Okay, the word is out all over the web. The new Star Trek film contains a more-than-BFF relationship between the young Mr. Spock and his student/crewmate Uhura. The filmmakers excuse the match with an “alternate timeline” explanation in case the die-hard, old-school Trekkie fans of the classic, original TV series take offense.

On the TV series, as a Vulcan/human hybrid, Mr. Spock rarely showed his emotions and usually only under great physical duress, or under the influence of some alien drug. But, this was the older, more seasoned, more experienced and more practiced Spock. In the “Trek” re-boot, Zachary Quinto plays the younger Vulcan in his last years at Space Academy. He’s still wet behind those cute, large, pointy ears.

Did the younger Uhura have a soft spot for guys with elfish ears and bowl haircuts? Zach admits he had a bowl cut at age 12, poor kid. We wanted details so we asked the actors! Hey Zach and Zoe (awww, sounds sweet together, doesn’t it), wazzup with the match and what’s your take on your characters in general?

Picture tall, dark and cute Zach totally out of “Heroes” grim Syler mode and wearing gray jacket over light blue shirt and loosened stripe tie and, of course, pants. Zoe is in a gorgeous fuchsia silk dress and her long dark hair is down.

TeenHollywood: Zoe and Zachary, in the series, Uhura never expressed any romantic interest in Spock. Was this in the film script from the beginning or something that evolved as you went along? Karl Urban (who plays young Dr. McCoy in the film) said that he saw the attraction in the original series. Some scene where Uhura was caressing Spock’s ears or something…

Zoe: Oooooo. Well, that whole relationship gave me the desire, as a newer generation, to completely fall in love deeply with these characters. After doing research and going to fan sites and reading up on [the characters], I realized that Spock and Uhura had more in common in terms of their characteristics than any of the other characters in the script. She’s an apt pupil. She only loves to work. She loves to study. She wants to be the best at what she does. And, all of a sudden, here’s this mentor that is a couple of years older than she is and he’s witty. He has pointy ears. He’s sexy.

Zach: [very low voice and eyebrow raise] Oh yeah! [laughter]

Zoe: [smiling and continuing] He always knows every answer. It just made more sense. It’s a privileged view. It’s also the friendship and the connection that they have. For him, being a Vulcan, always having this [emotional control] battle, to allow Uhura to be the only person to see him on a human scale, was absolutely priceless. Not even his father gets to see that. And, for Uhura to only have this one man call her by her first name [Nyota], I just thought it was kind of awesome.

TeenHollywood: Zach, you wanna comment?

Zach: I think, for me, the relationship provides a great source of levity in the film between Kirk and Spock. Between Kirk and Uhura. But, between Spock and Uhura, I think it provides a really interesting depth. Uhura ultimately represents a canvas onto which Spock projects the emotions that he can’t really otherwise express. I think that dynamic, for me, was really rewarding as an actor. The scene that Zoe and I played in the elevator was definitely one of the most ‘present’ experiences through shooting and that has a great deal to do with Zoe and her emotional availability and her open-ness. It was such a comforting, confined space that we were in on that day and in that moment.

TeenHollywood: What does Spock say to Kirk when he overhears you say her first name?

Zach: He says, ‘her first name’s Nyota’? And I say, ‘I have nothing to say on the matter’. [laughter].

TeenHollywood: Zoe, what was it like to be the girl midst all these males on the Enterprise bridge?

Zoe: For me, personally, I love it. What I loved the most about playing Uhura was the fact that she was also very comfortable in the environment so I was able to invest her with that [part] of myself. She needed to be that way in order to still hold court and have authority and still be very, very feminine and commanding and deliver her job excellently. I think I’ll let the guys be the judges of that; what kind of girl I am [Zach laughs kind of knowingly hummm]. It gives you the ability to sort of be completely androgynous and not add any unnecessary tension to an environment that needs to be primarily professional and artistic.

TeenHollywood: Zach, it seems that Spock has to strip himself of every emotion to function. Or, he, at least, rarely shows his emotions. Can you comment on that?

Zach: I think Spock experiences deeply run emotions and I think that, especially, in the context of his relationship with his mother (played by Winona Ryder in age make-up), I think there’s a real depth of feeling. The only thing I feel like I had to strip myself of was the ability to express it in a conventional way. I think that’s really the dilemma of Spock ultimately because if he doesn’t feel emotion, then there’s no conflict within him. The conflict exists in the deeply-rooted and sublimated feeling of emotion without the opportunity to do much with it other than hold it which is really challenging and can be painful.

TeenHollywood: What do you say to “Heroes” fans who don’t like it that you are playing Spock and Star Trek fans that don’t like it that Spock is playing Syler?

Zach: A fan war? I don’t know. I care deeply about the work that I do and I’m grateful on so many levels for these very contrasting and challenging opportunities that I’ve had in the past couple of years. But, my focus is my work and people’s reaction to my work falls in the category of things that I have absolutely no control over. I would certainly love to invite my “Heroes” fans to join us on this journey and, if not, don’t be pissed. It’s all good! [we laugh]

TeenHollywood: Zoe, in a sequel, would you like to see your character get more combative or do more action? And what would you like to see happen with Uhura and Spock?

