Leonard Nimoy, best known as “Mr. Spock” to millions of Star Trek fans around the world, remains active in Hollywood today. The 78-year-old actor served as a bridge between the original Star Trek and J.J. Abrams’ re-boot, which earned over $384 million at the global box office. In addition to the DVD and Blu-ray release of Star Trek, Nimoy will appear throughout this season as William Bell on Abrams’ latest hit TV series, Fringe, on Fox. 

Nimoy made his annual pilgrimage to the Las Vegas Hilton for the Las Vegas Star Trek Convention this year, where loyal fans have been making the trek for decades.

“Star Trek went on the air in 1966,” says Nimoy. “Many of the recent film’s audience had not arrived yet. There were three seasons on TV and then we were cancelled. And then there was the animated show. And then in 1977 I sat in a packed theater in New York and I watched as a crowd cheered at the first Star Wars film. I thought to myself, ‘I’m going to be getting a call from Paramount soon.’ The call came and we made the first Star Trek movie and then we made five more with the original cast and four more with The Next Generation. There were more series, more captains, more crew, many novels by Bill Shatner. And now there’s been a new and amazing new movie.”

Nimoy has been around through the highs and lows of Gene Roddenberry’s sci-fi masterpiece. The actor even appeared as Spock in a two-part story arc in Star Trek: The Next Generation called “Unification.” So when Abrams approached him to put on the rubber ears one last time, he gladly accepted. And now he’s seen the rebirth of Star Trek around the world.

“I think the movie is terrific,” says Nimoy. “It has obviously revived the franchise. There’s a tremendous amount of new interest in Star Trek as well as a new audience for Star Trek. There are a lot of young people who never saw Star Trek before who went to see this movie who are now interested in Star Trek. And I think there will be a number of them who will be interested in a videogame and a number of them who will be going back to the original episodes to take a look to see what the roots of all this are all about.”

In addition to the recently released Star Trek movie—which comes with a bonus disc that includes the Xbox 360 and PC version of Paramount Digital’s videogame, Star Trek DAC (a game that can be played in 3D with NVIDIA’s 3D Vision stereoscopic glasses)—Paramount Home Entertainment has released the first two seasons of the classic television show on Blu-ray.

Although today’s special effects–spoiled audiences, who were treated to a much different Star Trek with Abrams behind the camera, might have problems getting past the old sets and the now-cheesy special effects, the original series has held up in one area, according to Nimoy.

“The essential ingredient that I think is still viable today is the idea of a group of very professional, well-educated, well-trained people working together as a team to solve problems,” Nimoy says. “I think that was the case in the '60s, and I think that’s still the case. I don’t know how relevant the stories are going to be in terms of social issues, which we covered during the 60s. I think the times have changed and I think Star Trek will find its own path for the future. I can’t say that there’s a definite connection. But I say I think the thing that still remains relevant is a team of professional, educated people solving problems together.”

While Star Wars has faded after the much-ballyhooed but critically lambasted Episode I through III, it’s now Star Trek that has taken center stage once again in the theaters. Abrams is working with screenwriters Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman on the next film. But why has Star Trek endured for so many years?

“I think one of the most important aspects is the sense of hopefulness about the future,” explains Nimoy. “When the world we live in becomes much more complicated and difficult and then the Star Trek cast, the members of the Enterprise crew, manages to solve a problem with a level of morality and ethics that Romulans could relate to. These are good people doing good work for good reasons. I think that’s terribly important. It’s a big part of what the whole franchise is about: the hopefulness of the future.”

In this year’s Star Trek re-boot, Nimoy has a scene in which his Spock, who has traveled through time from 2387 to the year 2233, meets his younger self, played by Heroes star Zachary Quinto.

“It was very moving to me…he’s a very, very good actor—very intelligent. He’s well-trained. He knows his work, and he’s very professional. If it had been a lesser actor it could have been disturbing for me to see the character pass on to somebody who I didn't think was appropriate. He was a very appropriate actor for it, and I’m very pleased that the character passed on to him. I think it’s in good hands.”

Over the years, Nimoy has directed Star Trek III: The Search for Spock and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, which remains a fan favorite and stands out as one of the most mainstream of the original films. But the actor believes his latest role as the famous Vulcan will be his finale.

“I frankly doubt very much that I will be asked to do that again,” said Nimoy. “I think they wanted me involved in this movie to help make the transition from the old crew to the new, from the old cast to the new, and I think they did that very cleverly and very successfully. I’m not quite sure how they would find me useful in the future.”

Last summer at the Las Vegas Star Trek Convention, Cryptic Studios found a very good use for Nimoy. They brought the actor in to serve as the ambassador for their upcoming 2010 massively multiplayer online (MMO) game, Star Trek Online. Cryptic Studios, which is now owned by Atari, showcased the first details and gameplay of the much-anticipated game at the convention.
[Editor’s note: At that time it was hoped that Spock, voiced by Nimoy and rendered in his likeness, would be included in the game. Unfortunately, as it now turns out, he did not.]

“Star Trek Online is a game that gives the fans an entry into the Star Trek universe in a way that has never been experienced before,” says Nimoy. “For the first time, instead of being a spectator from afar, thousands of players can step inside the experience and go where you’ve never gone before. It allows fans to add their own stories to the Star Trek universe. Through a new and exciting way, Star Trek lives.”

While Nimoy has never touched a video-game of any kind, he has worked on numerous Star Trek games over the years, providing voice work as Spock. But the extent of that work—which would include phrases like “Set phasers to stun,” and “Yes Captain, I’m getting a signal”—was as close as Nimoy ever came to the burgeoning videogame space. He said he has never even seen a finished version of any Star Trek game he worked on. But he did have some advice for Cryptic Studios, the developer that will open the Star Trek universe to gamers next year.

“I think humor is very important to Star Trek fans,” says Nimoy. “If you look back over the product that has been done in the past, the stuff that has had intelligent humor has been the most successful product and people have missed that. As a matter of fact, when I made Star Trek, which I think had humor, I remember talking to a newspaper man who had seen the picture and was going to review it and he said, ‘I don't think Star Trek fans are going to like this movie because there’s too many jokes. They won’t go for the humor.’ I said, ‘You are absolutely wrong. Totally backward.’ We had not had enough up to that point. They like to laugh at the things that these characters do and say to each other. I think it’s important if there’s a way for humor to find a way into this game.”

For those wondering if the latest Star Trek movie will influence the game, it will, although the game is set in the prime Star Trek universe of the TV series and movies. Once Spock traveled back through time in the latest film, everything that happens afterward takes place in an alternate universe. With Spock’s swan song now behind him, he’s not only handing over the ears to Quinto, but he’s introducing a whole world of gamers to the very universe he has lived in for five decades.

So what is the secret to living long and prosperously for the human who brought the Vulcan Spock to life for generations of fans?

“Eat well. Have a good partnership. Have a nice marriage. Enjoy your kids. Enjoy your grandchildren, and enjoy your life and do the best you can,” says Nimoy, with a hearty laugh that Spock would likely find illogical.