TWITrek Character Insight No. 76: Sarek

This is the latest installment in a series of "Character Insight" articles regarding the rich history of characters in the Star Trek universe.  An audio version will appear on the This Week in Trek podcast, available for direct download here.
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Welcome back to Character Insight!  This week, we continue with the Abrams timeline with a profile on Sarek.




Sarek is an Ambassador to Earth who marries a human Amanda Grayson and has a half-human, half-Vulcan son named Spock. Sarek is seen only in Star Trek 09, although he is one of the very few survivors of the obliteration of Vulcan by Nero.

Sarek is shown counseling Spock after a run-in with other Vulcan children in the training ball rooms. Sarek tries to encourage Spock to use logic to overcome bullying by stating that he married Amanda because it was logical to observe human behavior as Ambassador. 

Yet in the face of further prejudice from the Vulcan Science Academy council when accepting Spock into the program, Spock turns against his father's footsteps and joins Starfleet instead. Sarek would later admit after Amanda's death that he married her more because he loved her than for logic, proving that he is like his son in acting on instinct rather than logic at times.

Sarek was set to be a much larger character in Star Trek 09, but most of the scenes featuring him with and without Amanda were cut from the final movie. These included a birth scene and a scene of Amanda and Sarek fighting before Sarek's talk with Spock about bullying. Sarek also originally senses Spock Prime's presence, but this partial scene was also cut. 

Although it would have been nice to see more of Sarek, Star Trek 09 is a strong movie because it tells a concise story and wastes no time ramming through a ton of character development, designed for a new generation of Trek fans. However, Sarek may make a return appearance, as Spock likes to rely on his father figures, as seen in Into Darkness.

Our quote of the week comes from Star Trek 09:
Sarek: Speak your mind, Spock.
Spock: That would be unwise.
Sarek: What is necessary is never unwise.

Sarek: Spock, you are fully capable of deciding your own destiny. The question you face is: which path will you choose? This is something only you can decide. 

Actor: Ben Cross was selected to play Sarek based on his performance in the movie Species - The Awakening.  Cross may also be seen in other movies such as Chariots of Fire from 1981 and First Knight.