(upbeat music) - You're listening to The Parting Shot with H. Allen Scott. - Listen, Zachary Quinto just plays a doctor on NBC's Brilliant Minds. Don't come calling him for actual medical advice. I spoke with Zachary today about his great new medical drama, Brilliant Minds. And we, of course, had to chat about what it's like to actually be able to say, I'm not a doctor, but I play one on TV. You know, like what happens on airplanes and stuff when they ask for a doctor if something, God forbid, horrible goes wrong. Zachary Quinto was not qualified to be that person, but the scenario is at least amusing to think about now that he can actually do that. And he's played a doctor before. I mean, we've seen him play creepy doctors. We've seen him play lots of doctors. This doctor though, on Brilliant Minds, is unlike any doctor that Zachary Quinto has ever played before. What makes Brilliant Minds so unique from other medical dramas? And there have been many fantastic medical dramas. I mean, I personally loved ER. Like I remember that as a kid and I loved it. I also liked Chicago Hope. But anyway, Brilliant Minds focuses on the mind, on the brain. And if you think about it, the brain is one of the most terrifying parts of the body. Because how much do we really know about the brain? And unlike maybe an arm or a leg or a cough or whatever, that you can go and you can get put in a cast or get some medicine for. How do you fix a brain? Like what do you do when your brain is broken in some way? You can't just go get it, put in a cast. That is what makes Brilliant Minds so fascinating. And in some ways, kind of terrifying too. The show is fantastic. Now Zachary plays Dr. Oliver Wolfe, which is based on a real life doctor, Dr. Oliver Sacks, who was a British neurologist and naturalist. Fantastic, fantastic premise for a show. Honestly, this is probably, I feel like is going to be one of the better medical dramas that you've seen in many, many years. And Zachary Quinto, I mean, he's fantastic. How he's the perfect person to play this kind of doctor because he both has to be both a doctor, but also kind of a little spiritual, a little sort of meta in a lot of ways. And Zachary just has that vibe to him. I mean, you'll hear it in our chat. He's very relaxed. He's very chill in a way that I don't think I have ever been that chill. And I respect that because I like being around people who are chill, I am an anxious Jew. But Zachary Quinto does this part so, so well. And when you're talking with Zachary Quinto, you can't not bring up Star Trek. You know what I mean? Like Star Trek is just sort of always a part of the conversation and he has such fond memories of it. And of course, we had to talk about the possibility of a sequel, hopefully, maybe, who knows. I also had to ask him about heroes because people who love heroes love heroes. And there is a little bit of a connection between heroes, which was on NBC and Brilliant Minds, which is on NBC. And he brings up this sort of nice little spiritual connection between the two that I think was really fascinating and will be very fascinating for anyone who loved heroes. So, go on and grab a snack because I will be right back with Zachary Quinto. (upbeat music) - There's more to imagine when you listen. So let your imagination soar with Audible. Audible has audio titles from every genre that will inspire you to imagine new worlds, possibilities, and ways of thinking. As an Audible member, you get to choose one title a month to keep from their entire catalog. Enjoy an exciting reawakening of a beloved classic with the Audible Original David Copperfield by Charles Dickens, produced by Academy Award-winning director Sam Mendez, starring Shudi Gattwa, Helena Bonham Carter, and Theo James. This adaptation breathes new life into a familiar tale. New members can try Audible free for 30 days. Visit Audible.com/imagine or text Imagine to 500-500. That's Audible.com/imagine or text Imagine to 500-500. - I've always been fascinated by the brain 'cause I feel like it's the one muscle in our body. We like, feel like we know a lot about, but we don't, you know? (laughs) - Well, the brain is the seat of consciousness. - Yeah. - And consciousness is limitless. - Mm-hmm. - Ooh, yeah. It's a kind of fascinating landscape to explore. And in so many ways, he's uncharted. - Yeah. - And that is certainly one of the things that drew me into this story and to this world. The idea of doing a medical drama that's dramatizing neurological diseases, disorders, injuries, and conditions is something that I haven't seen on television. And it was a really unique point of entry into the format of medical drama. So that combined with the fact that the character I play Oliver Wolfe is based on a real life person called Oliver Sacks, who was a world-renowned iconic neurologist and prolific author. Complex, interesting, dynamic, beautiful person. That was really interesting to me. And also the creative team, Michael Grassy, our show runner, and Lee Toland Krieger, director of pilot. Their approach to the show was unique and really brought me along. I really saw them as people that I could collaborate with and connect to in a way. So there were a lot of things that drew me into it, actually. - Yeah, and I mean, a little bit on the brain, at least. Like, for me, going into something like this. I mean, whenever I see a story on television about sort of the way the brain works, why we do the things we do, why we maybe do things that we don't realizing we're doing, but the brain is telling us to do. Like, just brain stories in general have always fascinated me. And I wanted to know, like, what in the research for this role did you learn maybe about consciousness or