Fringe fans are bracing for a Spock: Leonard Nimoy will guest-star in the May 12 finale of J.J. Abrams’ Fox drama as…William Bell. That’s right — we will finally meet the mysterious founder of Massive Dynamic. (He’ll return next season for at least two episodes.) Here’s what Nimoy, who also stars in Abrams’ big-screen update of Star Trek, revealed about his TV guest gig.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: You worked with J.J. on Trek. Is that how this role came about?
LEONARD NIMOY: Yeah, he called me and said: “We have this character that’s been referred to but never seen.” He gave me some backstory on the guy and sent me some episodes to look at. I think the show’s extremely well done. And there’s enough intrigue about the guy to make it interesting.
There is a lot of intrigue surrounding William Bell. What can you tell us about him?
I can tell you that he’s very intriguing…. [Laughs] He has a great sense of his place in the scheme of things. Profoundly successful, very smart…. What’s going to be explored is the story of his relationship with [former lab partner Walter Bishop], what he wants with [special agent Olivia Dunham], what he is intending to do with all this money and power that he has, what are his idiosyncrasies. I think we managed to get some interesting touches into the brief scene with Anna [Torv, who plays Olivia]. We’re going to have some fun with this guy. I think we’re going to ring somebody’s bell…. It’s a blank canvas, and maybe a misleading blank canvas. Maybe there have been some clues about him that are misleading, and I think that’s part of the fun of the show.
Are you open to doing more than three episodes?
Yes, I am, depending on how much fun we have. It’s got to be fun for me these days, otherwise why bother? I had a terrific time doing what we already did, and I like [cocreators Abrams, Roberto Orci, and Alex Kurtzman] a lot. I like the possibility of this character. I’m excited for the first time in a long time.
Is the plan now to move from J.J. Abrams project to J.J. Abrams project?
Well, let me put it this way: When he calls, I definitely take the call.
What do you enjoy about working with him?
He’s so creative and energetic and loving. He’s a multi-tasking brilliant guy. You know, I worked for his father [producer Gerry Abrams] maybe 30 years ago on a TV movie [A Woman Called Golda].
So now you can say you’ve worked with multiple Abrams.
Talk about generations, right?
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How freakin’ awesome is that? I can not wait to see what happens. Fringe is already one of my favorites. Go Lenny!
I’m not a Star Trek fan or anything, but he seems like such a cool guy. I like Fringe, and I’m definitely looking forward to the finale, even more so now that I know he’s gonna be on it.
Love the way they paved the way for his character. Great job!
http://tvdonewright.com/2009/05/01/ratings-report-greyscsi-all-time-low-southland-continues-to-fall/
Incredibly excited for this! I’ve been following the series and I’m a Trekkie, so I think Leonard Nimoy will give the show a shot of pure awesome.
My Leonard Nimoy crush may get me to watch Fringe.
Dang, there goes my pet theory: that Walter Bishop actually *was* William Bell (same initials!), but had forgotten about it / modified his own memory to escape his guilt over what he’d done.
The big problem with stars like Nimoy is the “baggage” they bring along from their past roles. I’m still not sure I can handle “Sylar” as “Spock” but i have an open mind. In this case Fringe is such a fantastic show, incredible writing, amazingly convincing and strong characters that I imagine Mr. Nimoy’s “Spock” association will “vanish”. The story line and characters are so strong on their own that even now I can’t imagine his role in Fringe being anything but fantastic. I really hope it turns out as great as I imagine. With a “character” and actor like Nimoy in that role with those writers how can it go wrong? it would be fantastic to see him make a splash on TV again in a hit show. A role that will transcend his Spock character. If you see Nimoy in other roles you know he is ten times better than Spock but got locked into that role. I think Fringe has the potential to break that stereotype for him.
I’m so happy that Leonard Nimoy is guest starring on Fringe. I’m also glad to hear that he might do more than 3 episodes! He’s an iconic actor and Fringe could use such an icon at this juncture. A wonderful choice for William Bell!
I saw Leonard a few years back in an Outer Limits episode I could never make a connection between that character and “Spock”. I know that we are in for a great ride in story line and top-quality acting.
I love Fringe so much and having Leonard Nimoy Come on! What a great bunch of characters! I have heard he is such a wonderful man. When they refer to Star Trek on The Big Bang Theory all of the time-I heard Leonard actually signed a napkin for the episode with the signed napkin by him in it. That show is so funny and was so nice of him. I can’t wait to actually see him on Fringe! Thanks for the news!
I’m definitely looking forward to the final episodes. I think Leonard Nimoy is a good actor. It’s wonderful choice as the founder of Massive Dynamic.
leonard nimoy in the shoes of william bell is good idea
so far it seems few have noticed a coicidence….in the lat 70′s Nimoy hosted a show called ” In Search of…”…which dealt with paranormal and unexplainable occurances