Zoe: I’d like to kick some butt! Just be more definitely physical and have more participation in the action. But, in terms of how the story unfolds with Spock, I really leave it up to J.J. [Abrams] and the writers.

TeenHollywood: Leonard Nimoy, the original Spock, tried to distance himself from the series. He wrote a book “I Am Not Spock”. Zach, are you also concerned now about being too associated with Spock?

Zach: I think that was a different time. I think there was a stigma attached to Science Fiction that doesn’t exist anymore. It’s become so much more mainstream. I think also, people’s attention spans, for better or worse, have diminished significantly since that time. And I feel like really, it’s incumbent upon myself to define the kind of career I want. And, for me, that’s a career of longevity and diversity. So now, it’s my job to hopefully utilize this exposure as a platform to do other kinds of work and immerse myself in other genres and to invite the avid fanbase of science fiction and Star Trek, specifically, to come with me on that kind of a journey now because that’s the kind of actor I want to be so …..no [laughter].

TeenHollywood: Zoe, what was your take on the young Uhura and did you speak with original Uhura Nichelle Nichols at all or watch some of her key episodes?

Zoe: I did not see the series. As actors, we’re prone to imitation and I was very, very afraid of falling into that pattern. Nichelle did not deserve that and also, primarily, Uhura deserved better and my entire focus. J.J. is known for taking care of his characters while he’s blowing up buildings and the characters are jumping off the highest tower in Tokyo. And as an actor, that is the warmest sensation you can ever feel. I definitely wanted to have a very clean slate with her because she was young. She can’t really be this confident woman that has it all together all the time. She’s a novice and she infatuated and she’s put under pressure.

TeenHollywood: But you did meet Nichelle?

Zoe: Yes. When I met Nichelle, that was the biggest sign of relief for me to know that there was this complete and utter support and pride on her behalf towards me. The fact that she was really happy that I was playing Uhura made me feel so star struck. I’m like ‘wow, she knows who I am’. She basically told me to definitely follow my instincts and whatever my gut was telling me about Uhura to do it but to do it well and I slept very well that night.

TeenHollywood: Zach, when you were young did people tell you, you looked like Spock and what was it like working with Mr. Nimoy?

Zach: Uh, no. I never really heard it, although I certainly was sporting a Spock bowl cut when I was 12! I have pictures to prove it. I might dig them out at some point. And, obviously, working with Leonard was an incredible honor and the whole experience for me was so fulfilling beyond my wildest expectations; in terms of just getting to know him and understanding how this character has formed, his creative processes and life and it was great fun. I got asked a lot if there was pressure because of Leonard’s involvement, and my response is always to the contrary, actually. Having him as a resource and such a generous available support system made it much easier for me to step into the experience.

TeenHollywood: Did you study his mannerisms as Spock?

Zach: I didn’t really. I mean, in preparation for production, I did not go back and watch the original series or films. Leonard and I watched a couple episodes together and talked about his experience shooting those episodes, but aside from that, I felt that it was incumbent upon me to determine my own relationship with this character. That was the mandate that JJ set forth very early on in the process. We were expected to use the foundation as a point of entry into our own experiences with the characters. He set a really solid framework in which we were all allowed to play and explore and discover on our own.

TeenHollywood: This film has amazing effects. I’m sure many of them weren’t there for you to interact with on set. What was it like working with green screen?

Zach: There are perks in things that are technical and also, it’s kind of a drag sometimes. The perk about green screen is that you get to go back to remembering what it was like to play with your dolls when you were 5 years old, when your imagination was completely and utterly infinite. The bad thing about it, sometimes, it’s the technical failures that you’ll have.

TeenHollywood: Like what?

Zach: Let’s say we’re shooting a scene and there’s seven of us looking out on a green screen and it’s [supposed to be] Nero’s ship and JJ is on the sidelines, shouting and we’re all looking and he’ll stop us because we’re all looking in different directions! To me, it’s over there, and to him it’s here, to [another actor] it’s there. And it’s like, ‘what is going on?” And sometimes JJ would have to get up from his chair and grab a big orange piece of tape and make a big X and say, ‘That’s Nero’s ship!’ Those are the kinds of things that make you laugh when you’re asked questions like that. It’s like, “We just couldn’t find it.” It’s hard.

TeenHollywood: Zach, any of Spock’s ‘vulcanisms’ give you any trouble; the eyebrows or the live long and prosper hand salute?

Zach: I spent a little time actually training my hands to be able to do the salute. That wasn’t something that is particularly easy so I would rubber-band my ring finger and my pinky finger together while I was driving around Los Angeles and do little finger exercises in the months leading up to shooting but that was about it. Everything else fell into place. It was okay, I think.

TeenHollywood: And the eyebrows do grow back!

From Teen Hollywood