the brain or how it works that really stood out to you? Are you were surprised by? - Well, I can't tell you how many times early in the process when I was reading the episodes of the show. But I was like, well, that's made up. That's not real. I think one of the things that I learned is just how nuanced the brain is. And how different disorders or conditions can affect someone's experience in a way that might be unfathomable until it actually happens. So in almost all of the cases that we deal with on our show, there is no resolution. There is no fix for the problem. And so the conversation then becomes about adaptation and evolution and how we can find dignity and purpose in our experience, even in the face of tremendous adversity. And that's something that the brain allows us to do. There are workarounds in the brain, you know? It's an incredibly resilient organ. It's an incredibly malleable organ. And so where there are deficits, it can in some cases make up for those deficits, you know? And circumvent the things that are restrictive. And so it is, and then you add into that the idea of consciousness. You know, what is consciousness, right? Well, we get to ask those questions and look for some answers on this show. And that is something different, you know? There have been so many wonderful and influential medical dramas over the years. Yeah. And a lot of them deal with cases that are easily identifiable or solvable or the mysteries have a fix. And in our show, the mysteries don't often have a fix. And I love that. I love living in that space of the unknown. Yeah. And that really to me is that that's the crux of it, right? That's the nature of it. It also kind of allows itself in a lot of ways from a creative standpoint, 'til sort of like the stakes are very high because almost the monster in the room or the scariest thing in the room is the thing you don't understand the most, which is what's going on in your brain. And so like in a weird way, I mean, for me at least, like the idea of losing my memory or ability to do something is a very real scary thing, I think, for people. And so in watching a show like this and seeing how the brain works and the stories about the brain, whatever it is, like that, I think to me, really makes a really good storytelling tool for drama and tension in a lot of ways. Well, I think it's really relatable. I think a lot of people in the world have experiences where their lives are irrevocably changed and or the lives of loved ones are irrevocably changed. And how do we preserve the dignity and the possibility of those experiences even in the face of that adversity? I think that is something that is unique and specific to our show and the stories we're telling. And it's something that I think I've always said in Michael Grassi, our showrunner, our fearless leader. We always say, people watch our show and they see themselves and the stories that we're telling, then we're doing our job. And if it can be entertaining and there is humor and hard and light and love in the show, but also, there's substance in the show, I hope. And maybe some of that substance will invite people in to have conversations about things that are difficult to talk about or uncomfortable to talk about. Neurological health, mental health. These are all things that are a huge part of our conversation in a way now that they weren't a decade ago. I think this show is coming at a time that hopefully will encourage those kinds of conversations to continue. Definitely. And also too, I mean, like you were saying, like there have been so many great medical drama series on television over the years, but I do feel like that also opens you up. You as a person, as a human being in the world for people to ask you questions that maybe you're not qualified to answer. So do you fear at all the amount of medical questions that you're probably about to get? I'm definitely not equipped to answer them. You know, I've done everything I can to learn about and understand the conditions and the diseases and the injuries and the disorders that we deal with on the show. It is really funny to actually be in a position where I can literally say I'm not a doctor, but I play one on TV. You know, it really is a unique thing to be able to say, but I mean, look, I think I've learned a lot and I can't tell you how many times I read scripts early in the season where I was like, this can't possibly be happening, this can't possibly be real and it always is, you know? So, yeah, I don't know. I go, you know, call your real doctor, don't call me. - Well, when you're playing a doctor, I mean, you've played doctors before. Like you've done medical adjacent, some creepy ones. - Yeah, right, that's the thing. Like, you know, I played, the characters I played, like the threads and just really the doctor that I played in the past, the most indelible doctor I played in the past. Him being a doctor was secondary to the, you know, kind of like the ulterior motives were the things that were motivated at characters. So, I've never played a doctor like this, you know? There's no aspect of this character that goes over to the dark side, right? So, there's something about, you know, actually embodying a doctor, you know, again, inspired by real life, all of his acts. He was always motivated by how he could enhance the lives of his patients and how he could move toward the light and work with compassion. These are qualities that I find really meaningful to me personally right now. And I'm really proud to be a part of a show that's putting that message out into the world at this particular moment when it's looking toward the light, this show. And that's something I think we can all use a little bit more