For me, Nimoy/Spock is the cornerstone of Star Trek. Here are some stats:
- He appeared in all 80 episodes of TOS, which nobody else did.
- He appeared (if that is the right word) in all 22 episodes of "The Animated Series".
- He appeared in 2 episodes of "The Next Generation", which no other TOS actor did.
- He appeared in 8 of the movies, including the two most recent movies.
- He directed 2 of the movies, which no other Star Trek actor did.
- His son, Adam, directed 2 TNG episodes.
The man is a legend.
Here is an interview he gave to Pharrell Williams. Towards the end, he had the following to say:
The Spock character opened up my life, personally and creatively. It created great opportunities for me to do work that I chose to do, rather than work that I had to do to make a living. I had choices for the first time in many years. And still, to this day, I consider it a great opportunity and a blessing to live a creative life; to live a life that has to do with finding ideas and expressing ideas; and hopefully making a contribution to the human condition.