How a Canadian went to Las Vegas and became Spock

Paul Forest got a piece of life-changing advice from a man dressed as Superman when he was in Las Vegas a few years ago.

That superhero told Forest that he looked just like Leonard Nimoy, the actor who played Spock on Star Trek.

The Man of Steel wanted to know if Forest would be willing to dress as that character, alongside Superman and others on Fremont Street, the famous neon-sign filled street in the heart of downtown Las Vegas.

"I tried it about three weeks later and the rest is history," Forest told CBC News in a telephone interview from Toronto.

That led to his current full-time job as Spock, or Spock Vegas, as he is known to the public. He describes himself as a Spock lookalike and impersonator.

Recent stops for Forest include Chicago, Des Moines, Houston, Indianapolis, London, Montreal, New Orleans, New York, Pittsburgh, Portland, Puerto Rico, Quebec City, Salt Lake City, San Diego and Sacramento, Calif.

"I've been all over the place, it's really been a crazy whirlwind in the last 10 months," he said. "It's really been a great experience so far."

He'll be in Windsor, Ont., this weekend, for the ComiCon being hosted at the Caesars Windsor casino.

Forest, who previously lived in Montreal, said he's been a Star Trek fan from an early age.

Batman, Flipper and Spock

"The first poster I got was Spock holding the [USS] Enterprise and that was a big poster," he said. "The other one was Batman and Flipper."

He had all the posters hanging on his bedroom wall.

But he didn't end up making a living as a dolphin lookalike, or as the caped crusader.

Instead, Spock was the character he would build a future connection with.

Since becoming Spock Vegas, he even had a chance to meet Nimoy on a few occasions before he died.

The actor's recent passing has been tough for his fans, who have talked to Forest about their grief.

"They come to me, they hug me, they cry, they tell me their experience with him, when they met him or what they think he was — the man, the activist and the philanthropist," said Forest.

"He was really an amazing person, not only as Spock, the character that was loved for 50 years, but as the man."

This connection with people is what Forest said drives his interest in what he does, along with the experience of going to conventions like the one coming up in Windsor.

"It's a big carnival every weekend," said Forest.

"A comic-con is full of events, panels, stars ... I share moments with great personalities, even if it's just for the time of a  photo," listing Lou Ferrigno, Back to the Future actress Claudia Wells and Canadian actress Neve Campbell as some of the notable people he has met on the circuit.