Zachary Quinto has played “many dark characters” in his career.
When he was offered the lead role in “Brilliant Minds,” he immediately jumped at the chance because the series “really comes from an enlightening perspective.”
In the NBC medical drama, he plays Dr. Oliver Wolf, an eccentric neurologist who treats patients with rare mental illnesses at a Bronx hospital. The drama is inspired by the late Dr. Oliver Sacks, the neurologist and writer portrayed by Robin Williams in 1990’s Awakenings.
“I think it’s more important now than ever for people to look into the light and turn to the light. Because I think we’re seeing, in ways that we haven’t fully grasped yet, that we’re really in the middle of this battle between light and dark, expanded and limited consciousness, that we’re seeing the idea of evolution and what’s possible — rather than clinging to old constructs, old paradigms and past ideas of how things should be in the binary sense of yes, no, right, wrong, black, white,” Quinto says on this week’s episode of the Just for Variety podcast.
“The reality is that we as a humanity, as a civilization, can no longer afford the luxury of existing within these constructs. Things are shifting beneath our feet in ways we don’t yet understand. We see it politically, we see it technologically.”
He may only play a doctor on TV, but Quinto sees himself in his TV alter ego. “I think Oliver Wolf is a character who has done a lot of work on himself and has delved deep into his own psyche,” explains Quinto. “I like to think that this also applies to me as a person. That is something that really drives me in my life. Therapy, meditation and expanding consciousness.”
MORE: You can listen to the full interview with Quinto on Just for Variety or wherever you find your favorite podcasts.
How has looking inward changed Quinto?
“My big shift was really motivated by the concept of detachment,” he says. “My big shift was really being in the moment where I am and understanding that this is exactly where I need to be right now. And what has happened in the past and what will happen in the future is something I cannot control and cannot influence. Being here now in this moment and holding everything in my life as loose as possible has been the biggest shift I have experienced in my life.”
He adds: “It’s the result of a lot of work. I’ve done a lot of work on myself. I’ve been in therapy for over 20 years. I’m a very committed meditation practitioner. I’ve really leaned on tools that have helped me. And it hasn’t been easy. And there have been many years in my life where I’ve asked myself, ‘Why am I doing this? What’s the point?'”
Like Quinto and Sacks were, Dr. Wolf is openly gay.
“The fact that I’m an openly gay actor, playing a gay character, the lead, the face of a medical drama on the primetime network, in the tradition of many incredible shows that came before ours, deserves recognition given how much progress we’ve made over the years,” Quinto says. “Even since you and I have known each other in the context of what we do professionally, things have changed, and they’ve changed irrevocably. I think it’s profoundly valuable to acknowledge that. And at the same time, to acknowledge that we still have so much more progress to make, to commit to, to fight for. How do we evolve and prevent evolution from being so rooted in conflict?”
Speaking of conflict, our conversation finally turns to politics. Quinto is planning a trip to his native Pennsylvania to campaign for Kamala Harris with Governor Josh Shapiro. Politics is in his blood. His maternal great-grandfather was a city councilman in Pittsburgh and his grandfather was a Democratic congressman in the United States.
“We have to recognize that the messaging of this flawed and broken two-party system has to change,” Quinto says. “It has to change. And right now we’re facing two candidates, one of whom understands that much better than the other. And I’ve really been asking myself, how can I have compassion for the candidate and his supporters who have a very different viewpoint than I do? How can I feel forbearance and compassion for them? And how can we all look beyond the boundaries of that mindset and hopefully move into the uncertain future with more connection and more cohesion and less division and less hatred on both sides?”
He admits that finding that compassion is “hard.” “But I’ve found compassion for how painful it must be to be stuck in a mindset that makes you feel like you have to tell other people how to live their lives,” Quinto says. “That must be very painful, not really understanding yourself or loving yourself enough to realize that your way of being, living and thinking doesn’t necessarily have to affect someone else’s, and that we can actually create space for everyone to live, think and feel the way they do.”
He said of the Vice President: “I think there is tremendous momentum. I think she was born to do a job that no one should inherit right now, but she does it with grace and intelligence, and I’m very impressed with how she has taken on this role that she didn’t necessarily expect. I have deep admiration and great respect for the way she has navigated this path so far… I know that I want to see her as President of the United States in the future, and I will do everything I can to support her in that.”
READ: Zachary Quinto Casts Leonard Nimoy’s Widow Susan as 80-Year-Old Nymphomaniac in Medical Drama ‘Brilliant Minds’ (EXCLUSIVE)
On a lighter note, Quinto expresses, as always, hope that he can reprise Spock in another Star Trek film. “The great thing is that Star Trek is a limitless universe. Look at all the TV shows, look at all the stories, look at all the characters and timelines. Anything is possible,” he says. “That’s the beauty of the franchise. That’s why it’s lasted 55, 60 years. I’m open to it. I would love it. I would absolutely love it.”
No matter where and no matter when.
“There’s no deadline,” says Quinto. “The original cast made films for decades, into their 50s, 60s. The stories might be different. We might not be moving as fast on the other planets, but I think anything is possible, and I think there’s nothing more fulfilling for an artist than coming back to something after some time and relating to it from a completely different perspective and a completely new point of view.”
