Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Actor Says Playing Scotty Is Easier Than Playing Spock

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds actor Martin Quinn reveals the key reason he thinks playing Scotty is easier than Spock. The series streaming on Paramount+ follows the crew of the USS Enterprise years before Captain Kirk takes over command of the iconic Starfleet vessel. Quinn made his way onto the Enterprise in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3, as Montgomery "Scotty" Scott, following in the footsteps of James Doohan and Simon Pegg playing the famous engineer.

In an interview with ScreenRant's John Orquiola, Quinn reveals he believes it's easier to play Scotty than Spock as an actor. He elaborates that Spock actor Ethan Peck has to deliver all of his lines quickly and precisely, whereas Quinn can hesitate on delivering some of his lines. Check out his quote below:

It’s not as bad as for Ethan, because I feel like, Spock can't even put any hesitation in, whereas I can kind of like scratch myself and ums and as, you know, lots of hesitation, but not as tricky.

What This Means For Strange New Worlds

There Is A Blueprint For The Characters

Strange New Worlds has slowly been adding legacy characters to the show throughout its run. This has included Spock, Uhura, Nurse Chapel, Dr. M'Benga, and James Kirk. Quinn's joining the cast as Scotty is the most recent addition to the classic crew. While Dr. M'Benga had a very small role in Star Trek: The Original Series, only appearing in two episodes, the rest of the characters have a blueprint set by former stars.

There's a tightrope to walk with established characters. The performers need to have the freedom to give their own interpretation, while still having it feel familiar to what came before. While Quinn is the first Scottish actor to portray Scotty, his performance still needs to be recognizable when compared with Doohan.

As Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is confirmed to end with season 5, there are only a few seasons to go to introduce the remainder of the TOS crew. Strange New Worlds has wisely introduced them a piece at a time, but if the prequel is set to lead into TOS, it still has a little way to go to establish all the necessary characters.

Our Take On Scotty Being Easier To Play

Spock Rarely Lets Out His Human Side

Due to Spock's preestablished way of communicating, Peck has to interpret the character in a familiar way. As Leonard Nimoy played Spock with very recognizable patterns, Peck's performance has to indicate that Spock is moving toward the iconic portrayal.

Spock at this point in time is more susceptible to emotional outbursts from his human side, so Peck does not need to perfectly mirror Nimoy. Given that Quinn has less rigid guidelines to follow than Peck, it makes sense that Scotty would be easier to play in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.