"We sat for two hours and talked, and it was as though I had known her [Zoe] all her life. I was so honored. I thought I was seeing myself — I knew I was in good hands. She just picked my brain. When I see her come on, that’s me and I’m living it. A little ways into the movie, I realized she had taken to heart what I said and became more reserved and tighter. I’m so proud of her. She took a role that was established and gave it life. Now I know who I was before I got on that ship for that first mission. It’s so exciting for me and rewarding. J.J. and she did me honor."
— Nichelle Nichols (x)(x)

“I thought that [Zachary] made some choices that were wonderful surprises for me. We did not talk about specifics like, “do this or don’t do that.” We had conversations about the philosophy of the character, and the philosophy of Star Trek, and fan reactions to various aspects of Star Trek, but there were no specifics, it didn’t call for that. But watching Zach on film, I’m very proud of what he did. I think we have book-ended the character. He has created a Spock that comes before the Spock that I have created in the series. I play a Spock that is much much more resolved. And I think that is who I am actually today. So I think it works extremely well and I admire his talent.
Zachary’s choices in his performance often surprised me, in a very positive way. “I would never have thought to do that, and I think that’s a wonderful idea!” (..)And, these two [Zachary, Zoe] I think are wonderful together. It’s such a passionate and compassionate performance by Zoe that I was just so pleased to be a part of this movie, with all of you good people. “
— Leonard Nimoy (x)
(source)