spock, regardless of age. He is a vulcan, one of the most well known Vulcans in the history of Vulcan. Spock had gravitas and presence during his final appearance on TNG and had it during his first appearance on TOS. There is no reason to expect anything less if he is 10 years younger, and to suggest otherwise implies an unfamiliarity with the character of Spock.

I’m beginning to notice a certain defense of ANY of every decision the producers of this film are making, occasionally a blind defense it seems. They should have room to play naturally, but if they are going to perhaps neglect the very core essence of what they are playing with, and people will rise to defend that, then what is the difference between what we are getting now and Berman Trek?

If the characters behave and perform unlike what we are accustomed to, and it’s chalked up to being “they are just younger”, then it’s the Anakin Skywalker phenomenon happening all over again.

I’m essentially the same person now I was 10 year ago, so were you, why should Spock behave or react any differently?

Personality has nothing to do with experience. Personality is developed at three years of age.

I think he’s an interesting choice….he’s got some of the sharp, well defined features that most of the best Vulcans from trek have had….should be interesting.

I agree with Anthony…gravitas and a sense of bearing is something that is acquired….and yes, people change as they gain life experience. A perfect example of that is in TMP….Spock changes a great deal by the end of the film.

I think after the past 15 years of Berman era Trek it’s healthy to be cautious and skeptical and not immediately dismiss, nor laud, ANY creative decision made without seeing how it plays out first.

I really don’t understand peoples perception. Do you want Spock just because he’s young behaving like a pimply faced teenager?
What happened to protecting the integrity of the characters attributes?

Hell, even as a kid on TAS , Spock had presence and gravitas and carried himself with astute dignity.

I don’t care to see Spock bumbling around like a dolt just because he is fresh off the Vulcan turnip truck.

re: 9
“I’m beginning to notice a certain defense of ANY of every decision the producers of this film are making, occasionally a blind defense it seems.”

I have noticed the same…a lot of unquestioning acceptance and general kowtowing to the producers and writers (who have yet to prove anything when it comes to Star Trek.).

Unless the film is set during the Academy, which doesn’t appear to be the case, then Spock won’t be too radically different. A little more tight-assed than normal(remember, he was pretty tightly wound during the first two pilots as well as early episodes of the series), but probably nothing too severe.

If this were set during his early years at the Academy, we’d probably meet an alienated young man who basically ran away from home and against his father’s wishes and who is trying to somehow reconcile who he is. Hence, we’d see a radically different character. Either way, the whole project will be interesting. I have faith in Abrams and Lindelof. They know that if this doesn’t work Trek will go away for a loooooooong time.

Spock certainly displayed emotion in “The Cage,” like the scene where he smiled at the oscillating plant. But, I agree a young Spock shouldn’t be too much different than the Spock we know.

KEEP LOOKING!!!!! Boldy go….just not there!

#12

It’s not “kowtowing,” it’s accepting that this IS indeed a fresh start/reimagining of the franchise we’re witnessing, and that there are bound to be a ton of changes. Some of us are actually excited by that idea, but others here clearly have a hard time accepting that.

And yes, we have some faith in Abrams because we think he’s proved with Felicity, Alias, and Lost that he’s not a hack.

#16

I agree completely. Some changes will definitely be made. We may not love all of them, but they’ll definitely be there. I’m going to go in with an open mind.

As for Quinto, I think he’ll be great. But I REALLY wish they’d stop using that manip at the top of the page. His bangs are way too low and his eyebrows aren’t the right shape at all.

17. Anthony Pascale – July 23, 2007

I’m getting the “He-is-not-of-the-Body-McCoy ” vibe here.

Just kidding, I will not jump on that bandwagon.

Anthony, thanks for the work on maintaining this site. Great comments on Spock. Agreed, maybe even a proto-TOS Spock sounds like something we’ll see. There is plenty established by the TOS episode Journey To Babel, about his childhood, his skills.. Spock’s character is so developed that one can only look forward to what is in store for us with regards to him.

Interesting points Anthony, but I think the initial post spoke to Quinto’s ability to pull off the gravitas of Spock. To me, gravitas is less a character development issue and more a character trait. Orson Wells, at age 25 had gravitas, has he did at age 65 – it was a trait of his and subsequently character portrayals.

