Fringe Interview With Leonard Nimoy

With Fringe heading into the second season finale on the heels of inclusion in the fall lineup, things are looking pretty good. I was oddly impressed with the show's beginnings, but it lost some momentum for a while, and a third season order was no sure thing. Whether you're a huge fan or not, it's good to see some quirky shows get a chance to play out for a while.

Fans will be familiar with Leonard Nimoy's presence on the show, and he was recently available for a conference call interview to talk about the show, his character, and more. As you might expect, the sci-fi icon provided some very interesting talking points.

Don't miss "Over There Part II" on the 20th.

Enjoy.

I’m wondering what it is that brought you to appearing on Fringe.  Are you watching this show?  Did somebody approach you about being on there?  Was there a specific role set up for you?

Leonard I had a wonderful time working on the new Star Trek movie with JJ Abrams, who directed it.  When it was done, he asked me to look into the possibility of playing William Bell on Fringe.  I was frankly not terribly aware of what it was all about.

I began looking at some episodes that William Bell, the character, had been talked about rather frequently, but had never been seen.  I felt that I owed JJ a favor.  He did a great job on the Star Trek movie and treated me extremely well.

I’m very happy I did it.  The work on Fringe has turned out to be exciting and interesting.  It’s a terribly well produced series.  The character was a wide open canvas for me to work with.  I had a great time doing it.  Next week’s episode is particularly special for the William Bell character.

Your character has been a mysterious one.  We’re never quite clear of his motives.  How much did they tell you beforehand as you started to play the role? What he was up to, and if you weren’t quite clear, did you think about how much do I play him?  Is he perhaps evil?  Is he perhaps good?

Leonard The ambiguity is the trauma of the character.  I think all of those questions will be answered next week in the final episode.  We are still not quite clear, as of last night, about what his intentions are.  He keeps telling Olivia that she should trust him.  Maybe she has to.

I don’t know if she has any choice really, but there will be very strong involvement with Olivia and with Peter and particularly with Walter, which will, I think, answer the questions that you’re asking.  Those are the questions that everybody’s asking.  So, what’s it all about with William Bell?  We’ll find out next Thursday.

You’ve talked recently about how you’re going to be retiring from acting.  After you had done Dr. Bell on Fringe, was there something that felt like there was a finality, like you had cleared what characters you wanted to play, or is it just a time and space that you just don’t feel like acting is going to open any more experiences for you?

Leonard It’s really coincidental.  It wasn’t anything about the Fringe job or the character of William Bell that made me decide I didn’t want to do this anymore.  It’s a coincidence.  I’ve been at this for 60 years.  My first professional work in film was in 1950.  60 years, I think, is long enough.

I had decided not to do anymore acting and directing several years ago.  I was called back to work to do the Star Trek movie, which was very attractive.  I thought it was going to be a wonderful film.  I read the script and a great handling of the Spock character and an introduction of wonderful new actor to play Spock.

Then, JJ Abrams who is the executive producer of Fringe asked me to do the William Bell character.  I thought I owed him that.  I’m very glad that I did it because it was an exciting project.  It’s just coincidental that I decided some time ago that I really didn’t want to do this anymore.  I just this last job as a favor to JJ Abrams.  I’m glad I did it.  I think we’ll see an exciting episode next week.  It’s a very good note to go out on.

Even though you’ve had a lot of exotic material over the years that you’ve done, it seems like Fringe takes us to another level here because we’re into things like alternate existences and people being in two different places in one time and so forth.  Are there times where some of the Fringe material that just takes you out to get your head around it, or you have to stop back and think, “Whoa!  This is even more strong than anything in Star Trek”?

Leonard The best answer I can give you is that the Fringe television series is extremely well produced.  The production is far more sophisticated than anything that I was ever involved with in television.  Only the previous work that I was involved in was much more simplistic, production-wise, and these scripts are extremely complicated and very nuanced, very intelligent scripts.

I’m intrigued with how well they do these shows, not only in the concept, but in the execution.  I’m amazed.  Particularly the episode next week, I had a chance to be involved in some major production scenes, the likes of which I had never experienced in television.  You’re right.  The stories are unusually complex, but fascinating for an audience.  I’ve become a great fan of the show.

