Leonard Nimoy/Later projects

In 1996, Nimoy co-founded Alien Voices with John de Lancie and writer-producer Nat Segaloff. The audio production company/troupe produced several science fiction audio productions (including the two "Spock Vs. Q" audios) and a few televised specials for the Sci-Fi Channel: The First Men in the Moon in 1997 and The Lost World in 1998. Nimoy appeared in both of these films along with de Lancie, Ethan Phillips, and Dwight Schultz. William Shatner also starred in the first project; Roxann Dawson and Armin Shimerman had roles in the second.
In 1997, Nimoy played the Biblical prophet Samuel. His partner in the TNT movie was TNG guest star Maurice Roëves. In 1998, Nimoy appeared in a made-for-TV adaptation of Aldous Huxley's book, Brave New World, along with Miguel Ferrer, Daniel Dae Kim, and Aron Eisenberg. He then voiced a trio of characters in the 2000 CGI-animated film Sinbad: Beyond the Veil of Mists, along with John Rhys-Davies. After voicing the role of the King of Atlantis in 's 2001 film Atlantis: The Lost Empire (along with Phil Morris and David Ogden Stiers), Nimoy announced his retirement from acting, deciding instead to focus on photography.
Despite his retirement, Nimoy made appearances with William Shatner in several commercials for in 2005 and 2006. Also in 2006, Nimoy did commercials for the arthritis pain medication, Aleve, in which Nimoy was concerned that his arthritis would prevent him from delivering the Vulcan salute to his fans at a convention. 
In 2007, it was announced that Nimoy would come out of retirement to play Spock in the 2009 Star Trek feature being produced and directed by J.J. Abrams. When proclaiming his reasons for accepting the role, he stated it was because the film has "a great director" (Abrams), "a wonderful actor playing the young Spock" (Zachary Quinto), and "a fabulous script" (written by Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman). He summed up his decision by stating "it was logical."Comic Con: Abrams confirms Nimoy and Quinto - Still Wants Shatner + New Poster
In a July 2007 interview with Anthony Pascale of , Nimoy gave three reasons for coming out of retirement to play Spock for the new film. His first reason was that it was Star Trek and that he owed it to the franchise to give his attention to the project. The second reason was his admiration for producer/director J.J. Abrams, and the third was that Spock had an "essential" and "interesting" role in the script.Interview with Leonard Nimoy - Part 1
Production on Star Trek began on . Nimoy began filming his scenes the following month. Shooting wrapped in March 2008. Nimoy can be heard reciting the famous line "Space… the final frontier" in the teaser trailer for the new Star Trek film, which debuted . According to the film's co-writer, Roberto Orci, the line is a new recording which Nimoy made on the film's set in-between takes.Interview - Orci Answers Question About Star Trek Trailer
Following his work on Star Trek completed, Nimoy began appearing on Fringe, the science fiction television series created and produced by three members of Star Treks creative team: J.J. Abrams, Alex Kurtzman, and Roberto Orci. On the show, Nimoy plays the recurring role of the enigmatic founder of Massive Dynamics, William Bell, a character which had previously been referenced but never seen. Nimoy voiced the role for the episode "Bad Dreams," which was written and directed by Akiva Goldsman and made his first on-camera appearance in the first season finale aired 12 May 2009. Nimoy returned for an extended arc that fall. Fringe was Nimoy's first foray into episodic television since appearing on Becker in 2001. 
For his role on Fringe, Nimoy received a Saturn Award nomination for Best Guest Starring Role on Television in 2010. Fellow Trek actors Michelle Forbes and Raymond Cruz are also nominated in this category.Saturn Awards nominations Nimoy also received a Boston Society of Film Critics Award in 2009 and a Critic's Choice Award nomination at the Broadcast Film Critics Association Award in 2010 as part of the Star Trek ensemble. His face was used for card #103 "Ambassador Spock" of the virtual collectible card battle game Star Trek: Rivals.
On 19 April 2010, Nimoy announced his decision to again retire from acting. In explaining his decision to The Toronto Star, Nimoy stated, "I've been doing this professionally for 60 years. I love the idea of going out on a positive note. I've had a great, great time." He also said he would not appear in the next Star Trek film, claiming it would be unfair to Zachary Quinto, the actor currently portraying . Nimoy recently filmed what he said would be his final appearance on the FOX series Fringe (created by Abrams with Star Trek scribes Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci). Toronto Sun He also confirmed that in 2010, he would portray the voice of the main antagonist, Master Xehanort, in Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep. He reprised the role in Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance.
On 22 October 2010 it was announced that due to a personal family emergency Nimoy would not be attending that day's Star Trek convention in Chicago. Later it was revealed that he was in the hospital.
On 26 May 2011 the new music video from titled was released. The video features Nimoy in a leading role and the second time he broke his "retirement". In the music video Nimoy is making several Trek jokes including the William Shatner on television scene and his "Vulcan salute" posing in front of the mirror. Nimoy explained his recent acting work in an email to TrekMovie: The Atlantic Records Executive who signed Bruno Mars on to this label is the son of his wife Susan Bay, Aaron Bay-Schuck.Watch: Leonard Nimoy gets "Lazy" in Bruno Mars Music Video.
Nimoy returned to the Transformers franchise in 2011 when he lent his voice to the duplicitous Sentinel Prime in the third live action film Dark of the Moon working with Jack Axelrod, George Coe, Michael Dorn, Robert Foxworth, Glenn Morshower, Keith Szarabajka, Tom Virtue and Frank Welker. Foxworth, Morshower, and Welker all acted in the first three films.
On 20 July 2011, Nimoy made it official that he would retire from convention appearances after two more official Star Trek conventions, held by Creation Entertainment. These included the Las Vegas convention on August 11-14, 2011 and in Chicago on September 30-October 2, as well as the Dragon Con in Atlanta, Georgia. Nimoy agreed to return to Chicago after having to cancel the previous year. Leonard Nimoy makes it official: Retiring after just 3 more conventions.
In 2012, Nimoy once again reprised the role of Spock in The Big Bang Theory episode "The Transporter Malfunction", this time voicing a vintage Spock action figure who acts as 's conscience in his dreams. The following year, he and Quinto played themselves in a commercial for the car that was rife with Star Trek references – including a brief reprisal of the ending of The Wrath of Khan, and Nimoy applying the nerve pinch to Quinto – as well as a repeat performance of "The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins".
In 2013, Nimoy reprised the role of Spock in in a small cameo role, warning the alternate reality Spock of 's threat and how the original crew beat him. This was his final Star Trek appearance before his death in 2015.
Before his death and along with William Shatner, Nimoy was rumored to appear in , in a scene with Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto, as the future alternate reality versions of the characters.Rumor: How to get Nimoy and Shatner into Star Trek 2016 Revealed? Nimoy's death (via that of the prime universe Spock) was instead acknowledged in the film, which bears a dedication to Nimoy.
In , Nimoy's widow, Susan Bay, revealed that he had asked nurses to aid in his death.Star Trek Star Leonard Nimoy's Widow Says He Asked for Nurses' Assistance to End His Life.