Obama leads tributes to Star Trek actor Leonard Nimoy

President Obama has led tributes to Leonard Nimoy, the US actor who played Mr Spock in the cult sci-fi series Star Trek, who has died aged 83.

"I loved Spock," said Mr Obama.

Nimoy died in Los Angeles on Friday. His son Adam said he died of end-stage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, which is often caused by smoking.

His career took in acting, directing, writing and photography, but he was best known for portraying the half-human, half-Vulcan character Spock.

Obama said in a statement: "Long before being nerdy was cool, there was Leonard Nimoy.

"Leonard was a lifelong lover of the arts and humanities, a supporter of the sciences, generous with his time and talents.

"And of course, Leonard was Spock. Cool, logical, big-eared and level-headed, the centre of Star Trek's optimistic, inclusive vision of humanity's future."

Obama's approach to politics has been described as Spock-like. He greeted Nimoy with a four fingered Vulcan salute when the pair met in 2007.

Among the torrent of tributes on Twitter was a message from Nasa crediting Nimoy and Star Trek as an inspiration.

Other Star Trek cast members gave their praise too. William Shatner, who as Captain Kirk acted alongside Nimoy for years in Star Trek, said he loved the actor "like a brother".

George Takei, who played Hikaru Sulu said "he was an extraordinarily talented man but he was also a very decent human being."

Zachary Quinto, who played Spock in a Star Trek prequel, said: "My heart is broken."