Star Trek Actor Couldn’t Do Spock’s Vulcan Salute

The famous Vulcan salute first appeared in the “Star Trek” episode “Amok Time” and was invented by Spock actor Leonard Nimoy. The salute consists of a raised palm with the thumb extended and the fingers spread in the middle to form a “V”. Nimoy received the greeting of a two-handed gesture made by the rabbis during funeral practices, and we can see this gesture on certain Jewish tombstones. The Vulcan salute became one of the most striking details of “Star Trek” and gave Trekkies something they could eagerly show off at conventions. The Vulcan salute is, in the real world, a quick shortcut for “Star Trek” superfans.

Of course, just because Nimoy could easily perform the salute doesn’t mean everyone else could. Indeed, there is a comical scene in the episode “Journey to Babel”, in which Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelley) struggles to properly separate his fingers. You, who are reading this right now, are probably trying this move on yourself. Can you do it easily or do you have to physically separate your fingers? Can you extend your thumb as well or do you have to keep it pinned in your hand? It takes a certain level of dexterity to do a Vulcan salute, and not everyone has it.

One actor who lacked dexterity was, perhaps ironically, Zarchary Quinto, who played a younger version of Spock in Feature film “Star Trek” by JJ Abrams in 2009. Quinto played Spock as a slightly sharper version of the character, more willing to express annoyance than the older version played by Nimoy. And, as luck would have it, he needed glue on his fingers to do the Vulcan salute correctly. This was revealed by the Daily Mail in 2009.

According to an anonymous source cited in the Daily Mail article, Quinto could do the salute, but he, like Dr. McCoy, had to manually spread his fingers off-camera and hold them in that position when he stepped on it. For scenes where Quinto could not perform such preparation, stagehands were nearby to apply glue to his fingers and glue them in place. The anonymous source pointed out that the glue used was a protective skin super glue, the type used in hospitals to temporarily close wounds. It was strong, but not so strong that Quinto’s hand was permanently stuck in Vulcan form.

The Mail article also pointed out that Nimoy’s “Star Trek” co-star William Shater was also unable to salute properly, although Shatner recalled (in his memoir “Star Trek Memories”) that producers used small lengths of fishing line to tie his fingers together, which appears to be a much cheaper solution than a tube of hospital-ready surgical glue.

During the press tour for the 2009 film “Star Trek,” Quinto appeared to have improved his saluting techniques, and many photos can be found online of Quinto standing next to Nimoy (who also played the older version of Spock in the 2009 film) proudly brandishing the Vulcan salute. These days, actor Ethan Peck plays Spock in the “Star Trek” prequel series “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds”. Peck, however, has no problem doing the Vulcan salute.