I was wondering what you could tell me about next week’s episode in terms of your scenes with John Noble.  I assume there will be some Walter-William showdowns I can look forward to?

Leonard Very strong.  Very strong scenes between Walter and William.  Exactly. I would say that’s at the heart of the episode.  Yes, very strong.  It was a great pleasure for me to do those scenes.  I admire John.  I call him, “Noble John.”  His name is John Noble, of course.  I call him, “Noble John.”  He’s a wonderful actor.  I

I also am an admirer of the rest of the cast.  I got to do some interesting work with Anna Torv who I think is a wonderful actress too.  Yes, there’s a very strong relationship resolution between Walter and William next Thursday night.

What do you think is the most interesting aspect of William Bell’s character?

Leonard I think it’s the fact that he’s disarmingly unpredictable.  He keeps saying, “Trust me,” but then you’re not quite sure if you should.  That is probably the most interesting thing about him.  He’s obviously a man of great intelligence and a powerful figure, but most intriguing is what his intentions are.  What is his agenda?  What is he really after?  What’s he trying to accomplish?  We’ll find out more about that next Thursday.

What has made a career in this industry rewarding for you, would you say after all these years?

Leonard Well, I set out to be an actor when I was 17 or 18 years old.  I left Boston, traveled to California to try to build a career.  My very first efforts were very humble.  I worked in a Saturday afternoon serial called, “Zombies of the Stratosphere.”  It was very primitive and very crude, but I was eager to do the work and happy to get it.  It’s been exciting to me to work on soundstages and on locations all around the world.

I’ve worked with some great, great talents.  I worked with a number of Academy Award winners and a number of Emmy winners, with wonderful, talented people.  The Star Trek character, Mr. Spock, has been a blessing to me because I find it a very dignified and a positive character and a great role model for a lot of people.

I am one very, very grateful guy.  Ever since Star Trek put on the air 1966, I have never even had to consider myself with whether or not I would work again.  There was always work available to me.  So, it’s all about gratitude for me these days.  Thanks for the question.

What was it like for you on the last day of filming on the set of Fringe since this was the finale?

Leonard It was very moving.  I had the same experience on the last day of filming on the Star Trek movie about a year-and-a-half ago.  This was a very moving experience.  It was a night scene, a very brief scene.  In fact, the last night, the last work that I did was the scene that was on last night between myself and Olivia, Anna Torv.  I had mixed feelings about it.  I didn’t want it to end because the experience had been such a positive one, but of course, we had to get it done.

When it was done, the entire company gathered around.  There was a lot of love exchanged.  I said to them, “I’ve been at this for 60 years.  I have never worked with a better company.”  I meant it.  They do an amazing job on the Fringe series.  It just feels really good to know that I’m saying goodbye to the work on a very positive, good note.  I feel very good about the work that was done.  I’m looking forward to it being on the air next Thursday.

That’s a lovely question.  I appreciate your thought.  Thank you.

What excited you the most about how William Bell had developed over the season?

Leonard Well, there’s always been the questions of what are his intentions.  The writers have done a very good job of keeping the answer to that rather obscure.  I’ve tried to make him disarming.  I’ve tried to play him ambiguously so that, although he keeps saying, “Trust me,” you’re still not quite sure if you should.  Even in last night’s episode, he’s saying to Olivia, “I know that you have reason not to trust me, but I’m afraid you’re going to have to.”

I think we’ll find out whether or not he’s telling her the truth in next week’s episode.  We’ll find out whether or not it was corrected ….  It’s going to be a very exciting episode.  It’s extremely well-produced.  The performances by all of the actors that I got to work with were wonderful.  I had a great time doing it.  I’m looking forward to seeing it on the air next Thursday.

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Marc Eastman is the owner and operator of Are You Screening? and has been writing film reviews for over a decade, and several branches of the internet's film review world have seen his name. His reviews have brought him personal praise from the director of a major motion picture, and have been used as required reading in a course at a major University. These priceless rewards, along with just bags of cash, keep him from straying from freelance writing. He is also a member of The Broadcast Film Critics Association and The Broadcast Television Journalists Association.

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