I’m sure Quinto will be a fine Spock, but I also share a little skepticism, as Quinto strikes me as a little “wimpy.” But we shall see…..

#23

Anyone who saw Leonard Nimoy act pre-Spock would not exactly describe him as “manly” either….let’s give this guy a chance.

Freaking delighted

Intrigued. Looking forward to getting some real confirmation about things in this project! We’ve had something like a year of smoke and mirrors and rampant speculation. Now, finally, we’ll all have some concrete facts to argue about!!!

He has a very young voice.He needs to work on that .A little nasal too.Spock has a very distinguished voice.

24 – exactly. If you ever catch the Man from Uncle episode he did with Shatner pre-Trek, people would say he was an interesting character actor, not much more. Through the course of three years, Nimoy breathed life into Spock and achieved the depth of character we all know and love so well. But it was a process.

I agree with JC his voice work needs some training, but it’s not so far off that it will prove distracting (I don’t think at least).

Very exciting to be moving into the “real” phase of the movie!

Abrams is making a HUGE mistake by calling and casting this guy as a new Spock. Its sort of like this…You can call New York…New York – Miami and Vice Versa….two distinct people with the new actor taking over the role that was created for someone else. It just doesn’t make any sense to me.
Fine – have these guy be a Vulcan on a NEW Enterprise and etc but to expect him to fill in the role and boots of a unique character is simply asking to much. I can’t see anyone doing this role. As they took time to make Spock who he was they should do the same for this new guy – otherwise its not fair for all concerned. Either this guy will do a A-1 job or will fall on his face and have people laughing and wondering why Abrams didn’t properly go the more sensible route and just start out clean.
This applies to ALL the new actors filling for all of the old characters. Perhaps Abrams will wake up and make the right changes. Get a good story with the proper dynamics between the characters and just forget about bringing back old characters….its time to move on already so do it.

Quinto should be good at this. Great casting choice.

He’s got no more or less “gravitas” than Nimoy did as a young actor. Check out Nimoy on “Perry Mason” or “The Twilight Zone;” he was nearly typecast as a thug prior to Trek. Put pointed ears on this guy and let him act – that’s what it’s about, after all.

I am of mixed feelings on the movie thus far. I really am ambivilent towards JJ Abrams. I don’t like lost, but I thought MI III was a decent movie. I am not sure of a re-launch and re-casting of TOS is a godd idea…

But, I think that Quinto is a very good choice. His performance as Sylar on Heroes is great. He is an evil killer, yet Quinto makes him just sympathetic enough that he is not a one-dimensional menace. As Sylar, Quinto shows an ability to be a human that does not have/understand what it means to be a human being. He has no sympathy or compassion, yet he is portrayed as wanting those things (at least, up to a certain point). However, he just can’t achieve them, and fully embraces being a homicidal maniac.

Quinto may be the right man for this job. A great “character actor”, one whose name and reputation won’t overshadow Spock (which, I feel would have happened if Damon became Kirk).

Just my 2 cents anyway…

Abrams has a problem.

All the publicity (good or bad) regarding casting in this movie-be it about Quinto or Damon or whoever- is being DWARFTED by the buzz about Shatner and Nimoy. Just do a google news search for Star Trek XI and see how many times Shatner’s name appears to get some idea.

When mainstream theater goers hear that Quinto may be in the movie they go “Huh? Who?” “Really, a new Star Trek movie with new actors? Hmm. O.K.

When people hear that Nimoy or Shatner may be in this movie they say “Oh, Star Trek.” Yeah I like that show. When is it coming out?

#17…it think its quite the opposite. a young Kirk would be overly cocky . Over time and experience he would learn to temper that to the tos kirk we know. Just as Sock would show more emotion as he did in the cage and learn to supress it more as he did in tos. OMG did i just disagree with Anthony the Great? lol

#9 and 12 Stanky and Josh
Sorry, I disagree. Any defense of the writers and producers has been because they have come under undeserved fire from un-informed people. Most of want the movie to go well and there’s no point in being negative on them until we see a bad product..if we do.

#33
Yeah I guess so. Remember that this is the same guy who reprogrammed the Kobayashi Maru scenario in order to win, no matter what!! I don’t think he should be too quiet/passive in this one…

#32: “When people hear that Nimoy or Shatner may be in this movie they say “Oh, Star Trek.” Yeah I like that show. When is it coming out?”

