'Trek' writers 'intimidated' by Nimoy

Star Trek writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman have revealed that they felt intimidated meeting Leonard Nimoy for the first time.

Their script for J.J. Abrams's forthcoming Trek movie brings Nimoy back to the franchise, and the pair admitted that the entire story hinged on Nimoy agreeing to come out of retirement to play Spock again.

Kurtzman told the Los Angeles Times: "It was incredibly intimidating. By the end it was very emotional too. We told him that we couldn't do it without him. We told everything and how he was the key to the movie, that the story doesn't work without him. There was a very long silence and he got misty."

Nimoy's wife later informed Orci and Kurtzman that the 79-year-old was "overwhelmed" by the filmmakers' insistence that he return.

"He had retired and turned down many offers to return to this character, so this was asking the greatest gunslinger to strap on the pistol one more time," added Kurtzman. "His wife told us later that he didn't get out of the chair for several hours [and] that he was overwhelmed by all of it and the decision."