He’s got the ears, he’s got the beard, and soon, Ethan Peck will be introduced to Trekkies as the fresh-faced Spock of Star Trek: Discovery season 2. And frankly, we couldn’t be more excited.
The world-famous Vulcan is the kind of character who transcends Star Trek to become something else entirely – a legend – and during his appearance at New York Comic Con, Peck touched base on the lengthy audition process, and what it was like to wean inspiration from the late, great Leonard Nimoy. The real legend.
The Spock in The Original Series is sort of the light at the end of the tunnel. So, we have to start Spock in a place where he is becoming who we see on the Enterprise with Kirk. I’ve done a ton of research and read the [Leonard Nimoy] biography and watched The Original Series. I like the idea that there are little blips and appearances of Nimoy Spock and there are going to be more of those as we go on.
Knowing he’s about to slip into the shoes of Spock – the Spock – is still pretty surreal for Ethan Peck, and one need only look to the photo of him sitting shellshocked on the sidewalk to see just how much Star Trek: Discovery season 2 means to him. So we can readily expect a full, heart-on-sleeve performance from Peck when Discovery returns to CBS All Access in January.
Asked about the lengthy audition process, here’s what the actor told the NYCC crowd:
It was a long audition process. In the beginning, I didn’t know what I was reading for. I knew it was for Star Trek and this guy was struggling with emotion and logic. Towards the end of it I found out who he was, and I was “Oh, my gosh!” I had a panic attack during the last meeting with [executive producer Alex] Kurtzman. Later I thought, even if I don’t get it, what an incredible honor it was to brush arms with this character and this world. Then I got a text message from the casting director and she said, “Welcome aboard Mr. Spock” and I was in such shock. I was on the corner of some street and I sat down and cried for fifteen minutes, because I was so overwhelmed and overjoyed.
Season 2 of Star Trek: Discovery has been penciled in for a January 2019 premiere on CBS. Further details on next year’s space saga, including Spock’s role in it, will likely be revealed over the coming weeks, so stay tuned for more.
