Interview | Zachary Quinto and Chris Pine | Stars of 'Star Trek' speak about reviving a classic

The Daily got the opportunity to speak with Zachary Quinto and Chris Pine, two stars of the upcoming film "Star Trek," directed by J.J. Abrams, who has been involved in projects such as ABC's "Lost" and the film "Cloverfield" (2008). Abram's vision of the Star Trek universe is different from the original, as the film follows Captain James T. Kirk (played by Pine) and Spock (Quinto) in their early years. The film opens May 8. Question: You both are living up to a pretty big legacy left behind by the original actors William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy. Given that fan boys are obviously going to be comparing the two, what sort of pressure did that put on you when making the film? Zachary Quinto: I didn't really feel that pressure because Leonard was involved, actually, and was so supportive of me from the beginning, and because I had such faith and trust in J.J. and the creative team behind the movie. I sort of just chose to focus more on my task at hand, which was doing my work -- which was really the only thing that's in my control. Chris Pine: I think it's really a credit to J.J. that he always created an atmosphere on set where I don't think any of us ever felt encumbered by a sense of responsibility or living up to expectations even though protecting the legacy was always on our minds, but it was never at the forefront. It was always about making this particular version of the movie as best as we could make it. Q: What was the biggest challenge about ... preparing for the film or working on the film? CP: I think for me it was just the physical aspect of it. I don't think I was really prepared for the physical toll. I mean, when you read the script and you know there are all of these pages of description of these action sequences, you fail to realize that what takes ... minutes to read on the page will take like months of actual shooting. ZQ: I think for me it was a matter of finding the emotional life of this character with the restrictions of not really being able to express that emotion as freely as human beings do. Q: What kind of research did you do to prepare for your respective roles? CP: In the beginning, I got the box set of the series, so I was midway through watching the first season of the original series when I kind of realized that what I was doing was really setting myself up for disaster because what Mr. Shatner did was so unique and specific and wonderful. And what he did was such a great job. I just felt that it actually served me more to just really pay attention to the wonderful script we were given by [Robert] Orci and Alex Kurtzman and really trying to live up to the great writing that they gave us instead of trying to immerse myself in the minutiae and the details of the original series, as great as they are, and as much as they might have helped other actors. ZQ: I obviously utilized Leonard to a great extent and engaged him in many, many conversations about the character. And I also had the advantage of being cast really early. So I immersed myself in a lot of reading about the world of Star Trek and the mythology and worked with a good friend who has subsequently become my business partner who is arguably one of the biggest Star Trek fans certainly that I know, to sort of help guide me through the questions that I had in preparation for starting. Q: What was it like working on set with J.J. Abrams? ZQ: J.J. has really incredible energy. He could not be more professional, could not be more open, could not be more supportive. And he's also really sure about what he's seeing and what he wants to see. And he has a tremendous capacity to communicate that and sort of blend it with a sense of humor that makes it incredibly enjoyable. I would very much hope that I get a chance to do it again. CP: Yeah ... there was an incredible amount of pressure inherent in doing Star Trek, not only because it's a big tent pole movie, but also because it is Star Trek with a very passionate and protective fan base. And so really what I appreciate about him is that he always created an atmosphere on set that was fun, that was easy, that was all about the day's work and never about ... the bigger picture which, I think, if we looked at it when we were doing it could have been ... disastrous and heavy.