Originally, Spock wasn’t intended to be such an influential character in Star Trek: The Original Series. Leonard Nimoy, who portrayed Spock, was well aware of this fact. However, he was just as surprised as Star Trek producers when the character gained a fervent cult-like following as the show gained traction.

During an interview with The Montreal Star, Nimoy explained the basic setup of a Star Trek episode.

“In most of the shows, we were facing some kind of adversary for three acts,” said the actor. “In the fourth act, Captain Kirk would say, ‘I’m going to beam down to the planet surface.’ Mr. Spock would say, ‘Captain, I request permission to go with you,’ and Kirk would answer, ‘No, Spock, I need you on the ship.’ Then the rest of the fourth act would be go, Shatner, go.”

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Of course, Nimoy began receiving an influx of fanmail, mostly from women, eager to see Spock in more episodes.

“When the mail started coming in they began to include me on the trips to the planet,” said the actor. “But at first they didn’t have time to rewrite the scripts. So I would just stand there and say, ‘Look out, Captain, watch it.’”