Star Trek: Every Live-Action Spock, Ranked

Let’s get this out of the way first and foremost: There has never been a bad Spock actor. Period. All three of the men who have played the famous half-Vulcan, half-human Starfleet officer did so wonderfully in their own way, and each brought something a little bit different to the role. As the first officer on the U.S.S. Enterprise captained by James T. Kirk (played by William Shatner in “Star Trek: The Original Series”), Spock was one of the only “alien” Starfleet officers we saw in early “Star Trek,” and he helped pave the way for many beloved characters throughout franchise history. First played by Leonard Nimoy on “The Original Series,” then by Zachary Quinto in J.J. Abrams’ 2009 “Star Trek” film and its two sequels, and finally by Ethan Peck on “Star Trek: Discovery” and “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds,” Spock is an integral part of “Star Trek” and one of science fiction’s most beloved characters. But who played him best? 

While trying to pick which actor played the best Spock is a challenging task because they’re all excellent, there are some little differences that help elevate some Spocks above the others. Ranking such greatness feels a little illogical by its very nature, but let’s give it a go, shall we?

There was a time when it seemed like no one other than Leonard Nimoy could ever play Spock and do him any kind of justice, but in 2009, Zachary Quinto donned the prosthetic ears and shaved his eyebrows and gave us his version of the impossibly handsome half-Vulcan. (Seriously, all three Spocks are stunning.) After accidentally starting a campaign to play the character during a press outing for the series “Heroes,” Quinto was cast as Spock opposite the original, as Nimoy reprised his role as an older version of the character for the first “Star Trek” reboot film. 

Seeing both the original, older Spock and his new counterpart onscreen at the same time was a little much for some “Star Trek” fans, despite how often time-travel shenanigans are used in the franchise. Aside from that bit of weirdness, however, Quinto was an excellent Spock who didn’t try to directly copy Nimoy and was able to take the character in a slightly different direction thanks to the Kelvin timeline splitting from the prime one, with the Spock we knew and loved. 

Most of the problems with Quinto’s Spock lie at the feet of the people who wrote the three Kelvin-verse films and are no fault of the actor’s, although he definitely loses points for not being able to do the Vulcan salute on his own. That seems like a baseline skill to have for the character who made it famous, but hey, a little glue did the trick.

When some of the crew of the Enterprise were set to appear on “Star Trek: Discovery,” fans were nervous about who might be cast as those beloved characters. Thankfully, when it came to Spock they really didn’t need to fret, because actor Ethan Peck is absolutely perfect. Peck played Spock at the end of “Discovery” before reprising the role on “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds,” where he’s able to really shine. The Spock of “Strange New Worlds” is a little more emotionally unstable and still really reckoning with his human side in a way that makes him simply fascinating. There are hints of the Spock he will one day become, as “Strange New Worlds” is a prequel to “The Original Series,” and you can see elements of Nimoy’s performance in things like Spock’s slightly impish and wildly dry sense of humor. 

While Peck has said that he leaned on Nimoy’s voice heavily to learn how to play Spock, it never feels like he’s directly copying Nimoy. Instead, he has made the character all his own and is absolutely delightful from episode to episode, regardless of the show’s wild tonal swings. He’s good as serious Spock, he’s good as silly Spock, he’s good as sexy Spock, and if it weren’t for the competition being Leonard freaking Nimoy, he would have cinched the number one spot. 

As much as “Star Trek” creator Gene Roddenberry and the various “Star Trek: The Original Series” writers should be credited for developing Spock, it’s Nimoy who made him feel like a living, breathing character and made him relatable even when he was at his least human. Not only that, but while there have been a few great Spock-centric episodes on shows other than “The Original Series,” the vast majority of the best Spock episodes were those that starred Nimoy. Nimoy is as deeply entwined with Spock as co-star William Shatner is with Captain Kirk, and no matter how good any subsequent versions might be, they will always draw from the original in one way or another. 

In addition to playing Spock, Nimoy also directed both “Star Trek III: The Search for Spock” and “Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home,” lending his skills as a director to shaping the pointy-eared, sharp-minded character even further. It’s hard to fully articulate what Leonard Nimoy means not only to “Star Trek,” but to all of pop culture. He was an impressive actor and a thoughtful man who brought that same thoughtfulness to Spock in the first place, setting the pace for those who followed.