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See Leonard Nimoy Become Spock for the Last Time

In his final years, Leonard Nimoy warmed the hearts of millions of Star Trek fans by returning to the role that made him famous. These incredible photos (via imgur) show Nimoy getting into his Spock makeup for the last time, in preparation for a cameo in Star Trek: Into Darkness (2013).

Nimoy, who died last week at age 83, created the role of hyper-logical, unfailingly loyal first officer Spock for the original Star Trek television series, which ran from 1966 to 1969. He went on to reprise the role in the first six Star Trek feature films, two of which he directed. Then, in 2009 — eighteen years after Spock’s last film appearance — Nimoy donned the pointed ears for J.J. Abram’s big-screen reboot Star Trek. In that film, Nimoy played an elder Spock from an alternate timeline, passing the torch to his younger self (Zachary Quinto). The real-life friendship between the two Spocks was one reason that Nimoy returned for Abrams’ 2013 sequel, Star Trek: Into the Darkness. 

Leonard Nimoy and Zachary Quinto.

“Leonard and I have become very, very close since the first movie; he has become a powerful influence in my life and a great friend and mentor,” Quinto revealed in a featurette from the Blu-Ray release. “It was an extension of our friendship that he got to come back [for Into Darkness]. He was not going to ever do it again and then JJ has that power of persuasion, so back he was.”

In these photos, Nimoy seems delighted to see himself in his iconic Spock makeup. But he did admit to TV Times in 1982 that the two-hour application process was a challenge. “The makeup is a tough problem for me. It always has been,” said Nimoy. “It’s tedious. lt’s painful, and it’s confining… It’s extremely complicated makeup, and it’s not just the ears. The eyebrows can take longer because they must be laid on hair by hair and cut fresh every morning. They are not one piece. lf they were, you would not get mobility. They would sit there and look unnatural.”

(h/t Yahoo Movies UK)

Watch a trailer for one of Nimoy’s most beloved films, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, below:

Related: Leonard Nimoy, Actor, Director, and ‘Star Trek’ Icon, Dies at 83

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