Star Trek: Strange New Worlds star Ethan Peck opened up about fans of the long-standing science fiction franchise.
In a July 2025 interview with TV Insider, Peck, who plays Spock, was asked how he believes fans will react to the sillier moments in the third season of Star Trek: SNWwhich premiered on July 17. He said he believes that “it will be polarizing.” He then explained that “there are diehard Star Trek fans that want things to be as they were” in the original Star Trek television series, which aired from 1966 to 1969. Peck then suggested that some fans prefer Leonard Nimoy‘s version of Spock. As fans are aware, Nimoy originated the role of the beloved half-Vulcan in Star Trek: The Original Series.
“The fact that I’m not Leonard Nimoy will make our show just not right for them. That’s okay; they have the original series to return to, and the original series is wonderful in so many ways. Others will embrace it, and we’ll be able to bring on some new fans,” said Peck during the interview.
Peck also teased what fans can expect from Spock in the new episodes of Star Trek: SNWwhich is a prequel to Star Trek: Tos.
“He will continue to explore his humanness and grow and develop in that way. That’s sort of a theme of my Spock as I’ve played it on Strange New Worlds. And yeah, he will be put in uncomfortable situations where he has to learn to use his human qualities to his advantage at times when his Vulcan-ness just won’t be enough,” said Peck to the publication.
Peck began playing Spock during the second season of Star Trek: Discoverywhich premiered in 2019. While speaking to SlashFilm in 2022, Peck said he did initially base his performance of Spock off of Nimoy’s original portrayal, specifically his voice.
“In the beginning, when I was working on DiscoveryI really would reference Leonard Nimoy’s performance quite often,” said Peck in the 2022 interview.
Peck then clarified he stopped doing so “because [he] wanted it to be [his] own thing.”
“At a certain point, I stopped sort of reaching back into that, all those performances from those original series of episodes, because I wanted it to be my own thing,” said Peck to SlashFilm. “And I feel like his voice is so inculcated in my mind and my performance when I’m preparing for this. So I feel like I check in still with that voice.”
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