‘Star Trek’s’ Spock Almost Played By Lieutenant Uhura Actress Nichelle Nichols?

In a twist that would have significantly changed the “Star Trek” universe, Spock was originally to be played by a woman – according to Lieutenant Uhura actress Nichelle Nichols.

In an interview from 2002 for “Trek Nation Director’s Log,” which recently aired on the Science Channel special “Trek Nation,” the actress claimed that creator Gene Roddenberry wanted the famous Vulcan to be played by a woman.

“They gave me a three-page script to read from that had three characters named,” she said in the interview. “There was Bones, Kirk and someone called Spock and they asked me to read for the role of Spock. When I looked at this great text, I said to myself, ‘I’ll take any one of these roles,’ but I found the Spock character to be very interesting, and I asked them to tell me what she [Spock] was like.”

But not all are convinced of Nichelle’s take on the early casting concept.

According to geek/tech blog io9, in early versions of the script, there was a Spock-like character, named Number One, which was to be played by a woman. The role was reportedly cut after the studio took issue with such a large female role. After nixing Number One, Roddenberry promoted the role of Spock to first office.

Copyright © 2024 by NBC Universal, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

This material may not be republished, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Read More

Ernie Hudson's Age-Defying Looks At 78 Leave 'Ghostbusters' Fans Stunned