Leonard Nimoy Cried Watching New Star Trek Movie

Actor Leonard Nimoy admitted to shedding a tear or two while watching the new "Star Trek" movie.

Nimoy played the character Spock in the original "Star Trek" series — a half-Vulcan, half-human who usually takes a dispassionate, logical approach to everything. The actor has reprised that role as the older Spock who talks to his younger self in the new movie that opens nationwide on Thursday.

"The movie is big, gigantic movie movie, cinematic movie," Nimoy told an audience at this year's FX International Con in Orlando, FL. "But it's also got great heart with the characters."

The new "Star Trek" looks at the origins of the original Starship Enterprise crew, and examines how a young Captain Kirk and Spock first struck up their friendship after a rocky start. Director J.J. Abrams, known for his work on television shows such as "Lost" and "Fringe," had said he wanted to make an accessible mainstream movie that stays faithful to the series.

Nimoy said that he had felt marginalized as waves of new "Star Trek" movies and shows have come and gone, and thought "'It was over for me.'" But Abrams and his writers convinced Nimoy to come back on board by impressing him with their dedication to the original "Star Trek" series.

"I was struck by the intensity of their feelings about the classic Star Trek material that we did," Nimoy noted. "I was very touched by it."

The memories and emotion hit home when the actor finally saw the fully completed movie.

"I gotta tell ya, I cried a lot," Nimoy said. "I did, I sat there and cried a lot watching it."

"Don't tell anybody," he added jokingly to the convention crowd. "It's out of character for me."

Nimoy also spent time talking about his previous work directing and acting in the "Star Trek IV" movie, where he got some ideas from SETI scientists who spend time searching for signs of extraterrestrial life.

Near the end, the actor joked that fans would want to see the new movie "seven or eight times," which a fan amended by shouting out "opening weekend."

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