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Zachary Quinto: Leonard Nimoy was a 'father figure' to me

"I never imagined was how close we would become," Quinto writes of his mentor, Leonard Nimoy.

By Kate Stanton
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LOS ANGELES, March 4 (UPI) -- Zachary Quinto paid tribute Monday to his predecessor, late Star Trek legend Leonard Nimoy, saying that he "never could have anticipated" the close relationship he would build with his fellow Spock.

In an article for Time, Quinto described the unexpected affinity he felt for the man whose shoes he would fill.

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"I never imagined was how close we would become, and what a father figure he would be to me," Quinto wrote of the elder Spock, who died Feb. 27 in Los Angeles.

I lost my own father when I was very young, so to have this man come into my life and resonate so many qualities to which I aspire, and be such an example of dignity and grace and fulfillment -- that was the part of it that so far exceeded any expectations I could have had. And that is the part of me that feels the greatest sense of loss at his death.

Quinto expressed similar feelings in a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, telling the magazine that his initial conversations with Nimoy revolved around their character, the logical, pointy-eared Vulcan.

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Eventually it just became about being dear friends and staying in touch about each other's lives. I became very, very close to his whole family, his wife Susan is very dear to me. It just evolved into something that was bigger than Star Trek, or bigger than the character, and much more meaningful and long lasting. Although it is the character that brought us together, it's the friendship that we cultivated that I think will carry on.

Quinto also said that he was "grateful" to speak at Nimoy's funeral Sunday.

"It meant so much to me that I was able to be a part of saying goodbye to him in that way, because I felt that that's who he was. He would have traveled to the ends of the earth for the people that he loved, and I was so grateful that I had the opportunity to do that," Quinto said.

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