Leonard Nimoy was always this weird, intriguing guy to me since I was a kid – he just made me really curious about him.

Yesterday we lost a legendary figure in the world of sci-fi series: Leonard Simon Nimoy. I used to mix that show up with the movie Star Wars. For years he felt as cold and dehumanized as Mr. Spock himself. Still, time softened my take and little by little my view of him began to shift.

Leonard Nimoy was an American actor, director, composer, writer and poet.He was widely known for his role as Mr. Spock in the Star Trek series. The Spock character was a Vulcan humanoid — a logical scientist and an officer of the United Federation of Planets. Nimoy embodied Spock from the very first TV season in 1966. His final appearance as the character was in the 2013 Star Trek film.

And even though I was never a “trekkie,” I was always curious about what happened to him whenever I saw him in a story.”

Mr. Spock

And even though I was never a “trekkie,” I was always curious about what happened to him whenever I saw him in a story. I think I grew attached to the character after watching the animated series — honestly, I was way too young for the original. Besides, the franchise’s first TV show aired and became popular long before I was born.

It was the movies where I really came to enjoy the character, years after the cartoon — especially The Wrath of Khan, where the villain was one of my favorite actors, Ricardo Montalbán. That’s when Mr. Spock stopped feeling so alien to me, since Lieutenant Commander Data (from The Next Generation) had already grabbed that role.

Leonard Nimoy passed away yesterday, February 27, and now he’s as eternal as Mr. Spock.”

Career

After that, Nimoy became a small curiosity for me — not exactly one of my favorite actors. Still, he was enough for me to follow any project I found out he was in. That’s how I ended up seeing Invasion of the Body Snatchers with Donald Sutherland and Jeff Goldblum.

I also caught some of his appearances in Mission: Impossible, as the Paris character. And yeah, I was thrilled when I finally heard him voice Galvatron in the animated Transformers movie. Leonard Nimoy passed away yesterday, February 27, and now he’s as eternal as Mr. Spock.

I want to believe he’s out there, beside the galaxies and stars he sent us soaring to. Maybe I’m not the only one who thinks that — which is why the Swedish band S.P.O.C.K. took their name. So it feels right to leave a track of theirs called “Out There”.

He took us on impossible trips, and his calm intensity taught me to love thoughtful sci-fi. Listening to that song now feels like a ritual: a small salute to the curiosity and wonder he sparked in so many of us. His work left a deep mark on pop culture and on me.

RIP Leonard Nimoy.

Meet you at the next entry.