Nimoy, Quinto - Spock Comparison

[VeryCherry]

Let me just first say, I'm not a first generation Star Trek fan. I grew up watching episodes of TOS on re-run and was around for TNG when it originally released. I was a teenager at the time. I've always been a huge fan of Star Trek, and TOS has held a special place with me. Not because of the writing, or the costumes, but the characters.

I was disappointed with the casting of Zachary Quinto as Spock. With the inclusion of Leonard Nimoy in the film, I thought it was crucial that they get the casting correct for Spock. I think Leonard Nimoy has a much more chiseled, rugged look. Where as, Zachary Quinto has a very round, boyish face. I know I'm not the target audience, but I can't help but be disappointed. At the very least, they could have got the make-up right!

Am I alone in this thought? Everywhere I turn, people say that the casting was spot on.

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[Tyberius]

I thinks it is as close as you can get without cloning the guy. Maybe there was a better looking actor, but the guy still has to act, and still has to work well with the director and all that. Given the requirements of the job I say it is good enough.

Pine/Shatner, on the other hand...

Let me just first say, I'm not a first generation Star Trek fan. I grew up watching episodes of TOS on re-run and was around for TNG when it originally released. I was a teenager at the time. I've always been a huge fan of Star Trek, and TOS has held a special place with me. Not because of the writing, or the costumes, but the characters.

I was disappointed with the casting of Zachary Quinto as Spock. With the inclusion of Leonard Nimoy in the film, I thought it was crucial that they get the casting correct for Spock. I think Leonard Nimoy has a much more chiseled, rugged look. Where as, Zachary Quinto has a very round, boyish face. I know I'm not the target audience, but I can't help but be disappointed. At the very least, they could have got the make-up right!

Am I alone in this thought? Everywhere I turn, people say that the casting was spot on.

____________________________________________________________________________________

 

[shapeshifter]

What did you expect, a clone of Nimoy?

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Ah, but would Quinto be able to pull off a 'Carl Spock' as well as Nimoy?

 

[ManOnTheWave]

The problem for me is recasting at all. I've known these characters played by the same people my whole life. Quinto doesn't have Nimoy's chiseled, stoic, and almost fearsome look. But neither does anyone else I can think of, and it's obvious that casting unkowns wasn't on the table, so he's about as good as it's going to get. I look forward to seeing what he does with the part.

 

[Jackson_Roykirk]

...I think Leonard Nimoy has a much more chiseled, rugged look. Where as, Zachary Quinto has a very round, boyish face....

Well, then maybe the 130 year difference in the ages of the two characters will be more believable.

I agree that it was more important for young Spock to look like Nimoy than it was for the other characters to look like the originals (since Nimoy is in this), but I think he looks close enough.

 

[Dane_Whitman]

I think Quinto looks terrific as Spock.

 

[VeryCherry]

The problem for me is recasting at all. I've known these characters played by the same people my whole life. Quinto doesn't have Nimoy's chiseled, stoic, and almost fearsome look. But neither does anyone else I can think of, and it's obvious that casting unkowns wasn't on the table, so he's about as good as it's going to get. I look forward to seeing what he does with the part.

I know exactly how you feel. I was disappointed with almost all the re-casting, but Spock hit home. I just can't see Zachary Quinto as Spock and take it seriously. I don't think Chris Pine has the hair to play Kirk. Karl Urban is an okay fit for McCoy. I don't very much care for Simon Pegg, but he can probably pull off Scotty. Anton Yelchin looks dopey, but Chekov sort of was. I thought Uhura and Sulu were okay re-casts.

They could have atleast done more with the make-up for Zachary Quinto to make him closer resemble Leonard Nimoy, and the Spock we all know and love. I have a feeling it will be a good movie, people will enjoy it, but it wont feel much like Star Trek.

 

[T'Aerwynd]

At first, I thought this was going to be a serious thread.

 

[Jackson_Roykirk]

...I don't think Chris Pine has the hair to play Kirk...

Then again, neither did Shatner

Seriously though, I don't know what you mean by this. Are you being literal? If you are, then I think Chris Pine's hair is similar to the hair "look" that young Shatner had -- but I don't see how the actor's hair should make a difference. If it was really important to Abrams that Pine have the same hair as a 1966 Captain Kirk, then they would have died it and styled it that way.

 

[THE CHEBB]

...I don't think Chris Pine has the hair to play Kirk...

Then again, neither did Shatner

LOL!

 

[VeryCherry]

At first, I thought this was going to be a serious thread.

I think Zachary Quinto would have been a better fit for a World of Warcraft movie.

 

[Basil]

Quinto doesn't have a round face -- that would be Simon Pegg. Quinto has a longish, big-nosed face somewhat like Nimoy has, so there is a similarity of type. But his features make him look more like a young Dennis Quaid than a young Leonard Nimoy. The baby fat gives Quinto a doughier look than Nimoy, but most young actors today have that slightly doughy look, perhaps because of ethnic differences, perhaps because of lifestyle ones. Where I grew up, there were a lot of people that had that "chiseled," weathered look, along with straight dark hair like Nimoy's, all of which was considered quite masculine. Many were eastern European. Nowadays, we seem to prefer, or perhaps privilege, a different look.

 

[Rarewolf]

I think Quinto looks terrific as Spock.

I think what he sounds like will matter just as much as what he looks like. Nimoy has such a distinctive voice.

 

[T'Aerwynd]

I think Zachary Quinto would have been a better fit for a World of Warcraft movie.

Yay. But seriously, comparing the two of them and using - what, MS Paint? - to draw red lines outlining how different they are and somehow using that as the basis of an argument that Quinto was a poor casting choice ... taking it a bit far, aren't we?

 

[Kryton]

Actually, in this pic I made 4 or 5 years ago (admittedly in about 15 minutes from available resources at the time), you can see how Spock's ears were different in every TOS iteration, whether it be TOS itself or the movies the ears were very seldom exactly the same.

 

[SonicRanger]

I just can't see Zachary Quinto as Spock and take it seriously. . . I thought Uhura and Sulu were okay re-casts.

You think Zachary Quinto doesn't look like Leonard Nimoy, but you think that John Cho looks like George Takei and Zoe Saldana looks like Nichelle Nichols?



I'll refrain from spelling out the obvious conclusion.

 

[Captain Pike]

The angle of new Spock's head is not identical to the angle of old Spock's head in the comparison shot in the OP. They are close, sure. But they are different enough that they force any 1:1 comparison of "landmark" features to be automatically skewed.

 

[Nerys Myk]

Ah, but would Quinto be able to pull off a 'Carl Spock' as well as Nimoy?

Solid!

 

[Kryton]

We reach!