The interviewer begins to introduce Leonard:
"Leonard Nimoy has spent most of his life trying to outgrow Mr. Spock. Once the television-series ended in 1969 Nimoy struggled with and finally accepted the mixed blessings his alter ego provided. Two years of playing Paris, master of disguises, ... (she really provides a nice background for the viewer)... There are those who will never forget the Holocaust and, as Nimoy will attest, there are those who also will never forget Spock."

"The whole Spock-thing for me was pretty strange..." Leonard begins, trying to find the right word.
"I don't know how to explain to you the difference between what I set out to do in this profession as compared to what I ended up, what I found myself being successful at. It's been the strangest kind of bouncing ball."

Referring to the beginning of his acting career he shares: "I was cast in an amateur-production of a play called Awake and sing. It was a play about the depression-period. A Jewish family in the Bronx. There was a seventeen year old son in the family, and I played this kid and I felt at home. I felt like Wow! I know these people in this scene. I know what is going on with the dynamics of this family. I know the emotions of this kid. I know the frustrations of him wanting to get out being somebody in the world and all that kind of stuff. And I go This is great. If I played parts like this for the rest of my life. And I decided to be an actor.
And I ended up playing this very cool, distant, remote character from another planet. I am not at home here at all, but it is working, you know. It's working. So when I come back to play Mel Mermelstein in Never Forget I feel like another kind of homecoming in a way. Do you understand? It's the kind of things that I thought I would do with my life, and yet this gigantic success in the Spock-character. I knew why we were doing it that the character was interesting. I knew and I was having a good time playing the character. The character had an inner life that was fun to explore. An inner sense of humour, a little bit of a twinkle that he would never reveal, you know. And the audience got it! They got it! And enjoyed watching for that secret smile, that secret inside joke, or the emotion, whatever it was he was experiencing, would not admit to it, he would be able to hide. Just like human beings do. He is a very human character. Referred to as a man with no emotions. Not true at all! He suppressed his emotions, who hid his feelings just like a lot of humans would really do to get though the day. You won't walk around putting your emotions on your sleeve all day. So I found myself playing this character that was so opposite of what I had set out to do."

Leonard summarizes: "Every once in a while with a project like this, I feel fulfilled again."

Concerning America: "My folks came to America where things are different, where you can talk about things you want to talk about. Where you can go to school regardless of your religion or your race or background. Where you can aspire to a higher job, and if you have the talent and the energy to work for it you can better yourself. You don't have to be exactly what your father was and what your grandfather was and all the rest of it. And you don't have to be discriminated against because of your colour or the God you worship... That what's this show is about. The right to stand up and not be bullied. So I learned that at home."

Being asked whether he has learned anything from the character Leonard is sure: "I learned that there still are heroes. That there still are situations where the call for heroic behaviour, that ethics and decency and honesty still count. And the judicial system still can work. It did in this case... This is a show about ethics work, about dignity works, about truth works about values, about family... And I found it very satisfying, very uplifting story."

Did he want to direct Never Forget? "No, on the contrary. I really did not want to direct it. I had great trust in this director, Joe Sargent, who directed this show Never Forget, directed the first Star Trek episode that we shot when it went into production on the series in 1966. And I'll never forget the contribution that he made to the Spock-character and to me because in one scene, the very first day of shooting the ship, the Enterprise, was being threatened by some alien thing. And everybody was scurrying around and Bill Shatner as Kirk was giving orders and he was saying (Leonard talks faster) warp seven... rudder hard right three degrees... ... Aye, sir, rudder hard right three degrees, what's he going to do now?, and everybody is yelling, running and jumping and Spock is listening, and he had one word to say and the word was fascinating. And I was saying (excited voice) fascinating and Joe said: No, no, no don't be like anybody else, be cool, be the scientist, forget about the threat, forget about the danger. And I say (Spock like) fascinating. And the character was born."

An example of Leonard's poetry

Rocket ships
      Are exciting
But so are roses
     On a birthday

Computers are exciting
        But so is a sunset

And logic
        Will never replace
                         Love

Sometimes I wonder
Where I belong
      In the future
                    Or
      In the past

I guess I'm just
  An old-fashioned
         Space-man

Scene Star Trek V around the campfire

"That is funny how you remark about how Spock of course was cool and so kind, always in control; And yet Leonard Nimoy writes beautiful poetry, has done albums of great poetic narration and..."

Leonard: "Again it is interesting I seem to go with what has to be done. I didn't set out to say I'm gonna write poetry. I did set out to say I'm gonna explore further an old hobby which was photography." He does not write poetry in the moment because when he is on the case and a schedule and has work to do, Leonard can't get reflective and write.

Interviewer: "You have a wonderful voice. I haven't heard the albums but that must have been wonderful just to hear your voice..."

"I could have been a great singer. I could have been, I really could have been great, I could have been Sinatra. I could have been great, but he was already there (starts laughing)... I thought I was going to be on the radio when I first started when I was a teenager. I was doing a lot of radio-work in Boston. Amateur stuff. Amateur radio drama. A director friend of mine that I was working with at that time said you won't be much of an actor but you will be a great radio-announcer." (both Leonard and host start laughing)

Being asked about his priorities: "My priorities... serenity, to be of service, to maintain some self-respect, recapture when I loose it... stuff like that... ...There were times where I didn't know how to do it... ...Then you find yourself saying: Wait a minute. What am I doing here? I think I am enjoying the Eiffel tower and the food. The money is going to the bank account but I'm not really excited about going to work today.' Then you know you are in the wrong place." ...
"I think is worth saying: that will move and touch people and enlighten their lives in some way. I should be there. I want to be there. Sometimes there is no money. Sometimes there is not much glamour and sometimes it is bussing and trucking on the road city to city doing it. But you love doing it because you are carrying a message that makes a lot of sense; that is moving people, entertaining people, touching people."

BREAK

Poetry

There is no peace
       Without harmony
No harmony
         Without music

There is no music
      Without song
No song
    Without beauty

There is no beauty
        Without laughter
No laughter
        Without joy

There is no joy
      Without kindness
No kindness
        Without caring

No caring
        Without love
No love
       Without you



Like a snapshot
      You develop
Unlike a snapshot...
     You never stop

After talking about the origin of the Vulcan greeting, Leonard talks about the Hollywood sequelizing, about how intimidating it is: "Yes, to me it is. Because you're constantly being asked to repeat your success or top it if possible... Well I'm a very satisfied person. I think it has been a great ride. And, most important, outside of Star Trek... sure I am very happy for the success of Star Trek but the most important thing about it is that it has given me opportunities to do other interesting work. This project, the Never Forget project, I could not have gotten of the ground if it had not been for the cachet that Star Trek gives you. People return your phone calls and they listen... Star Trek has opened doors for me to do other kinds of business."