Leonard Nimoy Returns as William Bell on Fringe
Master of Alternate Universe Offers Clues on Dunham’s Disappearance
Oct 8, 2009
For years now, J.J. Abrams has sung the praises of Leonard Nimoy as a film actor and icon. As it turns out, the admiration is mutual.
“Well, I first met him I guess about three years ago, when he first contacted me about the possibility of working together, and I went to a meeting with he and Bob Orci and Alex Kurtzman and some of his production staff,” Nimoy said in a phone interview. “They told me a very good and strong and touching story about their feelings about Star Trek and specifically the Spock character.
“It gave me a sense of validation after all these years. I had been out of it for some time, as you’re probably aware. There were several Star Trek series in which I was not involved, and Star Trek movies in which I was not involved. This was a re-validation of the work that I had done, the work that we had done on the original Star Trek. I felt very good about it and went to work for them.”
Pleased with the results, Nimoy agreed to take on the recurring role of William Bell on Abrams’ latest TV project, Fringe.
“I had a great time working on the movie. I think they did a brilliant job, and I think the audience response shows that that was the case and has reinvigorated the franchise. And when they contacted me about working on Fringe – the same people, the same attitude, the same creativity, the same creative team – it was very enticing,” Nimoy said.
Unraveling the Mystery
The actor, 78, will make his second appearance on the Fox sci-fi drama on Thursday, October 8 (9/8 Central). His character, the elusive founder of Massive Dynamic and former lab partner of Dr. Walter Bishop, was holed up in an alternate universe when audiences first met him. It was unclear if he was good or evil, or why he had fled into another realm.
FBI Agent Olivia Dunham, after searching for Bell throughout the first season of Fringe, found her way into a dimensional “soft spot” in the season finale. There on the other side, she stood face-to-face with Bell – inside his Twin Towers office.
She has since returned, but with no memory of meeting Bell or of the parallel world.
“In the episode … the scene in between myself and Olivia, I think we will learn a lot more than we have known in the past about what their relationship is all about, and what William Bell’s intentions are – or at least we will be told what his intentions are,” Nimoy said. “We’re not really quite sure that everything that he says is accurate or true.”
Nimoy is hopeful to continue playing Bell. Fringe is presently one of his favorite television programs.
“I think it’s extremely well done. It’s very nuanced. It’s complex. It’s a mixture of science and science fiction in a very interesting and intelligent way. And I think it has a long way to go in story telling,” Nimoy said of the show, now in its second season. “It tells a terribly interesting story, and the character that I was offered was potentially a very intriguing and controversial and fascinating character – very inviting for an actor.”
Sci-Fi: The Next Generation
Though he set the science fiction gold standard with the original Star Trek franchise, Nimoy is in awe of modern-day stories such as Lost, Battlestar Galactica and, of course, Fringe.
“Well, I’m really impressed. I’m impressed,” he said. “I think there’s some very, very good work being done, and certainly in terms of production value. It’s head and shoulders above what we were able to do years ago.
“I keep coming back to my baseline, which is the story. If the story is good and all this new technology can work to the service of the story, (then) I’m excited about some of the work that’s being done. I look and I say, 'Wow.' In (this) episode, there are things being done that I wouldn’t know how to do.
“I directed two of the Star Trek films, and I produced one. I don’t know how they’re doing some of these effects that they’re doing now in these TV shows and on TV budgets. I’m terribly impressed. I think it’s a very exciting medium to be working in today, particularly if the script is good (and) the story’s in place.”
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