Summary
- Ethan Peck takes on the role of Spock in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, exploring the character's early career before becoming First Officer on the USS Enterprise.
- As the son of a Vulcan Ambassador and a human mother, Spock grapples with reconciling his human and Vulcan sides, as shown through his romantic relationships with a Vulcan fiancée and a human nurse.
- While Ethan Peck's portrayal of Spock incorporates more willingness to express emotions compared to Leonard Nimoy's stoic portrayal, it still reflects the character's journey towards achieving the level of control seen in Star Trek: The Original Series.
Ethan Peck is the latest actor to take up the iconic role of Spock in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. Soon after Star Trek: The Original Series premiered in 1966, Leonard Nimoy's Spock became one of the show's most beloved characters. Since then, Spock has become one of the most popular characters in all of science fiction, and the character has been played by multiple actors over the years. Though Leonard Nimoy's Spock will always be the most iconic, Zachary Quinto took over the role for J.J. Abrams' Star Trek films and Ethan Peck began playing the character in Star Trek: Discovery season 2.
Though Spock will eventually serve as First Officer on Captain James T. Kirk's (William Shatner) USS Enterprise, the Spock of Strange New Worlds has not yet made it that far in his career. Ethan Peck's Spock serves as the Chief Science Officer on the Enterprise under the command of Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount). Over the course of his time serving with Pike, Spock comes to deeply respect him and will eventually risk his life to help his former Captain. Spock still has several years before he becomes the version of the character depicted in TOS, and Ethan Peck has certainly risen to the challenge of playing this iconic character.
Ethan Peck’s Spock In Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Explained
Since Star Trek: Strange New Worlds takes place before the events of Star Trek: The Original Series, Spock has not yet chosen to fully embrace the Vulcan way of life. As the son of the Vulcan Ambassador Sarek (James Frain) and his human wife Amanda Grayson (Mia Kirshner), Spock struggles to reconcile his human and Vulcan sides. Though Spock will eventually become one of the most well-known and distinguished figures in Starfleet history, Ethan Peck's Spock is still exploring his emotions and figuring out who he is. The two main romantic relationships Spock has in Strange New Worlds exemplify his emotional struggle, with his Vulcan fiancée T'Pring (Gia Sandhu) speaking to his Vulcan side and the very human Nurse Christine Chapel (Jess Bush) speaking to his human one.
Ethan Peck began acting at a young age and had small roles in several films and television shows before starring in the 2008 films Tennessee and Adopt a Sailor. From 2009-2010, he starred in the short-lived ABC Family television adaptation of 10 Things I Hate About You. Peck had several other roles in television shows, movies, and video games before landing the role of Spock in Star Trek: Discovery season 2 in 2019. Since he began playing Spock, Peck has also appeared in Showtime's Penny Dreadful: City of Angels and Netflix's The Midnight Sky. Ethan Peck is the son of artist Francine Matarazzo and Stephen Peck, the CEO of U.S.VETS. Peck's grandfather was Hollywood legend Gregory Peck by his first wife Greta Kukkonen.
How Ethan Peck’s Spock Honors Leonard Nimoy’s Vulcan
Leonard Nimoy played Spock as stoic but with an undercurrent of deeply felt emotion. Though Ethan Peck plays the half-Vulcan with more willingness to express his emotions, the Spock of Strange New Worlds has not yet achieved the level of control he will have in Star Trek: The Original Series. Ethan Peck's Spock still relies on logic, but his performance lacks the subtlety of Nimoy's performance by design. This makes sense given where the character is on his journey. Peck perfectly builds on Nimoy's performance, without trying to recreate it, adding another layer to the complex character of Spock.
The relationship that will come to define Spock, his friendship with James T. Kirk (Paul Wesley), has only just begun in Strange New Worlds. As the show progresses, Spock will continue to develop until he makes the choice to embrace his Vulcan side, bridging the gap between Ethan Peck's performance and Leonard Nimoy's. Wherever the journey takes him, Ethan Peck is now not just the Spock of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds but the Vulcan standard-bearer of the current Star Trek franchise.