Unreleased private footage of the original Star Trek cast released this week shows Leonard Nimoy, who played Spock, taking a cigarette break between takes and William Shatner, who played Captain Kirk, joking and dancing off-camera.
The clips, drawn from outtakes and backstage moments from the low-budget 1960s series, depict the actors larking around between scenes. In one sequence Nimoy is shown wrapped in a trench coat with his Vulcan costume visible underneath while smoking. Shatner appears to play up to the camera, dancing and smiling.
Star Trek originally ran for 79 episodes from 1966 to 1969. Nimoy first took the role of Spock in 1966 and portrayed the character in film and television for decades, most recently appearing in a cameo in the 2013 reboot Star Trek: Into Darkness.
Nimoy died in 2015 at age 83 after a long battle with lung disease. He publicly disclosed a diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in February 2014 and had used supplemental oxygen. Medical details released at the time and statements from the actor noted a long history of smoking; Nimoy later said he had smoked about two packs a day for roughly three decades.
Shatner, who publicly mourned Nimoy after his death, has written and spoken about the actors' close friendship and its decline. In his memoir Leonard, My Fifty-Year Friendship With A Remarkable Man, Shatner said he "loved him like a brother." The pair were widely reported to have fallen out during Nimoy's later years and did not reconcile before Nimoy's death.
The newly released footage arrives as interest in the personal archives and legacies of television pioneers continues. In July 2025 it was reported that Shatner had worked with StoryFile, a company that creates interactive 3D avatars using recorded interviews and generative artificial intelligence, to preserve his experiences and personality for future audiences. StoryFile's technology, which has been used in museums since 2021 to capture the voices of historical figures and survivors, announced plans this year for a lower-cost consumer app to let more people create their own AI avatars.
Archivists and fans have periodically released behind-the-scenes material from the original series, offering new context on the production conditions and off-camera relationships during a time when the show operated on a modest budget and tight schedule. The outtakes provide a view of the cast's behavior between takes, contrasting public, in-character portrayals with private moments on set.
Representatives for Nimoy's estate and for William Shatner did not immediately respond to requests for comment about the footage. The release of the clips offers fresh material for scholars and fans studying television history, celebrity health disclosures and the evolving ways performers' legacies are preserved in the digital era.