10 Actors Who Turned Down Star Trek
6. Martin Landau Did Not Want To Live Long And Prosper
When certain actors bring iconic roles to life, it can be impossible to picture others in that part. Zachary Quinto probably knew that all too well as he took over the mantle of Spock, but an ever stranger idea is the concept of Leonard Nimoy never even playing the legendary Vulcan in the first place. But that was almost a reality in the early days of the property.
When the pilot for the original Star Trek series was being created, the role of Spock was actually offered to the decorated Martin Landau. The Mission: Impossible (1966) star stated in an edition of Starlog in 1986 that his reason for passing on the iconic character was because "I can't play wooden. It's the antithesis of why I became an actor.".
Of course, with Spock being known for his lack of emotion, this seems like a perfectly valid reason to turn down the role. Nimoy may have felt some fatigue with the series after some time, but it's undoubtable that he brought forth far more passion that Landau seemingly would have.
Ironically, after Landau left Mission: Impossible after it's third season, Leonard Nimoy ended up filling the hole left by his departure, so it all came full circle.