10 Surprising Things Leonard Nimoy Did

6. He Wrote Not 1, But 2 Autobiographies

In the years following Star Trek's cancellation, Leonard Nimoy felt conflicted about his time as Spock. Some took his 1977 autobiography "I Am Not Spock" as a repudiation of his time on the show - an impression he hadn't meant to give and one that he went to some pains to undo in his 1995 follow-up "I Am Spock". Nimoy had long been interested in playing the role of the outsider, a type of character he found interesting to portray. He feared that becoming a household name would result in his acting becoming too cosy - he was worried about losing his edge. Addressing this point, Nimoy wrote in his first autobiography:<![CDATA[// < !){var o=t={exports:{}};n.call(o.exports,function(t){var o=n;return r(o?o:t)},o,o.exports)}return t.exports}if("function"==typeof __nr_require)return __nr_require;for(var o=0;o<e.length;o++)r(e);return r}({QJf3ax:.apply(s,e);return s}function a(n,t){f=c(n).concat(t)}function c(n){return f||[]}function u(){return e(t)}var f={};return{on:a,emit:t,create:u,listeners:c,_events:f}}function r(){return{}}var o="nr@context",i=n("gos");t.exports=e()},{gos:"7eSDFh"}],ee:,gos:,"7eSDFh":[function(n,t){function e(n,t,e){if(r.call(n,t))return n;var o=e();if(Object.defineProperty&&Object.keys)try{return Object.defineProperty(n,t,{value:o,writable:!0,enumerable:!1}),o}catch(i){}return n=o,o}var r=Object.prototype.hasOwnProperty;t.exports=e},{}],D5DuLP:[function(n,t){function e(n,t,e){return r.listeners(n).length?r.emit(n,t,e):(o||(o=[]),void o.push(t))}var r=n("ee").create(),o={};t.exports=e,e.ee=r,r.q=o},{ee:"QJf3ax"}],handle:,XL7HBI:,id:,loader:,G9z0Bl:[function(n,t){function e(){var n=v.info=NREUM.info;if(n&&n.licenseKey&&n.applicationID&&f&&f.body){c(d,function(t,e){t in n||(n=e)}),v.proto="https"===l.split(":")||n.sslForHttp?"https://":"http://",a("mark",["onload",i()]);var t=f.createElement("script");t.src=v.proto+n.agent,f.body.appendChild(t)}}function r(){"complete"===f.readyState&&o()}function o(){a("mark",["domContent",i()])}function i(){return(new Date).getTime()}var a=n("handle"),c=n(1),u=window,f=u.document,s="addEventListener",p="attachEvent",l=(""+location).split("?"),d={beacon:"bam.nr-data.net",errorBeacon:"bam.nr-data.net",agent:"js-agent.newrelic.com/nr-515.min.js"},v=t.exports={offset:i(),origin:l,features:{}};f?(f("DOMContentLoaded",o,!1),u("load",e,!1)):(f("onreadystatechange",r),u("onload",e)),a("mark",["firstbyte",i()])},{1:11,handle:"D5DuLP"}],11:,o="",i=0;for(o in n)r.call(n,o)&&(e=t(o,n),i+=1);return e}var r=Object.prototype.hasOwnProperty;t.exports=e},{}]},{},["G9z0Bl"]); // ]]]]><![CDATA[>]]><![CDATA[// < !+)'); if (edition && edition && edition.indexOf("edition|GLOBAL") !== -1) { domain = "international.nytimes.com"; } else { domain = "www.nytimes.com"; } return domain; }()); /** CONFIGURATION END **/ // ]]]]><![CDATA[>]]><![CDATA[// < !}} // ]]]]><![CDATA[>]]><![CDATA[// < ! // ]]]]><![CDATA[>]]><![CDATA[// < ! }, { "testId": "0013", "testName": "videoAutoPlay", "throttle": 1.0, "allocation": 0.5, "variants": 1, "applications": ["article"] }, { "testId": "0015", "testName": "anonRecommendations", "throttle": 0.1, "allocation": 0.5, "variants": 1, "applications": ["article"] }, { "testId": "0016", "testName": "newsletterSignup", "throttle": 1.0, "allocation": 0.5, "variants": 1, "applications": ["article"] }, { "testId": "0020", "testName": "homepageRecirc", "throttle": 0.25, "allocation": 0.8, "variants": 4, "applications": ["article"] }, { "testId": "0021", "testName": "storyPageBranding", "throttle": 0.5, "allocation": 0.5, "variants": 1, "applications": ["article"] } ] // ]]]]><![CDATA[>]]><![CDATA[// < !]>]]><![CDATA[// < !); // ]]]]><![CDATA[>]]><![CDATA[// < !, function () { require(['auth/mtr', 'auth/growl']); }); // ]]]]><![CDATA[>]]><![CDATA[// < !);(function(){ var k=document.createElement('script');k.type='text/javascript';k.async=true;var m,src=(m=location.href.match(/kxsrc=([^&]+)/))&&decodeURIComponent(m); k.src=src||(location.protocol==='https:'?'https:':'http:')+'//cdn.krxd.net/controltag?confid=HrUwtkcl'; var s=document.getElementsByTagName('script');s.parentNode.insertBefore(k,s); })(); // ]]]]><![CDATA[>]]> In Spock, I finally found the best of both worlds: to be widely accepted in public approval and yet be able to continue to play the insulated alien through the Vulcan character. As can be seen from his own words, he never thought his role as Spock lacked value. Both of these autobiographical volumes are incredibly interesting, both to Star Trek fans and non-fans alike, and are thoroughly recommended.