Nope, all evidence is that most people stopped doing that after the fourth TOS-based movie – the box office of the two TOS-based films following that were disappointing to Paramount, which is why they decided it was time to fold that tent.

Most people when they hear that another Trek movie is coming out say “Oh god, another one?” and if Nimoy or Shatner are mentioned there’s snickering about their ages – Hell, people even remember Jim Carrey’s parody of that. These two things are what the next movie must overcome.

I’ve watched Heroes since the first episode. As soon as they revealed Quinto’s face, my wife and I said (at the same time, mind you, which was really cool), “My God, it’s Spock.”

Having watched the series, Quinto has definitely got the chops to take this role. Agreed, his voice tends to be a bit soft, but then so was Chris Reeve’s before he won the role of Superman. He took voice lessons and solved that right away. If Quinto does the same thing, I believe he’ll make a very formidable Spock. Granted, he’s got BIG pointed ears to fill, but I think he’s up to the task.

Plus, I gotta support him because he’s from my hometown.

Now let’s get to the rest of the characters and the production design. I’m dying to see what the sets are going to look like.

#17-

Why do you think it’s called comfort food? BECAUSE people like eating it over and over again. That’s the essence of it.

Willing enough to welcome him into the role if he ends up looking EXACTLY like the mock-up photo above…uniform colour and all ;) …I never did like the early muted ones of the “pilot” episodes.

I will be watching the start of “Heroes” here in U.K. for first time tomorrow, and look forward to seeing him in action over the series, and hearing how his VOICE sounds…

Not long now until “ComicCon” for the big Kirk revelations….or not…

If this movie takes place prior to WNMHGB, then I would expect to see a kind of vocal, louder version of our favorite Vulcan. He should not be like he was in TOS and the movies, which is really going to make it interesting to see how this Quinto plays the role.
That being said, I agree with the poster above who said he appears a little “wimpy”.

Excellent news. It will be “fascinating” to watch Zachary Quinto make the Spock character his own.

#38: “Why do you think it’s called comfort food? BECAUSE people like eating it over and over again. That’s the essence of it.”

Exactly so.

The problem is that not enough people like eating it again and again to make it worth Paramount’s investment in whipping up another batch of it.

See, the thing about comfort food is that folks take comfort in it because it’s familiar. They’ve usually been eating it since childhood.

What about all the folks who *haven’t* been eating it since childhood and can take it or leave it? Those are the people this movie needs to reach if it’s not going to be a colossal bomb.

Any movie aimed at the Trek “true believers” will fail at the box office.

At least Quinto isn’t 20…

re 9 & 12-

Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? Kind of recalls that leming-like mentality that pervaded Trek during the last decade or so, and much of the bleating echoing those sentiments are from the many of the same sheep who went down the chute willingly into Rick Berman’s MT Slaughterhouse, and we all saw how that ended.

Newsflash: That ain’t gonna work this time around, not with THIS Trek, it won’t. This ain’t BSG or [FILL IN THE BLANK]. No matter who’s in charge, there are certain liberties one doesn’t take with an institution, no matter the underlying reason or motivation. Star Trek is such an institution, and always shall be, because, unlike the rest, aside from a handful of hardcore proponents, society in general actually cares about what happens to this one, and they don’t want it messed with TOO MUCH for any reason.

Precisely.

re: #45

If that’s true, there’s no reason for Paramount to invest another penny in “Star Trek.”

#36 “all evidence …”

All evidence? Really?

O.K.

I stand corrected.

It is probably just a few of us here in my small town that think otherwise (Detroit.)

Oh and #43…

Nice job on the pic.

If Quinto is to be Spock, that is one less item of news that will be a surprise at comic con. So we will hope to find out 1. who is kirk. 2.what other characters we might see. 3. Official word on Shatner & Nimoy.

I don’t think we will learn all of this at this point. Hopefully we will. it will only generate more excitement and yet not give away too many plot details.

#47: “I stand corrected.

It is probably just a few of us here in my small town that think otherwise (Detroit.)”

And a few here in Washington, and a few in a lot of other places. And that adds up to…

A few million. That adds up to: A Bomb.

Anecdotal evidence – “All my friends agree with me” – is worthless to Paramount. They know good and well exactly where they’ve made money – and how much – and where they haven’t. That’s why they’ve given Abrams license to restart this thing. ;)