Ethan Peck on Building Spock and Kirk’s Connection (Exclusive)

The latest Star Trek: Strange New Worlds gives us a taste of what will be one day: Following an attack, James Kirk (Paul Wesley) becomes temporary captain on board the Farragut. The Enterprise comes to the crew’s aid, with Spock (Ethan Peck), Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding), Chapel (Jess Bush), and Scotty (Martin Quinn) joining him on his ship. It’s a familiar grouping for TOS fans.

And after things go awry, it’s Spock who’s able to get through to Kirk when he’s frozen. He reminds him that, as his brother Sam (Dan Jeannotte) says, he has an affinity for leadership and is not afraid to throw his weight around. Kirk acknowledges that he’s been determined to sit in the captain’s chair faster than anyone since the moment he joined the academy, but it was a good thing that his captain didn’t listen to an earlier suggestion or things would’ve been much worse. Spock tells him that good leaders know when to listen and when not to, which Kirk has not done, and while he’s having a crisis of confidence, he still has to lead. His human intuition has guided them so far, and he suggests he keep following it.

“Spock sees his intelligence and humanity, which I think are so central to every really core Star Trek character, and there’s also sort of a sense of humility in his doubt and his self-doubt,” Peck tells TV Insider. “And so I think that gave Spock an avenue to speak to him and help clear up some of that self-doubt, diminish that hesitation. But yeah, I think from their very first meeting, there’s a really nice connection that they have right away.”

Everyone knows what that connection will be one day; theirs is one of the most iconic friendships on television, and we’re just seeing the early days and the beginnings of it.

“I’m not sure that they’ve begun building it too, too much,” admits Peck. “That particular scene is so primordial that I think it’s just kind of a vector pointing towards the relationship that will be. But Paul and I, I will say, get along really famously, and we have a lot of fun together, and I think we have a lot of chemistry as friends, and I really can see that carrying over into our on-screen relationship.”

What do you think of how Strange New Worlds is handling Spock and Kirk’s friendship so far? What are you hoping to see? Let us know in the comments section below.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Thursdays, Paramount+