By Gill Pringle
What’s your relationship with Star Trek? “I watched Star Trek as a kid with my dad, and always enjoyed it. I’ve watched all the movies, and I feel very blessed to be a part of this world and this legacy. What I personally responded to about Star Trek were the characters. I love spending time with the characters. Star Trek, for me, has always been like a cult of personality over science fiction. I love the science fiction, but it was just to see how those characters would often have to work together and overcome their differences in order to achieve success in any given situation. Beyond that, I also really responded to the show and the films’ optimistic vision of the future. We get so many dystopian versions of that, and it’s always been great to see a version of humanity that has moved beyond internal conflict and that is now united and out there in the search of knowledge and exploration. It serves up a vision of humanity working at its best, and that connects with a lot of people.”
What did your new director, Justin Lin, bring to the franchise? “Justin has a long time appreciation and understanding of Star Trek, and a love for it. Not only does he have a great visual storytelling energy, and he’s fantastic with action, but he gets the characters, and he gets how the characters relate to each other. As a result of that, you get a much more rewarding and rich experience.”
Did you bond with Bones immediately on the first one? And how has your closeness and relationship to the character evolved through the three films? “Yeah, I did. I believe that I have a better understanding of Bones now than I did then. I have a lot more similarities in my life with his life. When we first meet Bones, he has been through a horrendous divorce, and is basically turning to his last option, which is to go out into space and, in doing so, he becomes part of this new family. So now, in my life, I have some sort of sense of understanding of those elements and what it’s like, and as a result, you get a much more well-rounded character.”
He really seems to be stepping up in this film… “Yeah, I definitely am. I think that is a direct result from the fans demanding to see more of Bones, and I had a wonderful, collaborative relationship with Simon Pegg, and it was important to us that we evolve these characters. They’re a little bit older now. For example, McCoy is Kirk’s physician, and we joked that, as part of the backstory, he is treating him for hair-loss with propecia, which has a negative effect of creating impotence, so he also has to prescribe him Cialis. And so, that’s where we find the crew! They are dealing with the reality of their living in space for an extended period of time and also being together for a few years.”
As you’ve mentioned, your co-star, Simon Pegg, is also the co-writer of Star Trek Beyond. What did he bring? “Simon and [co-writer] Doug Jung just wrote a brilliant script. What they got 100% right was that it was about character. It’s character driven. All of the relationships in this film are evolved. The crew is separated by events, and as a result, we end up with some unlikely pairings. McCoy ends up crash landing with Spock, and the two of them have to rely on each other to survive. That is a wonderful story device, particularly in the fiftieth year of Star Trek. Not only do we have a homage to what has come before, but we also have to explore new territory, and that’s what we do in this pairing with these unlikely two. There is a wonderful understanding and bond that develops between these two characters who are diametrically opposed, and just for a minute, you see a crack in their respective armours.”
How was your relationship with the late Leonard Nimoy? Do you have any memories or any advice that he gave to you? “Having the opportunity to get to know him a little bit and work with him was extraordinary, and has been one of the highlights of my career. He’s played this character that is famously known for his reservation and his stoicism and for his inability to express his emotion, and the irony is that it couldn’t be further from who Leonard was as a man. It was a truly fantastic gift to have him in my life.”
Were you happy to head back into the Star Trek universe? “I had reservations about signing on to do this film. I had another film that I really wanted to do, and I couldn’t do them both. But Justin Lin talked me through what the story for McCoy was going to be, and it was pretty evident that the character was going to be developed a lot more, and that his relationship with Kirk was not going to be inferred like it was in Star Trek Into Darkness. There was going to be this new territory, and this new development and deepening with Spock. It just sounded exciting and epic, and it was clear at that point that I had to be a part of this. I’m glad that I did. It was a rewarding experience, and all of us became a lot closer as a result.
Will you be back for more? “I don’t know. I hope that the audience has as much fun watching it as we had making it, but as for the future, I don’t know. I would love to spend more time with these guys.”
Star Trek Beyond is in cinemas now.
