BURBANK, Calif. — Is there a more beloved character in all of science fiction than Spock, the half-human, half-Vulcan first officer from “Star Trek”? He’s superstrong — he could easily pummel Captain Kirk, his ranking officer, were the spirit to move him — and a whiz at science. He’s cool to the point of wintry, a master at tamping down his base needs (granted, Vulcans get the urge to mate only once every seven years) and human emotions. He’s skilled at martial arts but rarely fights. He can literally look into your mind.

Whether on the big screen (where Zachary Quinto has played him, in this year’s “Star Trek Beyond” and other films) or the small screen, where Leonard Nimoy, originated the role in 1966, Spock has left a lasting impression. When Nimoy’s son, Adam, began asking people what they most loved about the character while filming his new documentary, “For the Love of Spock,” all that stuff — his big brain, his ability to peek into yours — was secondary. His most attractive trait? “Ninety percent of them were talking about the fact that he’s an outsider,” he said.

Outsider indeed. Spock is that rarest of 23rd-century beings, the only son of a Vulcan dad and a human mom. For years, he was about the closest viewers could get to a multiracial role model on American TV. “I had Spock,” the actress Jennifer Beals said in 2011. “And that was kind of it.” (Ms. Beals is of Irish- and African-American descent.)

In “For the Love of Spock,” a NASA engineer, Bobak Ferdowsi, describes being encouraged by the series and the role. “As someone who was from two cultures, Iranian father and an American mother, I saw in Spock the same conflict,” he said. “Which one am I? Am I both? Is there a happy medium between the two?”