One Of Star Trek's Most Important Effects Looks Simple But Was Tough On A Major Actor

Released in 1966, the original "Star Trek" series revolutionized science fiction, offering a more positive look toward the future and a diverse cast, while redefining how sci-fi treated its monsters and tackling previously taboo themes of slavery, racism, and war. "Star Trek" also introduced us to some of the most iconic fictional characters of all time, including Captain James T. Kirk, Mr. Spock, and Hikaru Sulu, while simultaneously skyrocketing their actors to fame — and, in the case of William Shatner, to real life space with Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin.

But portraying these iconic characters wasn't always a walk in the park, especially for the late Leonard Nimoy, who was arguably the best Spock actor. As the USS Enterprise's half-human and half-Vulcan science officer, Spock's pointed ears are synonymous with the "Star Trek" franchise and have become a staple for fans to wear at conventions. However, pulling off this seemingly simple makeup effect for the original series was far from easy for the crew and Nimoy.

In the book, "Inside Star Trek: The Real Story," written by show producer Robert H. Justman and Desilu studio executive Herbert F. Solow, Justman explained that, for "Star Trek's" pilot, he brought in Hollywood makeup-up artist Fred Phillips to create the ears for Spock that would go on to, in his words, "plague all of us." According to the book, the Spock ears began with a cast of Nimoy's ears, which were used to make molds with the tips that creator Gene Roddenberry wanted. The idea was that these molds could be used to create multiple duplicate ears as required.

However, in reality, each pair had to be "painstakingly" attached with spirit glue to Nimoy and then colored to match Spock's complexion. Removing them was a "painful and time-consuming" process that required a strong solvent. This, alongside the unreliableness of the ears' material, meant pairs couldn't be reused, and the makeup team had to continually remake new casts.

While an improved latex formula for the ears (that made production faster) was brought in for the filming of the series, this introduced a new problem. "Leonard looked like a bus coming down a street with its doors open; his ears stuck way out," Justman explained. To fix this, Phillips used double-faced wig tape to stick pin the ears back to Nimoy's head: a solution that was used for the series' entire run.

In an unearthed 1976 interview, Leonard Nimoy explained that the production went through around 150 pairs of Spock ears across the three years of shooting of the series, with each lasting around three or four days of filming before the edges became frayed. He acknowledged they had "trouble getting the ears properly adjusted" early on, before Fred Phillips joined, so much so that he was promised that Spock would undergo an ear operation to remove the points if he was still unhappy after a certain length of time.

"Before we ever shot the first pilot, we were with the wrong makeup people," Nimoy explained. "And they were making the ears for me, experimentally at first, that really looked grotesque and funny, and just really bad." 

Nimoy rejected rumors the ears almost made him turn down the part but admitted that he had concerns about "the whole character" and how it would impact his reputation as a serious actor. The actor went on to speak more about the process, explaining he was in the makeup chair for an hour and a half, and even though the ill-fitting ears were "occasionally" painful and caused his skin to become sensitive from friction, there was "nothing severe."