of these days. - Totally agree. I mean, also too, I mean, I think for like actors, I always thought playing a doctor was actually probably one of the more difficult things to play, just because, I mean, I always feel like, if there's a person in the room that's way smarter than me, I'm just gonna let them talk and like, just listen 'cause I feel like I might learn something. And doctors are like that to me where I'm just like, just shut up and listen, just like, be quiet. So how do you feel? I mean, I feel like sometimes when you're saying the complicated dialogue or like the whatever brain jargon that might come out, do you sometimes say like, am I saying that right? Am I selling this properly? - Completely, I mean, I read about everything that we're dealing with and talking about in the show, but we also have a wonderful team of advisors and we have one of the writers on our show, is a doctor. And so we have access to her expertise. And then on set, we have an incredible team of nurses and medical advisors who are there every day with us. So we can have side bars where if it's a matter of pronunciation, then we can go off in the corner and we'll do like a bit of a call and repeat where I'll be like, say it again, okay, but okay, there it is, and then we get it and go back. But you know, the trick is that we're playing characters for whom this language is second nature. They know, they know, they know what it is. They don't have to think about it, right? It just rolls off their toes. Our job as actors is to have a connection to the language where that same thing is true in the moment. Even if we don't understand all of the nuanced aspects of the condition or the medical situation, that's called acting. So there it is, you know, you have to kind of understand that you're playing a character who knows everything that's underneath the word that they're saying. And you have to look beyond the limitations of the language into the knowledge that exists underneath it. - Yeah, I remember once I interviewed Renee Zellweger for Judy and she said, I asked like, how did you zone into that? And she in her Southern draw was just like, that's just acting, honey. And it's true, isn't it? Yeah, it's just what you do. - Right, yeah. - The skill set that we apply to circumstances, you know, truthful behavior in imaginary circumstances, that's the definition of acting, right? So you find that. And everybody has a different process. You know, there are people who actually feel like they need to completely embody or inhabit or understand something in order to like, you know, represent it. There are different techniques of acting as well. So, you know, everybody's different. - Yeah. - But yeah, it's, that's acting. - That's acting. Yeah, well, so when you're headlining a show like this, I mean, you've definitely been on big shows before, but like when you're headlining a show like this, do you feel added pressure? I mean, do you, in terms of, I mean, just in general, like the selling of the show, but also just like when you're leading this big new show, you know? - I've never had an experience like this, to be honest. I guess I've been on big shows. I've been number one on the call sheet before and ensemble shows, you know, but it is a different experience to be the face of a show. And for me, it's been so rewarding and fulfilling and creatively satisfying. And that's all I have control over. So now I'm in the part of the experience where I am proud of what we've made. I'm excited to share it with people. I hope people come to the experience with the same spirit that we made it from, you know? And that's all I can do. So there is no pressure, actually, because I think if the work is good and the stories are resonance, then people will watch it. And I hope they do. I want them to because I wanna keep telling these stories 'cause I think they're valuable and meaningful and interesting and fun and exciting and entertaining. But I'm at a place in my life right now where I'm not really interested in trying to have control over things that I have no control over. So yeah, it's actually kind of liberating to be this place of saying like, we all came together and we all invested ourselves and our creative integrity and sensibilities into making this show. And we did it in a vacuum, right? We did the whole first season. We're done now, we got to make the show with each other and for each other, and now we get to turn to the world and say, hey, this is what we made. You wanna hang out with us? You know, are you interested in it? And hopefully the answer is yes. But if it's not, then to me, it just means that there's another story that I more urgently needed to tell. And that's the story that I'll tell after this one. So I hope we get to keep doing it. I'd love to keep working on this show. I love the people. You know, the cast is amazing. They're really generous people, thoughtful people. It was a really good vibe up there in Toronto while we were working on it. Everybody was invested from the same place. Everybody wanted it to be good. And that really is a testament to Michael Grassi, our showrunner. I mean, he's a really special person. And he is positive and supportive and collaborative in ways that I feel like created an environment that everybody was incentivized to be the same way. And my job is number one in the call sheet is to be, you know, his closest proxy, right? 