Zachary Quinto, who returns to the role of Spock in J.J. Abrams’ STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS — due in theaters this May — recently discussed portraying such an iconic character, the future of Star Trek and his thoughts on Abrams’ choice to direct the next Star Wars film in a recent interview with Huffington Post.

Quinto spoke about returning to the role of Spock in the Star Trek sequel and the pressure to deliver a performance worthy of the iconic role made famous by Leonard Nimoy in the 1960s.

I never felt any pressure from being a part of that franchise, I only felt supported and I only felt supported and I have only felt like my job is to get to work and be a part of something that people want to watch and want to see. That certainly was the case the first time around and I think it will be more the case this time, because it is such a bigger experience we shot this movie in 3D and IMAX and I think the story just lends itself to much more of an explosion onto the summer movie schedule scene. I am just really excited to get it out there and share it with people and I don’t feel any particular individual pressure to doing anything other than my job and my job is already done I shot it in the first half of 2012, so I’ve been done for awhile and now the responsibility is in everybody else’s hands to bring it all to life. J.J. [Abrams] is just a genius and everybody who works around him is incredibly talented at what they do, so I feel like people won’t be disappointed, that is certainly my hope.

He went on to discuss the STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS trailer and its darker theme than was seen in the 2009 Star Trek film.

Yeah, darker, bigger and there’s just more at stake for everybody. So, I think that’s exciting for an audience.

On what fans should anticipate from the sequel, Qunto said:

More action, more peril and there’s more at stake, as I said, for the crew of the Enterprise this time around. More danger and just a bigger, bolder experience I would say.

Taking on the role of such a well-known character, Quinto discussed his interpretation of Spock.

It’s definitely my own interpretation, Leonard and I obviously spent time working together on the first film and became very good friends and are still very close and speak of the character from time to time. He was very clear about wanting to hand it [the character of Spock] to somebody that he could trust and that would respect the character the same way that he did. We are very different people and we come at the experience from very different perspectives and invariably it is going to be unique to me even though it is a character he created. I think J.J. really supported that as well, he wanted all of us to bring our own points of view and perspectives to the characters we are recreating. I think all of us have done that and I think that now that we are into our second film the thing that was most important to all of us was maintaining our sense of personal integrity and personal relationships to the characters we set.

Having the man who made the role famous on the set of the 2009 film could definitely have affected Quinto’s portrayal of the character. Discussing Nimoy’s presence, he said:

I don’t think it affected my portrayal; it affected my appreciation for the character, my appreciation for how important it’s been to him in his life and how much it’s been formed from his perspective and his work and his creativity. I’d say getting to know Leonard was one of the biggest gifts of the experience that first time around and now having him in my life the way I do; it means the world to me that he is invested not only in me and my relationship with the character of Spock, but also me as a person and me as I relate to the world. I have learned so much from him and I value him so much, so to me [him being on set] took a lot of pressure of actually when we were making the first movie, because I felt like he was always there for me if I needed any help, advice or guidance. We had many conversations during the first movie about the character and it was enormously helpful to have him around, certainly more helpful than it was stressful.

Quinto, a self-proclaimed Star Wars fan, discussed the recent news of Star Trek director J.J. Abrams decision to direct Star Wars: Episode VII.

I support J.J. and his pursuits and the expansion of his entertainment empire. I think he is one of the most revolutionary storytellers in the business and I think that this bold, bombastic statement on his part from a creative standpoint is going to be a huge part of a legacy to revitalize one franchise only to follow that up by revitalizing another of that scale and scope. I think it’s so impressive and I think he is a perfect choice for it. I can’t wait to watch what he does with it, I think it will be a remarkable experience. He basically has the sci-fi market cornered now, so I think that is a great place to be. In one breath I was surprised and in the next breath it made perfect sense.

STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS, starring Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, Simon Pegg, Anton Yelchin, John Cho, Benedict Cumberbatch, Peter Weller, Bruce Greenwood and Alice Eve, hits theaters on May 17, 2013.

via Huffington Post