'Cause I'm there every day. And so I'm the one who has to really bring his vision to life in the spirit with which he intends it. So that's the responsibility of number one in the call sheet is to make a show that's in the spirit of the person who's telling the stories. And Michael is, you know, he's a really special person. And I think that translates into the stories that he wrote and the characters that he created. And Oliver Sacks, you know, is our North Star, our springboard into these stories. And yeah, I feel like, you know, I get what you're saying, but I just am not really interested in having my experience or my life be dictated by things that I have no control over. - That's nice. That's nice. I mean, more people should be like that. Well, I have to ask you, 'cause my boyfriend, I feel like my boyfriend would yell at me if I didn't. One of his favorite shows of all time is Heroes. And I mean, in the years since the cult following the excitement for Heroes has just grown it seems over the years, what do you think it is about that show that sort of resonated with so many different people? - Well, it's a good question. Yeah, and it's really interesting to come back to NBC. - Yeah. - That show changed my life. That show sent me on an entirely different path and I had been on previous to it. And, you know, interestingly, the catalyst of that show, right? The catalyst of Heroes was a solar eclipse, right? That was the inciting incident in the pilot. And we started filming brilliant minds on the day of a solar eclipse. - It was really, really cool. So this kind of return to an experience that I had so long ago, so influential in life. And so I guess I would say that Heroes and Tim Crane's consciousness and imagination captured something that was bigger than the story itself. Something unifying about Heroes, right? There was something that, and I think it's a message that's really valuable today, right now, especially. You know, Heroes was a show about people awakening to their power and recognizing that it's the things that we share and not is that, you know, divide us. That is where the power lies. It transcends identity and culture and nationalism and race and, you know, gender and all these things. And so I think Heroes in a much similar way to Star Trek, actually, you know, there's a vision of humanity that is optimistic and faith-based, right? You know, faith humanity is, I think, really the foundation of both of those projects. And so I think that's what broke through and made it such a global phenomenon. - Wow, wow, yeah. Well, my last question for you is speaking of Star Trek is how often do you get asked about A, Star Trek, and B, the sequels and the new film coming out? Like, I'm sure it must happen quite often. - I've been coming up a lot lately because I'm doing press for this. Like, I haven't been a lot of press for things lately. I kind of made a decision during the pandemic to step away from the public facing part of my life and to focus more on my own experience and my own evolution. And so now I'm coming back to the table and having these kinds of conversations and Star Trek has been coming up a lot. I don't know the answer to the question. I don't know if it will be more. I don't know what's happening over there. What I know is that it was probably the single most influential experience that I've had creatively and professionally and personally my relationship with Leonard Nimoy. You know, we met in 2007 when we did the first film and we became incredibly close and had a very profound relationship for the last decade of his life. And through Leonard, I got to become very good friends with his wife, Susan. And since Leonard's passing, Susan and I have continued and deepened our friendship. And she actually appears as one of the guest stars on Brilliant Mind. - Amazing. - So, you know, Star Trek for me has had many creative and personal reverberations over the years. And my friendships with the cast of that film have only deepened and continued. And I'd love to go back and explore it. But it's also an example of, you know, something I have no control over. And there are, you know, factors that weigh into that, that, you know, I just, I feel like I'd love to do it. And if we get to do it again, wonderful, if we don't get to do it again, it shaped and changed my life in ways that I will be forever grateful for. And that is something that, you know, I fold with a lot of gratitude and as lucid grip as possible, you know. Like, that's really for me these days. Like, that's the guiding principle. - Yeah. - How can I build everything in my life with as lucid grip as possible? 'Cause everything is uncertain right now. There's a lot of uncertainty. So, trying to stay here where I am in this moment is the thing that I've felt has been the most effective. And I apply that to Star Trek among everything else in my life. So great. - That's great, yeah. - God willing we get to do it again, but who knows? - Yeah, well fingers crossed for, I'm sure a lot of people definitely. Well, thank you for taking the time to chat with me. I really appreciate it. - Thank you, appreciate the time. - Zachary Quinto's voice. I was thinking I maybe wanted it to be sort of like the voice that narrates my dreams, but I feel like that could quickly turn into a nightmare because he has this voice that is beautiful. It's a beautiful speaking voice. But if you really, like depending upon what direction it goes, could be a nightmare too. So, Zachary Quinto, please go narrate like a car commercial or something because we need more of your voice in the world. Thank you so much for listening to Newsweek's "Parting Shot." I am HL and Scott. Please consider leaving a little rating and review wherever you're listening to this podcast. Follow me at HL and Scott on everything and go to Newsweek.com, you know, for basically everything. In the meantime, go watch something fun today, perhaps "Brilliant Minds," which is out now on NBC. And have a great day. (upbeat music) (upbeat music)
